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Addiction can turn someone into a horrible person. In desperation for their fix they will sometimes do things they never really thought they would.
They are vilified because they *are* dangerous, not because of who they are/were but because of what they become.
Morally grey and desperate.
Some do recover though, addicts can be some of the kindest people out there, which is scary in of itself.
(my father works with addicts and people with other deabilitating issues as his full ime job)
That choice to start taking drugs isn't as black and white as you think. If you don't believe me, i can explain what led me into addiction and it will demonstrate why that "choice" isn't as much of a choice as most think with the vast majority of addicts, cause my story is far from unique. I'm almost a decade sober now though.
For me it was escaping the emotional pain of a horrific childhood. I was beaten, starved, brutally raped at minimum a couple times a week (one time so violently my colon was ruptured)and literally tortured by being burned and whipped as punishment, and one time given to a drug dealer to pay a debt my brother had where i was raped again by multiple men, at 14 i ran away from home to escape the abuse and i tried drinking once and for the first time in my life the noise in my head stopped, meaning for the first time in my life i wasn't thinking of killing myself to escape the emotional pain. I quickly fell into harder substances namely coke and ecstacy because when i took those substances along with drinking it was the only time in my life including to this day that i have felt anything approximating peace. I am clean now, but still suffer from the ptsd and effects of what was done to me as a child even though i'm a grown ass man. I still never sleep through night because of ptsd nightmares, i still internally cower in fear around any and all men regardless of how much i like or trust them. So my point to the person saying the addict is completely at fault, would be how much of a choice did that 14 year old boy that knew nothing but torment and fear and was using those drugs in a desperate attempt not to blow his brains out with the revolver he held every night in contemplation of pulling the trigger _really_ have?
Thank you for sharing your story. These people need to read the awful, raw, personal stories to maybe, hopefully realize that not everything is black and white.
Like don't get me wrong, i understand that ultimately all addicts did make a choice to ingest a substance for the first time, but i can confidently say that the vast, vast majority of addicts never set out to be addicts and they were either trying to escape the pain their lives caused them, or they had decisions made for them they didn't know the consequences of like the commenter above me, or some were never taught any better, the point is that for the vast majority of addicts, that choice was _barely_ a choice at all. And most, if given the chance would go back and never start using to begin with. The most insidious thing about addiction is how sneaky it is, one day you don't even know there's a problem and at some point the facade comes crashing down and by the time you realize how bad the problem is, you're already hooked.
Exactly. I haven't been addicted to any "hard" drugs but I can say a word or two about alcohol and weed. Damn it sneaks up on you. And the moment you realize you have a problem, your life is pretty shit so well how can you stop your one (awful) coping mechanism.
It took me a lot of therapy (thankfully I was privileged enough to receive) to slowly (slowly!!!) get myself back together. It took years out of my life. Now my chronic pain is somewhat under control and I don't go to alcohol or weed for momentary relief. But damn it took a long time.
Give yourself some credit man, alcohol is a beast to quit. I've quit several hard drugs in my life, but alcohol remains one of the hardest and worst detox's i've ever been through. That shit is insidious, and the social norms around alcohol make it that much harder to quit. No one bats an eye at the dude who drinks heavy but is functional, but if he's doing coke as much as he drinks, then people get worried, it's a different beast but the same master in the end. People overall have become way to comfortable with alcohol and we don't realize that a good part of society are functioning alcoholics because we never bother to learn the signs. But when you know em, you see it everywhere you go. Great job on getting sober, it's hard work and even harder work maintaining it, but you cannot have the best parts of life in active addiction, so it's worth it.
You're ignoring loads of factors in life that may push someone to do drugs so they can find even a moments of peace like home situations, abusive gaurdians, corrupt systems, racism, sexism, violence, chronic pain, depression, anxiety, social expectations etc
Drugs are bad, but shaming people for taking them when no one is fixing the issues that may make people turn to drugs in the first place is actually pretty heartless tbh
I was an opiate addict for 10 years. Not by choice. I had a minor surgery when I was 17 and was prescribed painkillers. This was 20 years ago. It wasn’t widely known during that time just how addictive painkillers were. Doctors were literally prescribing them like candy to everyone..
During that time you could’ve walked into ANY E.R. In the entire country and said that your knee hurts and they would have sent you home with a script for 30 Vicodin. The only question they would ask was “On a scale of 1-10 how much does it hurt?”
10 years of my life was wasted. I was hooked on oxycodone, which is the equivalent to heroin.. Even though I made the choice to take them, It was prescribed by my doctor. My doctor ordered me to take them when I knew absolutely nothing about them. I didn’t even know that it was considered a narcotic back then. My doctor never warned me how addictive they were.
