ADDICTION UNCOVERED

Stigma And Addiction

Our Society: Addiction and More Uncovered Ch 40

What about stigma? Is it there when we talk about addictions?

Beth said yes, of course, she lied to others because she was afraid of what others might have thought when her brother died of an overdose. Beth felt that telling people her brother died of an overdose it would make him less than he was; he had a brain; he had a heart. She felt she would be judged, and her brother would be judged. She loved him very much and did not want others to make a judgment.

Maybe stigma can be useful to a certain point?

It was pointed out in tobacco use and the decrease in its use, it is not popular anymore. New things have come since then so now it is vaping. So, addictive. Could we create an image where alcohol use is not popular anymore, and drug and substance abuse are not popular anymore? These areas are stigmatized in the wrong way. Nobody likes an alcoholic family member who just causes trouble, violence, and problems all the time. Alcohol is still everywhere in our society and it is acceptable to drink on many occasions. It is there in the movies, posters, advertisements, and in every store.

Could we make alcohol unpopular the same as tobacco — at least cigarettes become unpopular? Alcohol is proven to cause cancer; it is a carcinogen. Could we make all the substance and drug use uncool? That nobody would want to do it. Treat the people who have the problem with love, caring, and support. What we can do to make things better?

Sheila describes that we need to find a way to destigmatize addiction, so people are comfortable going and asking for help. When I asked her how we can do that she responded probably education so everyone can understand a little more about addiction.

Then she said: “Your book”. Get people to read it so people understand how addition works. Not just health professionals and people in the addiction world but everyone else too. Thank you, Sheila.

Sheila feels that people need to be compassionate. It could have been them who fall into the trap of addiction. Be grateful if it is not you or someone you know. Don’t judge those who fell into the trap of addiction. Love them. Every single one and help if you can. We are all in this together. Nobody born wants to be addicted to anything. It happens for whatever reason. Being compassionate toward others is important, we are all connected. One of my long-time friends has a son who is been addicted to opiates for 15 years, she fights every day to keep him alive, friends and family don’t understand and faded away. Sheila described stigma through a story about how some alcoholics she knows to try to hide their addiction and she felt this makes the addiction worse, with less stigma maybe they would not go so far down the path. Would not have to hide it. Have the ability to openly talk about it.

Beth felt that most people make a judgment when they hear that someone is an IV drug user, even doctors.

They provide care, and it is special care. Beth describes a situation with antibiotics for abscesses when many times people dealing with addiction leave the hospital earlier than recommended to use drugs to get high. She feels people are going to judge. She felt many times people with addiction do not want the care. She had to choose between them and the people who want the care she provided. People will judge others for using drugs and having that problem. Mary asserted that we need to understand that some people do not want to stop. It can take many tries. It can take a person’s life. Edward felt that there is a lack of understanding of others about addiction and that people who are dealing with addiction might lack the fortitude and inner strength to overcome it. What could we do? Edward thinks prevention and education can help. Increasing the discussion about addiction at an early age. The discussion has to go farther than saying no. More conversations about addiction.

Dr. Tedd Levin feels that stigma prevents people from coming to the doctor especially if there is a mental health component to the addiction. People in society think of addiction as a moral weakness and it is not as accepted as other diseases. This creates a barrier for individuals with addiction. Angel felt that stigma is just a blame game. It is easier to blame others. It is also uncomfortable, in the midst of addiction people can be unpredictable, scary, and hard to relate to. Paige tries very hard not to place judgment. She feels that the stigma is changing now and people are starting to realize that addiction can hit anyone. She felt that up to a few years ago people using were more looked down on than now. People realize now that nobody is above addiction it can be anyone’s husband or wife.

Chief Jason feels like stigma comes from a lack of understanding and all the package that comes with addiction like stealing and lies. He feels like keeping people involved, education, and awareness about addiction and what comes with it would help decrease stigma with education being the biggest part. Kayla added that addiction is taboo to talk about unless someone is at an AA meeting or a safe place. She does not personally understand why, yet also understands why people would want to be in a safe place to talk about it. To decrease stigma in our society Kayla feels that we need to talk about addiction more, need to say what addiction means, talk about the signs and symptoms of addiction, or what can turn into an addiction. Let’s look at the cause of how people ended up using drugs or meth for example and not judge. It is so easy to judge others, and we need to hear the story. Kayla feels like having people’s stories told would help decrease the stigma against addiction. Talk about experiences they had. Just talk more about it, addictions should not be taboo, acknowledge their existence and understand this can happen to anybody.

Rory feels stigma in general is ignorance. People don’t understand. They do not know. They blame the person dealing with addiction.

Could anyone blame someone with depression?

He feels that the American tradition is to blame because they failed somehow, they don’t have the moral strength of others to say no to addiction. He thinks there is still a lot of shaming done even by the media through television. He gets into politics at this point. He feels it goes high in the hierarchy of our political structure when it comes to shaming others. Rory asserts he is not ashamed; he will tell anyone his story. It should be stigma-free, yet it is not, why he asks? Teach people to have courage, and ask for help. He feels like it is another American tradition that we don’t ask for help, it is considered shameful to ask for help. He feels this is very unique to our culture.

