You Can Change The Stigma of Drug Addiction

Addiction is a brain disease!

Why does it still carry a bad stigma?

A lot of people think addiction is a moral failing. The National Institute on Drug Abuse defines addiction as a ‘chronic, relapsing brain disease” that changes the structure and functionality of the brain. So why are they referred to as junkies, freaks, alcoholics, crackheads and drunks?

The answer is, because that’s always the way addicts have been referred to. Most of them are thought of as criminals. Addiction and mental health problems are still spoken of in hushed tones, and patients and their families are still blamed.

As a mother of two addicts, I did blame myself in the beginning. But now I’ve learned that it’s a disease. They have to make their own decisions. Those with addictive disorders are considered weak. Addiction comes with a second punch in the gut: the burden of being treated like a second-class citizen and expected to act accordingly.

Most addicts fail to get help partly because they will be labeled an “addict” and the stigma with Stick! If you ask the question, “Would you rather go to treatment or die?”, presumably nobody would choose death, but that’s how it often goes. If we stop with the stigma, take guilt and shame away, people would find it easier to make a realistic, objective assessment of their substance misuse and discuss it openly with a health care provider.

Can you think of other situations in which the health care system abdicated responsibility for dealing with a health care issue that afflicts such a huge segment of the population? For far too long, addicts seeking treatment, got no reception from the medical community. Doctors have been slow to recognize addiction as treatable, so they were forced to find help outside the medical community. The 12-step program has helped many, but the ones that it didn’t help, were reluctant to return to their physician.

It is routine in mental health practice for persons with substance misuse problems to be discharged from treatment when substance misuse is revealed. They’re told that their addiction renders them “unavailable” for the work of psychotherapy and they need to get clean first at a substance abuse treatment center. And whatever issues seem paramount to them are just the drugs talking.

Given its huge cost to society, addiction should be funded and paid for on a level playing field with medical problems. Where substances are concerned, people go to jail for the possession of something that is part and parcel of their addiction, unlike the diabetic caught buying sugar-filled products.

The money the government spends on incarceration should be spent on treatment and prevention. Here again, the stigma is at the roots; blaming, punishing and making moral judgements. Instead they should provide treatment and other help that would change behavior.

The more of a stigmatizing stance one takes towards substance misuse the more likely one is to support criminalization of drug offenses and is less likely to support insurance coverage and treatment for drug addiction. Taking the stigma out of addiction argues for prevention and treatment as opposed to prosecution and incarceration.

It is critical to recovery that treatment programs not send messages to patients that are blaming (for relapse) and shaming (for being weak). People enter treatment at a vulnerable moment, psychologically, and in terms of their brain chemistry. Patients have spent a lifetime trying to silence the “inner critic” that repeats “I’m-not-good-enough” messages, so it’s critical that the culture and language of treatment provide a healthy soil in which patients can grow seeds of hope that are vital to recovery.

When people obtain a stable recovery they are always presumed to be on the verge of relapse. The label, stigma and shame with drug abuse is always there – Once An Addict, Always An Addict. This has an enormous impact on their lives every day—in the community, in the family, in social networks.

The stigma of addiction is built in to foundational aspects of society, especially those in social networks that are necessary for people to rebuild their lives. What if there was no stigma in addiction? The “addict” role would not last a lifetime.

Those in recovery from addiction face ongoing stigma and discrimination. And are faced with obstacles, especially those who have been in treatment or in the criminal justice system for chemical dependency. People in recovery have a harder time finding and keeping jobs, getting licenses, food stamps, benefits that help their children.

Things need to change! Having struggled with addiction in the past should not make life that much more difficult now.

So what do you think? Can you help get rid of the stigma?

You can read “What Is Heroin”

 

This information is from Richard Juman, a licensed clinical psychologist who has worked in the field of addiction for over 25 years, providing direct clinical care, supervision, program development and administration across multiple settings. A specialist in geriatric care and organizational change, he is also the president of the New York State Psychological Association. His email is ; he tweets at twitter:@richardjuman.

 

 

 

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