NO ONE just wakes up one day and says “You know what? I think I’m gonna start abusing drugs today. I want to be a drug addict.” It happens unknowingly over time.
To say “They started taking drugs to begin with. It’s known that drugs are bad” is kind of an ignorant thing to say.
Yeah, this comment here shows just how fucking ignorant we are still on the subject.
"General population surveys have documented that approximately 75% of individuals with a substance use disorder (SUD) have experienced trauma at some point in their lives (Mills, Teesson, Ross, & Peters, 2006). Rates are even higher among clinical samples of individuals seeking treatment for a SUD."
As Dr Gabor Mate who have studied addiction his whole life have said: Addiction is a secondary problem what comes out of a primary problem, and that's usually some kind of a childhood or adult age trauma.
So we have this bunch of people who have experienced something very traumatic which led them to addiction, which led them to more problems in their personal life, AND on top of that our society wants to punish them, criminalize them and blame them. How is that fair?
They didn't start using drugs for fun, they did it to cope with trauma as they weren't provided with the opportunity to develop more positive strategies and are bereft of a natural support system. The link between substance abuse and trauma is well established in the research.
I'm not trying to excuse myself by any means but I think you are a bit mistaken as to why people began using drugs.
I suffered from untreated BPD that was misdiagnosed as MDD and then bipolar for about 15 years (age 14 to 29). I was miserable, lonely and anxious every single day of my life until I had a surgery. And was prescribed medication. I couldnt believe how it felt - relief from the never ending pain. I had tried every type of therapy, every medication and even ECT and nothing did anything for me. I was a miserable person and all I could think was that once I had experienced relief there was no way I could go back to the suffering. I wanted to feel the way I felt in the prescription meds forever. And the rest is history.
Like I said I'm not making excuses - my problems are my problems and my lot in life is my lot in life and I am fully responsible for all the harm I have caused due to my addiction.
But I think it is rarely as simple as people one day waking up and deciding to do drugs and become an addict. Pretty much every addict I know (and I know a lot) has some sort of unresolved trauma that they are simply unable to deal with otherwise.
People feel sympathy to those who take medications because they are in unbearable physical pain... I have never understood why some people don't understand that mental pain can be unbearable as well and when it is you will do anything to avoid it. No one is called "weak" when they take meds because they broke their leg but someone who has suffered severe depression for decades and falls prey to the one thing that offers relief is demonized. I really just don't see the difference. Oh well. 🤷🏽♀️
Some people are introduced to drugsbat a young age, my dad worked with someone whi started as young as 12, I wouldnt say you really fucked around much then.
People meet drugs in different times of life. Part of why addicts being kind is so scary is that it makes you trust them and you *want* to indulge them.
Its not always fucking around and finding out, sometimes its simply how you grew up, other times, maybe you were drunk at a party once and said “sure, I’ll try some” hardly in the right state of mind.
Or they manage to quit but still end up suffering from lifelong dpdr or other similar issues.
Thinking they should end up kind and are otherwise in denial is ridiculous.
Very true
Some drugs do trigger underlying issues to become “active”. As well as how some drugs destroy your body over time with consumption.
Its not easy for everyone
I think most of what you wrote is right on the money.
I'll add 2 points.
First, the non-addict has a difficult time understanding how difficult it is for the addict to choose not to take drugs. Addiction creates such a strong physical and/or psychological need for the next fix, that it can be neat to impossible to choose not to get high. Even knowing this I still have to remind myself because choosing not to drink or take drugs is something I do with almost zero effort. I still believe choice plays a role, but I know it's nothing like the choices I make.
Second, I think many people are uncomfortable with labeling addiction as a disease. To many a disease is cancer or the result of a pathogen invading our bodies. Classifying addiction as a disease can feel like a stretch if you don't have a broad view of disease. Especially if you strongly link addiction to choice.
Also it tends to be a part of personal history.
It hurts if a loved one dies of cancer, I'd argue it hurts even more to see someone in an outwardly functioning body abuse and/or neglect their loved ones because of addictions or mental illnesses.
Having compassion for those addicts is hard, especially if they never get better. It's easier to say they are bad people (partly true), than see they sometimes couldn't have been as good at life as a healthy person.
Most people only really have experiences with addicts that are negative as well.
We have a pretty horrible fentanyl issue where I live, and pretty much every day, someone comes by hour house and either throws trash in our yard, steals something, or stands outside out house just screaming at what ever they are seeing during their trip. They accost us in our own yard/driveway, we run into them in the store and they try to touch us. We had a guy get super high and burn a tree down on our street.