Diana stated that dealing with the stigma of addiction was very hard for her daughter in a small town. The stigma encourages users to go back to using. They don’t want to deal with ridicule or being shunned. Acceptance had gotten better, and it still needs to get way better. She gives an example of her daughter, when she was looking for a job, her daughter always felt that the interviewer was reluctant to give her the opportunity because of her past. This created a lot of discouragement.

“How will I ever pass this?” — she asked.

Diana encouraged her, just fight through it, keep fighting. Diana describes an experience with commercials related to stigma in television and how they have been cut off during the past year. Why don’t they let them run the whole ad to help people with stigma she asks? Good question. Why do ads get cut off? She got really angry about this, especially during the mental health treatment month last year.

Chloe describes judgments on people that she had seen with alcohol and drug use. She feels that the judgments are there because they tend to hurt other people. This creates other people not want to be around them. She describes making judgments every day about people walking by her. She would not say bad things out loud and might avoid people on the street because of their addictions. Janett describes having a lot of respect for people who made it through addictions and she never judges them. She knows that if she would have gone through what they had to go through in their lives or had their genetics she might be in the same place as them. It would be good, Janett thought if we talk more about addictions to help break down the stigma. Share with others what happened to people with addictions. It can go either way.

People can be supportive or not, it could cause trouble in the workplace. It is ultimately an individual choice to share. Stigma can create a lot of barriers. Janett describes a country where they changed how they are doing counseling and people told families friends about their addictions and they were supportive of them. This helped them become and remain sober because of all the support that surrounded them. Of course, people need to be supportive for this to happen Janett asserts. Could someone tell their boss that they have a problem with alcohol?

Albert felt that he was never judgmental about others. He would still hang out with people regardless of what others said if that person used alcohol or was perceived as a “bad kid”. He never felt that way. It does not mean he had to do what that kid is doing he asserts. Don’t have to be writing that person off. He has to be empathetic to do the kind of work he does. People do mess up, and it is easy to jump into judgment. There is a lot of stigma in addiction-like” oh those meth heads out there wrecking the cars”. Some people are struggling with addiction and are doing stupid stuff like committing crimes that are a real problem. Albert feels it is counterproductive to assume and say things that if someone using drugs, they are a criminal or a scum bag for example. He feels that just building a culture like that is not helpful. Places like safe injection sites could be helpful to bring people out of the shadows.

Dr. Beatty feels that movies and TV shows, news, and commercials can help remove the stigma around addictions and mental health issues. More visual makes it more acceptable. Talk about it in a way to promote equality. Treat everybody equally.

Can we just treat everybody like a human being no matter where they form what is their background, what color they are, and what religion they believe in?

We are all human, after all, have the same genetic makeup, and we are all related. Why then do we still treat others as something so different, something so hated? Is it the lack of self-understanding, self-reflection, culture, and upbringing? Do we hate someone just because they are different? Dr. Beatty was telling me that California is very open when it comes to the gay population and gay marriage while other states are not. Same with countries, some countries still do not accept gay marriage. Why do we even need to name things and create different groups to fight for rights? Aren’t we all the same? People could be more accepting of each other and not bring hate in their name or anyone else’s name either. All of this comes back to stigma, greed, and judgment. Some people and leaders think they are better than others.

Brenda tells me about stigma and addiction. Some people will admit that they have an addiction, they get it, and they don’t want to do anything about it. There are also a lot of people who don’t want to admit that they have a problem. Brenda feels that part of that has to do with the stigma. Brenda gives me an example of her patients. Patients have more difficulty saying that they have an opiate dependence than saying that they have pain and need medication for it. Trying to have a conversation with people and explaining the physiology behind it, the social benefit of recognizing what they have to be able to create a treatment plan. Admitting dependence on something is huge for people, then dealing with how society looks down on them because of it is very difficult. It is another barrier they need to face Brenda asserts. Treating people with no judgment is super important to Brenda.

Susan felt like when she went to school others had judged her family based on her brother’s addiction. She would defend them.

Thank you for reading,

Gabriella

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This book is dedicated to the memory of Bagóczky József my uncle who died at age 19 — alcohol-related car accident and to everyone else who has been hurt or lost related to addiction

Many people had been supportive and inspiring to me so I could create this book. Both of my wonderful children told me, just write that book, mom. My mom. I could have not done this without all the stories provided and the encouragement love and caring from my family and friends, nurses, doctors, counselors, teachers, professors, friends who are dealing with addiction and staying sober; and children, wives, husbands, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers of people who are dealing with addiction currently. Thank you for speaking up, sharing your stories and life experiences. Thank you to all the people who read this book while in progress to provide feedback, ideas, and encouragement for me to continue writing. I would like to say special thanks to my friends and family for believing me and encouraging me to go on.

Our Society: Addiction and More Uncovered. Hear the voices of everyday people — a collection of stories and experiences.

Copyright @ 2020. 1st addition on Amazon KDP. 2nd addition Jan 2021 Barnes & Noble. Gumroad December 2021. By Dr. Gabriella Kőrösi. All rights reserved. Dancing Elephants Press.