Addiction is a disease that has been stigmatized for far too long. People with substance use disorders are often shamed or blamed for their addiction, leading them to believe that it is a moral failing rather than a medical condition. This stigma is dangerous because it can prevent individuals from seeking the help they need to recover.
It’s vital to explore the stigma surrounding addiction, the facts related to it, and the risks associated with it. This will help people understand how to support a loved one who is struggling with addiction.
An Introduction To The Stigma Surrounding Addiction: Everything You Should Know
Stigma is when a particular group is discriminated against based on an identifiable factor like religion, race, place, medical condition, and similar other attributes. Unfortunately, one of the groups that face stigma and discrimination is individuals who struggle with addiction.
Addiction is a disease that affects millions of individuals around the world. However, the stigma surrounding addiction still persists, and many people view those struggling with addiction as morally weak or lacking in willpower.
This way of thinking is not only inaccurate but also harmful, as it discourages individuals from seeking the help they need to recover. Although we have come a long way in the understanding of mental illness and addiction, these conditions are still stigmatized and labeled with derogatory terms.
It’s important to remember that addiction is a diagnosable disease that requires treatment, and every individual deserves empathy and support instead of judgment and shame.
Understanding Addiction Better To Break The Barrier
Addiction is a complicated and multifaceted disease affecting people all over the world. One reason why addiction is so difficult to break is due to the way it affects the brain’s natural reward system.
Drugs alter the ability of a person to think clearly and make decisions with a sound mind. The chemicals in the drugs send the wrong information to the brain. The result? The person is inclined to use the substance compulsively.
Substances like drugs and alcohol can release dopamine. Remember that dopamine is the hormone responsible for sending signals related to reward and pleasure to the brain. Therefore, when someone experiences this intense euphoria from substance use, it reinforces the compulsion to continue using the substances, contributing to the cycle of addiction.
This vicious cycle reinforces the stigma that surrounds addiction, as people often attribute addiction solely to a lack of willpower or moral failing rather than a complex neurological process.
Practically anyone can develop an addiction. Some risk factors have been identified which can help you unearth the case of substance use disorder better.
- Having family members dependent on drugs
- Childhood trauma like neglect, abuse, or mistreatment
- No family support
- Experience of violence
- Poverty and Lack of economic opportunities
- Facing racism
Why The Stigma Of Addiction Can Be A Problem
Addiction stigma can be pretty harmful and lead to dangerous consequences. Indeed, it can be a significant factor that prevents people from seeking the help they need.
This reluctance to seek treatment can worsen their conditions and potentially cause irreversible harm. Stigma can even negatively affect healthcare workers’ perceptions. As a result, the care they offer to individuals with addiction can be compromised too.
Those who face bias or judgment due to their addiction wrongly can find it difficult to gain access to healthcare resources. Hence, their treatment becomes an even bigger challenge. These problems foster feelings of fear, anger, and pity within them and detach them from others.
Ultimately, they struggle to form a support system which in turn hinders their recovery and contributes to the vicious addiction cycle.
What Can Be Done To Reduce The Stigma Of Addiction?
The first step in reducing the stigma around addiction is education. Measures need to be taken to educate people more about the disease. This is because most of the stigmas related to addiction can be attributed to assumptions and misinformation. They are seldom based on facts.
Encouraging everyone to treat others with respect and dignity can play a vital role in reducing stigma. This will also help ensure that those who struggle with addiction don’t hesitate to reach out for help.
Some attention also needs to be paid to the language being used to describe addiction. This can be crucial for reducing stigma. Even simple words can affect the perception surrounding people with substance use disorder.
Yes, language is definitely among the most significant factors. In fact, studies have shown that language choice alters a health professional’s approach to addiction treatment to a large extent. Labels that can promote addiction stigma include abuser, addict, and alcoholic.
If we want to reduce the addiction stigma, the use of such labels has to be discouraged. It’s advisable to use person-centered language instead of labels that can create a negative perception in society. Remember, people with addiction have a disease. It’s up to us to ensure that this disease does not become their identity.
Family members and loved ones of people dealing with addiction should make an attempt to educate themselves about addiction so that they can provide facts. This will help them break the stigma and help their loved ones in the best way possible. They can attend therapy appointments for this too. There are other measures that can be taken to break the stigma too.
For one thing, don’t hesitate to step up and be an advocate. Be open to sharing your experience with others and presenting them with fact-based information about addiction. Make an effort to empower the patients, which will help wash away the stigma.
Use every available opportunity to talk about addiction and how it’s a disease. Your community must have plenty of public events. Use them to celebrate addiction recovery. And, of course, give up your own bias. Get rid of thoughts and judgments that can prevent you from treating addiction like a disease.
Encourage Everyone To Seek Help For Addiction
Addiction is a disease that needs to be treated timely to prevent disastrous consequences. It’s up to us to ensure that society does not become a reason for anyone to be hesitant to seek help when they need it.
If you or anyone close to you is suffering from addiction, don’t fight the battle alone. Let Akasha Recovery provide you with the assistance needed to put you on the road to recovery.