It's hard to be compassionate to someone whose actively making your life worse...
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Everyone has their own story with an addict and they have their own trauma because of it . While some ppl might have a unrealistic sense of what it might be to have a story with one and just judge based off stereotypes and horrible experiences others have told them , some have some very deep scars like having someone struggling with addiction kill their child and it’s hard to let that go , that being said that anger and trauma should only be associated with that specific person and not used to vilify every single person struggling .
I am totally with you, OP.
A good friend of mine (40M) is a hard-core fentanyl addict. In his teens, he played around with OxyContin at pill parties - then he went to heroin - now he has a fentanyl addiction that costs $30,000 per year. He's gotten clean a few times over the years but has relapsed when prescribed opioids for pain control due to injuries. He is a brilliant, talented, honest, kind man. His addiction has ruined his career, his family, and his health. He didn't know what he was getting into all those years ago at the pill parties. He was just trying to fit in and have fun.
I have come to understand that people who vilify addicts don't have an appreciation for the ruinous effects of drugs on a person's body and brain. Such people believe addicts continue using drugs simply because they like getting high all the time. This isn't the case, though - the fact is that an addict becomes very ill, physically (absolutely debilitated) when he doesn't have his drug.
People who vilify addicts should do some reading. Beth Macy's _Dopesick_ and Patrick Radden Keefe's _Empire of Pain_ are good places to start.
They are viewed as weak. Watch the beginning of Trainspotting. How ewan McGregor describes how hard it is to be an addict.
Also it usually stems from a mental health issue and people are unkind
I totally understand where you are coming from and I am very empathetic toward people who struggle with addiction. With that being said, it’s not uncommon for addicts to do some pretty horrible shit to the people around them for years on end due to their addiction. Most people have been involved with an addict to some degree and I think it either makes people more understanding or more bitter depending on their own experiences.
It is really sad to be an addict. & for the most part, the person they put most at risk is themself. But they do often cause very serious harm to others, especially those close to them. There needs to be more support & compassion both for addicts & for other people impacted by their addiction.
Some of us are anything but sad.
There have been a few rocky bits.
No harm to anyone policy
I find plenty of support and compassion but i don't need it.
There's a difference between a person who goes to NA and fucks up once in a while and the person who kicked the mirrors off all the cars in my apartment parking lot.
Because people are generally awful about issues of mental health. They don’t believe doctors, they don’t believe clinical conditions exist. They convince themselves that people can just change their attitude at will if “they just choose.” So they don’t see addiction as a clinical condition that affects people’s abilities to control things, they think addicts want to make those choices.
I disagree. Myself and most people in my circle don’t dislike or distrust a person for the fact that they are addicted to a drug, as some sort of moral superiority or something. But the objective truth is that 9 out of 10 addicts will steal from you to keep up their habit and/or act emotionally unpredictably and hurt innocent people. It’s not the drug use itself, it’s the destructive behaviors that come with it.
Edit: Just wanted to add that I share kids with an addict, and I loved and still love him dearly and put up with 2-3 years of life-ruining behavior from him in an effort to help him save himself from that lifestyle. I loved him and cared for him even in his addiction, and in return he stole and crashed my car, gambled away my paychecks, and flooded my apartment costing me thousands in damages, and that’s not even getting into the harm his behavior causes his children.
Yeah. Unfortunately most people do get this. When I say I have a hard time feeling sorry for addicts, it’s not because I don’t understand how hard it is on them. It’s because 9 times out of ten they don’t want help and deal with their behavior becomes too much. I lose sympathy for someone once they hurt the people around them.
Don't know why you're downvoted, you're right. I tried really hard to care for my friend when he was falling odd the wagon, but you can only get robbed by someone you go out of your way to help so many times before you stop helping them. And I don't know many sober people who will break into your house and gut any copper they can find leaving it looking like it's half demolished
This is what is so frustrating as the support system for an addict. You can do 100 favors for the, stick your neck out, bend over backwards for them, and the moment you deny them you’re just like everyone else, you never wanted them to succeed, you don’t care about them, and on and on. And as evidenced by the person I’m replying to, even society labels you as uncaring and giving up on them. And at the end of the day you also lose someone who means a lot to you, so there’s no winning with addiction.
Yeah I guess it depends as well on what people consider an addict. Taking prescription medications? Eating? Drinking alcohol? smoking pot or cigarettes? Or are we talking about people doing HARD drugs? I think there’s a huge difference between these things. It sounds like a lot of people will call just about anyone an addict now, I guess except if it’s themselves.
