Addiction Recovery

Breaking Down Stigmas Around Addiction

TO EACH HIS OWN –

Dec. 4, 2024 – Stigmas can result in poor mental health, physical harm, lack of understanding  and fewer opportunities. I saw this firsthand with my brother and the stigmas that were put onto him and by extension my family. 

Substance Abuse Disorder  has been defined as a medical condition of the brain by the American Addiction Center, yet there is still debate whether addiction is a true medical condition or simply a choice someone makes. Being from a small town in Florida, it’s hard to have any kind of moral failing without everyone dissecting your every flaw. Because of my brother’s issue with substance abuse, he experienced people constantly discussing his “failings.”  Stigmas were hung over him from a young age, making him feel outcasted. This kind of harmful speech only worked to further his feeling of isolation. 

As a society, we have worked hard to rid our world of hateful stigmas, from race to gender to class. Yet why as a society have we allowed Substance Abuse Disorder to be the final frontier of socially acceptable shame? 

CONTINUE@Gargoyle

C Luke

Recent Posts

Zakir Hussain – Indian tabla maestro – passes at 73

AUDIO – THE MAESTRO Dec. 15, 2024 - Hussain died at 3:42 p.m. at UCSF surrounded…

18 hours ago

Elton John Says Legalizing Marijuana Is “One of the Greatest Mistakes of All Time” i.e. Black and Latinos Should Still Be Thrown Into Prison Every Day

SATURDAY NIGHT'S ALRIGHT FOR FIGHTING – Dec. 11, 2024 - “I maintain that it’s addictive. It…

5 days ago

Alcohol Deaths Doubled Since 1999

VIDEO – LIVER DIE – Dec. 2, 2024 - The main causes of alcohol-related death…

7 days ago

A Revolutionary New Way of Understanding Addiction

READING MATTERS – St. Martin’s Press - Challenging both the idea of the addict’s “broken…

7 days ago

Jersey Shore’s Mike Sorrentino: ‘9 years clean and sober’

VIDEO – THE PROMISES COMING TRUE – Dec. 3, 2024 - He celebrated the major…

7 days ago

Phones in Spain Might Carry Health Warnings

LIKE CIGARETTES? – Dec. 4, 2024 - Proposals include banning digital devices for kids under…

7 days ago