Addiction is far worse than most people think. It’s a disease that takes over who people are at their core, and turns them inside out. It disrupts peoples’ bodies and minds and makes them someone they are not. The nature of addiction is to bring out the worst parts in people, and put it on display for the world to see. Not only does it hurt the people who are suffering from substance abuse, but it hurts their family and friends who are losing someone close to them. Addiction ruins everything, and the reality of the disease is something so sinister that most people don’t truly understand how it is affecting people.
It’s interesting to think about how out of the loop people are when it comes to understanding addiction. This misunderstanding or lack of knowledge contributes to the stigmatization of the disease, setting people back further instead of encouraging people to get help. One of the biggest stigmas people believe is that people brought addiction onto themselves, and they are lazy for letting themselves go. This is not necessarily the case for most people. People do not realize that addiction is a disease that changes peoples’ physical and mental appearance. Addiction is something that manifests in their body like a parasite, they did not ask to be addicted, it just happened. That’s why debunking these misconceptions and meeting people with open arms to help them get to the other side of their addiction is so important.
Millions of people across the United States are struggling with this disease. At least 21 million people have at least one addiction, and a small minority of those people are actually seeking treatment. 25% of people who use illicit drugs end up developing an addiction. These numbers show that addiction is a real problem, and that there is a much needed awareness to highlight just how many people are affected by this disease.
Substance abuse transforms people physically and mentally, making them unrecognizable to the people they love. Instead of placing blame on the people suffering, it’s important to stick with them through thick and thin, meeting them in a place of love and compassion. People with addiction need a constant support system even if recovery seems impossible. It might be hard to understand someone you do not fully recognize, but that’s what addiction does. The only way out is through, and that’s why bringing awareness to the disease can help people become themselves again.
Jim Hight discusses this in his new novel, “Moon Over Humboldt.” Hight draws upon his own experiences of marijuana addiction to highlight just how the disease transforms people into something they are not.
“Recognizing just how different addicts are—and how differently a son or daughter behaves once addiction has taken hold—is vitally important for the parents of addicts. As David Sheff wrote so heartbreakingly in Beautiful Boy, when addiction took over his son’s life, the boy he once knew and trusted was replaced by someone who would lie, cheat, steal, and endanger his family to get drugs.”
This is the reality of addiction, it breaks people down and flips them inside out. The stigmas surrounding addiction are just that, stigmas. They are not always true and only bring more hurt and pain to those who are already suffering.
September is Addiction Awareness Month and it’s the perfect time to put biases aside, and dive deeper into understanding the disease. Doing research to get more knowledge on how addiction rewires peoples’ brains, the physical effects of the disease, and how it can create more personal issues for people suffering is a great way to debunk these misconceptions. People don’t know what they don’t know, and that’s why this month is necessary. It can bring people on all levels together for the better. Highlighting recovery resources for people and being an avenue of support and love is the best way for them to get help. The reality of addiction is far worse than people realize, and education can help people gain a much needed insight.