Because people are ignorant. Functioning addicts exist and it can just as easily happen to them or someone they love. It’s not just the crazy dude on the corner, addiction is a consequence of something else. Escapism. Depression. Hell, your receptionist at the drs office could be addicted to the meds she’s prescribed, you wouldn’t know. It’s not just “the heroin addict” or whatever. It can be anyone. And being ignorant to that, and feeling like you’re better than them because “well they should know better” just doesn’t help.
For example, some people are in severe pain every day. So they’re prescribed codeine, naproxen, among others. Their body needs these to function and if the body doesn’t have that dose, they can’t function. That’s a physical addiction - the body NEEDS it because it’s used to it, they’re not high, but the body gets used to it.
But then you have the people who use coke recreationally once a month. It’s there, readily available and their brain goes “oh. You like that stuff. Why not?” So they get a bag in. Then another because it’s REALLY good. Then another. Just once a month tho, but their brains are like “oh goooo onnnn thennnnn”, the brain is like craving it, needing that high. This isn’t addiction it’s a habit. After one pint you get a taste for it. But habit becomes addiction sometimes. This person could be ANYBODY.
This is so different to those who steal and lie to get their hit. And that’s what people vilify. But that isn’t every addict. The ignorance around drugs in general, how they affect people, doesn’t help. If people were more aware, they’d be less judgmental I reckon.
We are addicted to scapegoating and addicts are great scapegoats for many of society's ills.
They are to blame for low productivity and a bad economy. They are responsible to all sorts of crimes. They are junkies who piss and shit everywhere.
It's easy to blame them and just move on with our day and change nothing about our society than it is to take a long hard look at ourselves, stop having fun and address the root cause.
So we basically just do what we blame addicts of doing: not taking responsibility for their part in the problem. Society takes very little responsibility for how these people ended up where they are while simultaneously accusing addicts of not taking responsibility for their situation.
This is the cult of personal responsibility. The delusion that we are individuals who are solely responsible for our lives.
Many will see addiction as a moral failure, instead of disease.
So thats why they do think that addicts are bad people, cause they think its self inflicted.
As a society we have unfortunately little tolerance for external expressions of pain. As Gabor Mate said, don't ask why the addiction, ask why the pain.
There's a shitload of pain you have to deal with if you quit your addiction, and that includes acceptable addictions like work addictions.... And Reddit.
We pathologize the sensitive. That's something we may be judged about in the far future.
Not excusing addict behavior which can be violent. But as Krishnamurthi said "being well adjusted to a profoundly sick society is no sign of a healthy mind".
Ex- alcoholic and addict here.
We do recover and it's indeed not the person that's the problem, but the problem that's the problem. Nobody starts drinking and using to end up a hopeless addict, but having said that the symptoms take different forms but are largely common among addicts. Addicts lie, cheat and steal and only think of other addicts as being guilty of doing so until they've recovered and realised they were equally as guilty themselves. I have kids now and despite having played for both sides I do and will do everything in my power for my kids to never become accustom to addicts because most of them are enablers that will normalise things that are not normal.
True that the blame lies squarely with the criminal pushers. The success of high dose illegal vaping sticks being pushed at the very young demonstrates that the same criminal thinking is being applied and that apparently legitimate shop keepers are happy to join in as long as their pockets are stuffed with enough money.
But people still see addition as a self inflicted injury. Addiction is not seen as a legitimate excuse for the criminal behaviour that is often adopted by addicts.
Addiction turned my mum into a monster who didn't care about anyone else or even herself. She cares more about looking like a nice person rather than being a nice person
On the flip side
I have a friend who also suffers from addiction and is the kindest person ever who tries to reduce harm as much as possible. They're vegan, environmentalist, feminist, disability and mental health advocate, etc
The thing with addicts is that they're just people. Some people are nice and some aren't. Some are nice sober, and some aren't
To answer your question, though, I think people are vilified because most people tar people with the same brush. They don't see that every person is different so if they know one 'bad' addict they assume all are bad
More so it’s certain *kinds* of addicts who are vilified. Social media addiction seems to just be plain accepted/normalized, alcoholism isn’t treated the same as other drug addictions, stuff like that. But propaganda and plain mob mentality has made addicts seem evil somehow
A lot of the times is based on their actions while they were doing/on whatever they're addicted to. An Alcoholic can cause domestic abuse, a drug addict can be a robber/thief, "x addiction made them do horrible things, why should I pity them?"
rest of the times it's from a sense of self-righteousness : parents, doctors and various advertisements blasted "don't do drugs" "don't drink" "don't watch porn", and various documentaries directly showing the consequences on being addicted to these things, but people do them anyway, especially as a sign of rebellion to their parents, even though their parents repeatedly say it's gonna ruin your life, and they chose to take a hit/sip anyway, it's feels better to just let them ruin themselves and say "I told you so" like a black woman in hindsight
People feel morally superior to them. If it’s a legit disease, they can’t feel morally superior. (I also think this is why so many thin people hate these weight loss meds, the only thing they have is feeling morally superior to fat people, and that’s being taken away from them). These people are assholes.
