Addiction is a chronic brain disease, which is often defined by its pathological inability to stop consuming drugs or alcohol. Even with certain dangers or health risks, people with a substance addiction continue to use. Numerous elements like psychological, social, and chemical components make addiction very difficult to permanently break.
Addiction and Shame
Substance abuse is often hidden in secrecy and shame and can become further enmeshed in denial, when a person is confronted. However, addiction becomes more severe the longer a person has it and the longer they deny it.
Cultural and societal factors often exacerbate addiction due to the shame surrounding it. According to psychologist Mary Lamias, Ph.D.:
“Shame informs you of an internal state of inadequacy, unworthiness, dishonor, or regret about which others may or may not be aware.”
Shame is a powerful emotion. And its influence matters a great deal, though most people won’t admit it. An individual’s sense of self can often be regulated (or harmed) by shame. The more culture creates a sense of shame and negativity about addiction, the more people will look at themselves as being unworthy or broken. They may hide their addiction and their need for help even more.
As the inner workings around addiction continue to be misunderstood, shame becomes stronger and buried deeper. The majority of addiction is rooted in shame, which is why many individuals fear to be vulnerable and ask for help. This is a major roadblock to recovery.
Typically, when addicts are at the cusp of seeking and starting treatment several things have happened. They have had huge conflicts with family and friends, they have been terminated from their job, or (on the more severe end) they have been caught committing a crime to support their habit. At this point, an intervention occurs – which is conducted by a licensed drug and alcohol counselor, and the individual often has no choice but to commit to treatment.
Even in the face of an intervention, addicts may have trouble admitting their addiction because of how they will be viewed or because they may feel ashamed of what they did while they were under the influence.
Understanding the Origins of Addiction
The origins of an addiction are based in toxic shame. Whether it is neglect, abandonment, or abuse of any kind, if it occurred for a prolonged period of time there are definite correlations between that trauma and addiction. Addicts need to understand those past factors as a way to understand the complete picture. For so long, they probably avoided or suppressed that pain. But in order to move on, they must face it head on.
The Stigma of Addiction
People who do not have experience with knowing someone with an addiction problem, have negative stereotypes of what addiction looks like. Sometimes people connect it with homelessness or abusive homes. While this may be true in certain instances, there is no definitive portrait for what a recovering substance abuser looks like or what their circumstances might be. Research shows that addiction may develop because of a combination of reasons like DNA, environmental factors, past history, and chemical imbalances to name a few. Addiction can affect anyone.
However, the stigma around people who turn to drugs or alcohol is negative and damaging. Most people don’t seek help because they are afraid of the stigma of being defined and labeled. It’s summarized best in the snippet below from this article by the The Fix:
“Stigma is what says your drug and alcohol use is a character flaw. It’s why you would rather lie than tell someone that you are not doing okay. It was why I would rather steal than let people know I needed help.”
People who do not any idea about what addiction entails may think that addicts have no self-control. Sometimes they are thought of as selfish or weak. For instance, if a celebrity appears in the news for entering a rehabilitation program, the public consensus is rarely, I wonder if he or she is okay?
The negativity around addiction is pervasive in today’s culture. One of the ways to fight that stigma is to talk frequently, openly, and honestly about personal struggles and stories about addiction and recovery. Non-profit outlets like Stigma Fighters, provide an outlet for people write it all down, either anonymously, with a pen name, or with your real name. They provide a safe place to release shame and fight stigma about mental illness. Writing or journaling has also been shown to have powerful healing effects.
People create a strong sense of understanding when they are forthcoming with their struggles. Discussing reasons for turning to substance abuse may shed light on interpersonal relationships and the origins of a serious mental illness.
Pushing Back Against Shame and Stigma
Addicts who feel shame from the stigma of addiction can do a lot to become more resilient in recovery. Connect with others. Create a circle of support. No one will understand your journey more than fellow peers in sober living. Growing a network of healthy and sober individuals will help you develop strength not only for when you leave recovery, but also for your work as an independently recovering addict in the future.
Your strength lies in your story and understanding. Empathy is an important lesson often learned in therapy and 12 Steps meetings. There you have the opportunity to listen, be heard, and share. Compassion and empathy from these experiences help eliminate personal shame and fight the stigma you may have buried beneath about what it means to be an addict. There should be no shame surrounding your experiences. Mistakes are part of being human, but so is the chance to rectify things and look towards the future.
Sharing Your Story
Confronting trauma is a way to heal from the inside out. In doing so, you get to the root cause of your disorder and you face the very origins that made you feel like you couldn’t handle it, when instead you had to turn to something else to numb the pain.
But that is in the past. Fight for your sobriety by sharing your story with others. Don’t waste a second in therapy. Speak openly and honestly with your therapist and in group sessions. By releasing your past pain, you fight the stigma of addiction by showing the resiliency of recovery. Fearlessly telling your story without hesitation, frees you and empowers others to do the same.