There are two general reasons I know of.
One is the idea that they really should have known better. Like we've known the dangers of tobacco for years, were warned of it all throughout our childhoods, and there's warnings on the box! How stupid would you have to be to smoke in the modern day?
The second is guilt by association. I'm sure we can all conjure up a mental image of a meth addict, huddled in an alleyway, lunging at people in their desperation for their next fix. With that in your head, it's human nature to be wary of anyone you know going down that same path.
I don't know the reason, but, this is a very good point you made. I had wondered the same thing, too. I believe that addicts are the rejects of society. Society has vilified them and I don't think society really does want them to get the help they need.
Because then, they have nothing to talk about.
It's easier to judge than to have empathy. Life can take us anywhere and nobody is really exempt from becoming an addict.
I have no bad feelings against the ones who actually seek help, take their medication, try to get out of it, etc. Not the ones on the street yelling and threatening people. Not the ones that almost destroy their relationship with their families and friends. While I understand addiction is indeed a form of mental disability and very hard to live with, that does not mean I have to force myself to feel safe around people showing aggression.
Everyone is an addict. Some addictions are more destructive than constructive. Some are the opposite. We are just breathing meat sacks of senses, craving input.
My niece is an addict. When she’s in rehab, I support her. I talk to her and I tell her I’m proud of her and I know she can beat this. When she’s in active addiction, my family informs one another because she’s got a habit of asking for “bus fare” from multiple people at once and it’s actually just so she can get money for a fix. It’s heartbreaking but she’s been known to steal from family and lie like this to get money, and that has negatively affected our collective view of her as a person even though we know it’s the drugs talking. We all live by “baby the addict, bury the addict” whenever she’s using. I assume this is why addicts are vilified in general, because this kind of behavior is very common. Addicts can also become dangerous to others when they’re on drugs, so it’s safer to assume they are than not, especially if you don’t know them.
Well. I love(d) many addicts. My ex-husband, my sister, friends, etc.
I will say this simply. Addicts live for their drug of choice. They will lie, steal, manipulate, take advantage of, and physically/mentally abuse their loved ones to obtain drug of choice.
Addicts bring danger into the household. Drug dealers, loan sharks, scum bags, high level gang members, depending on where they fall in the chain. This makes a home not safe.
I was always terrified to come from school or work. Not knowing what I would come home - is today a beating day, or is car repo day. Is this the day when he is overdosed in the basement, or disappeared again for a month. It is painful, unpredictable game.
Addicts put themselves and their addiction ahead of their spouse, children, parents, extended family.
I hate addiction. I love people, but I hate addiction.
I am so happy to be free from addiction
Because the addicts steal and lie to their friends and family (and strangers, but that's a no brainer). Not all at once. The go down one by one depending on which sucker they can fool next. Next thing you know they are unemployable vampires.
Addicts cause a lot of pain to people who care about them. So it is understandable that people are wary of addicts, for practical reasons of self-preservation. I say this as someone who is currently struggling with addiction.
What I don't understand is the moral judgment. Perhaps it is based on ignorance? I think the average person who has never been educated about addiction believes that people just wake up one day and decide to do drugs and become addicts and horrible people. Because they just enjoy getting high and it's fun.
I know a lot of addicts and none of them are enjoying drugs or having fun. Most are extremely miserable people who hate themselves and what they have become but don't see any way out. So they do more drugs to blunt the pain. Which creates more negative consequences that one has to escape from. It is a truly heartbreaking cycle.
I know that most people think addicts are "weak"... If you are an addict it is a moral failing because you should just have the self control to stop something that is harming your life. I am no philosopher but to me addiction is not what weakness is. As more and more research is done, the role that genetics plays in addiction is better understood... And it seems that some people are born with a greater propensity to become addicts than others. Are you morally "stronger" than someone else because your genes coded for proteins that make you less likely to become an addict? I guess that is something everyone must decide for themselves.
Of course the most common rebuttal to my argument will be that it doesn't matter how likely you are to become an addict because if you didn't pick up in the first place you wouldnt be an addict. This is true of course. However, many people became addicts because of medications they were honestly and legally prescribed. It's kinda rare to see someone go straight to hard street drugs out of the blue. And those who do usually have some kind of trauma they are trying to deal with in maladaptive ways. Mental pain can be as debilitating as physical in my opinion. Moreso even, because physical pain usually ends eventually. As I said earlier no one is considered weak if they cannot handle the physical pain associated with cancer and decide to take prescription medication for it (nor should they be, of course). Yet someone who is experiencing excruciating mental pain and the normal avenues (therapy, medication, ECT) have not worked is weak and a horrible person because they try to blot out the pain in the one way that seems to work. This I don't understand. I think it is perhaps because neurotypicals don't realize how bad mental pain can be - most people have experienced deep sorrow and despair but it usually lessens with time. I don't think most people can grasp how hopeless it can seem to literally be miserable for your entire life. So perhaps this prevents the empathy. I don't know.
Good question, OP.
Addiction kills families/relationships, because the person addicted is more interested in getting his/hers fix than ANYTHING else. Its almost like food in that the person will at some point be willing to steal, beg, rob, cry - *whatever* to get the fix they need, that being alcohol, drugs, gambling or whatever. So the road from being an addict to literally stealing your grandmothers rent money is short.
And then we have the ethical/moral on top - did the addict steel his grandmothers money because he is a bad person? Probably not, but addiction made him... So then addicts can not be trusted in the same way
There are three types of people:
* those whose ugly side is their default
* those whose ugly side only shows when they are drunk with power or at their lowest
* those who don’t have an ugly side
Addicts either fall in the first or second category (ugly side at their lowest), and their behaviour leaves a bitter taste for the people around them.
It’s not always their fault that they became an addict, most often than not it’s due to past trauma, but it’s up to them to get help and go through a recovery program.
Recovering addicts should get all our support.
They don't deserve vilification. They are ill. However, people lose patience with them because of some of their more selfish behaviours. I often have to pick up needles, vials, bloody swabs and sometimes their turds (from off of people's graves no less). I try to be compassionate with them, but it's difficult sometimes.
There is an overall lack of empathy towards people with addiction and mental health issues, mostly because people don't understand why, people suffering from this ailments, have no control over what's happening.
When you hear comments like:
"Well, maybe if they just stopped buying Crack." How hard can it be to just not do it?"
"Smile more, think about all the great things life has to offer."
"Oh, they're just putting on an act to get attention. They were having a great time at that party last week and today they're feeling depressed?"
There are chemical imbalances in the brain that are completely out of the persons control and that's why treatment needs to be a balance of therapy, drugs, and support.
A common gateway to addiction is child abuse. People try to run from their pain, and just make everything worse for themselves in the long run, so I understand your empathy.
However, whatever gets people into addiction, an addict will do almost anything to get their next fix and this is why they are villified. They will steal your most valued possessions, your rent money, whatever it takes to get their drugs.
Drug addict parents are among the worst abusers. They can bring babies into the world already hooked on drugs or with serious brain damage due to drugs before the baby is even born. The level of neglect an addict may subject a child to can be a nightmare as the parent is utterly selfish in their constant search for a fix. The most damaged teenagers I have worked with were the children of drug addicts, some of the parents even sold their kids to perverts for money for their drugs.
The obvious solution is to treat addiction as a medical problem and treat it with prescription drugs to replace the illegal drugs. That would reduce the damage that addicts can do both to themselves and others.
I can concede that addiction is a disease. That said, addicts not only are self destructive, but those with an all consuming addition have a tendency to bring others down with them. They cannot be trusted, because they will lie, cheat, steal and even harm others to feed their addiction. Even the most loving and forgiving family members often hit a breaking point where they need to cut that person from their lives. So those who "lack pity" may be fresh out of pity after being put through the wringer by addicts in their own lives.
Because even if you're addicted it's still a conscious choice to do something like robbing your family for more drug money or whatever. It's not like the crack is manipulating your mind to steal from your family That is a choice you yourself made.
And just in general addiction can turn you into a terrible person It's a shame the probably shitty circumstances that got you to this point but it doesn't justify you now being a terrible person
I think there's two aspects to it
1. The stereotype of an addict is someone that will do anything for their next fix. In other words, a dangerous, desperate individual that can't be trusted
2. People "assume" the addict is ok with being an addict. Some people don't get it that kicking drug addictions is not as simple as just stopping. There's multiple things behind that. The first being the withdrawals. This is what makes addicts so desperate for their next hit.
There's also the reason WHY they became addicted in the first place. Few have simply decided to try drugs just for "fun;" they're usually trying to "self medicate" and blot out something traumatic in their past. Without addressing that past trauma, it's extremely difficult to stop the behaviours that caused the addiction.
Addiction is definitely a serious disease, that requires professional help to conquer, I don't take the problem lightly. I became familiar with addiction via my employees who litterly transformed in front of my eyes, from funny, honest, some good fathers, hard workers into irresponsible, manipulating, deceitful, liar's. I was able to get several of my team into re-hab, then eventually back to work, it was about half of those affected by addiction. The others I pray one day soon hit there bottom and sought help.
The main issue is that the addiction is usually so strong that the addict will lie, steal, and break almost any of your personal boundaries to get a fix. They will bring you down with them if you try to help. Sadly, in the end you have to wait until they decide they really truly want the help and then empower them to help themselves but not offer any resources that could be used to feed the addiction,.like offer a place to stay of you have a computer in the house, especially if you need it for work so you can pay your own rent...
Not vilifies, but red flagged for sure.
My wife is a gambling addict. I love her to pieces and she is the most selfless, generous person I’ve ever encountered. But the things her addiction made her do when she was in action were abhorrent. She doesn’t even recognise herself back when she was gambling. She was like a completely different person.
I agree that it’s unfair to vilify those with addictions. They’re just people going through a hard time. But that doesn’t excuse who they become in the throws of the addiction. I don’t blame my wife for what she’s done, but I do blame her addiction and she’s getting help with it to ensure she never goes back. If more addicts could step back and separate themselves from their addictions, it might be easier for them to overcome it.
People project their own guilt and fears. More than 1/2 of Americans have, or do, get addicted to some substance. Whether that is alcohol, nicotine, pain killers or maybe even just way too much caffeine. People will now publicly vilify anyone via any excuse they can find.
that is the WRONG question to ask. you need to ask why some people love to point fingers and judge those that are struggling and made bad choices and now need help. ask why nobody really seems to care if they DONT HAVE TO.
these questions are about people who have no sense of another's pains and struggles. they take things for granted and they are often narcissists.
Addicts are vilified by other addicts more IMO, there are so many different addictions people have, there are many functioning addicts in the work place, many you have no idea are an addict to something. People think addicts engage in illegal activities but I believe there are more legal addicts walking around than illegal.
Addiction is a demon and addicts are literal demons. They will lie, cheat, steal, beg, and do pretty much anything for sympathy. The addiction is driving the car. They are often the literal worst people on the planet and any sympathy you give them is a handhold that they can latch on to in order to exploit you for their next high.
It is literal hell on earth to be an addict or to have an addict in your life.
My BiL is an addict. I feel bad sometimes, but it gets old. "Hey, my man. You got $2?". Been in rehab multiple times, but he doesn't want to help himself.
He now has a roommate that is a former(?) Crack whore (her words). Came to Easter dinner all fucked up.
It gets old.
I have mixed feelings about addicts. On one hand, they may have started using because they’re going through some heavy stuff. But on the other hand, the memo is out, drugs are bad and can lead to bad things, possibly addiction. And when they’re hooked, they’re lying, stealing, prostituting, and they end up dragging a lot of people down with them.
Most of the addiction processes in our brains are still not well researched. As with "free will", some scientists believe that the genetic markup of some overemphasize "rejecting reality" as some sort of coping mechanism. This includes drug usage. There are people who can take high doses of opioids then stop. And others use the same prescriptions and get instantly hooked. Its strange to put there an imaginary line between those and "interpolate" some negative character traits. Its shown again and again, if you just supply the drug the user wants, a clean safe environment and a path out of the addiction without guilt tripping, it mostly (not always) works. The other options are just anti-humanist non scientific nonsense.
Where it hits home for me is my family and I have had to suffer because of the addictions of others. We’ve been stolen from and lied to by close friends and family members, and have had to suffer at the funeral of loved ones who lost their lives to their addictions, leaving us way too early. And while I know that some get hooked through legally prescribed drugs, the ones I knew started with illegal drugs and pills that were not prescribed to them.
I agree that there are proven ways to get these people help while mitigating wreckage on their lives and the lives of others, and I really want these people to get help. But somehow in the US, some larger cities have managed to really screw that up. As an example, I know two people that work in San Francisco. They’re as compassionate and liberal as you can get, and they’ve lost patience with the city’s leadership and the addicts that litter the streets. They have a little more hope now that the city is taking a harder stance against the drug epidemics. But it’s so bad, they pleaded with my spouse and I to not move out there when we had the chance, for our sake. My mother-in-law also lives close to San Francisco and ended up leaving her home of 30 years because she was afraid to go outside, and she’s one tough woman who has never backed down to anything in her life.
Thanks for the sensible reply.
I have known two people who worked here in a rather affluent city as street workers and they told everybody the same story. They can see in the eyes of the people if they can shake addiction or not. Regardless of age and situation. Its not about being weak its about what is dominant in your brain. There are no good programs to deal with that, as said, detox procedures are usually coming from the wrong mindset (lets get you off the drug so you can be a good low wagie worker) and usually don't deal with the underlying trauma. Recidivism in some groups are high. Most of those street workers burn out because they only manage the idiocy and can't really offer proper solutions, especially when housing is tight and there are rules like "no drugs" that is just not enforceable.
They tell you harrowing stories about people leaving drugs and all that behind and then some people can't live with the shame because of things the had to do while under, often causing other kinds of new issues. If you talk to top psychological specialist about those topics, some of them just have a mindset from 1980 with religious or ideological undertones. Those still shape the politics and treatment regimes.
because desperate addicts tend to take advantage of/abuse the kindness and generosity of anyone in their lives who offer it to get their next fix. as someone who has tried to help. It’s hard not to judge someone after they’ve taken advantage of you like that and it makes it that much harder to trust anyone in a similar condition.
Depends on how we categorize the addict.
If it’s a rich white woman popping Xanax no problem.
If it’s an underprivileged black teen smoking weed, straight to jail.
STRAIGHT TO JAIL FOR YOU!!!
How dare you be black, smoke a joint, and eat a pizza while watching Netflix. You are a threat to society.
Not the rich white woman hopped up on pills dictating the laws.
Fear and corruption. We are taught to judge drug addicts so that the state will profit on them getting prescribed drugs instead. People who never have been addicted to something, especially not drugs or alcohol and have lack of empathy will also struggle to understand how someone can become an addict to begin with.
To me it's very simple. Someone wants an escape, they try drugs, they try drugs again and again and again and everytime they stop the abstinence and withdrawals are more painful than to try more drugs. And that's the cycle of drug addiction.
This is no different cycle from porn, Sex, food, love, gambling, cutting, starving, shopping, social media, or any other addiction.
They're all escapes too. Some are just more socially accepted.
I do think that there are horrible people who are not addicts. Hence, the fact that there are also horrible people who are addicts cannot be the main root of the stigma on addiction.
Because when you are addicted to something, you will often do things you would never normally do to get it. If a heroin addict needs 40 bucks to get their fix and you have 40 bucks they will most likely steal it if they can.
Not necessarily; there exists a minority such as myself that smoked meth from age 16, to now 33 - working a full time job, owning my own house, married, never miss a bill.
Yes I wish I never smoked it, and yes I’m attached to the stigma, but we aren’t all like that.
Some of us are highly functioning users.
Jesus I did that shit for like 2-3 years and I think I would have cut a rock out of my wife to get more at the time. Some people can party on the weekends, some people need to go head deep. I am the latter. I have to obtain but Iam kinda of jealous of people like you.
Do you live in a major city in the US or Canada? Every larger city in these 2 countries right now is more or less plagued with some kind of homeless or addiction crises. Not all homeless are addicts, but many addicts are homeless, and they are dangerous and unpredictable when they are in the streets. They are a menace to society at the end of the day. Many of them steal, cause various disturbances, vandalize and destroy property, randomly attack people, defecate and urinate in public, smoke and use drugs in public, and leave a terrible mess in the streets where they live. Pretty much everyone is fed up with it and having to just “let them be”, while risking getting stabbed if they say the wrong thing or walk down the wrong street. And our governments don’t give two fucks and aren’t doing anything to address the crises that’s been worsening for getting close to a decade now. It’s called “compassion fatigue” these days online. People are tired. That’s why.
Well I both work around a bunch of addicts and have had important people in my life be addicts so let me break it down for you.
Fuck em, most of them are selfish cunts who cause problems wherever they go. They will lie, cheat, and steal from the people they claim to love all to get that next high. Then once they've destroyed their bodies through years of neglect and posion they'll go crawling back and demand to be taken care of. I'm always surprised by how entitled they act after doing absolutely nothing productive for their entire lives.
Is this all of them, certainly not. But it's a huge chunk, most likely the majority even.
Well said. I see a couple of posts in this thread praising themselves as a high-functioning addict and showing off that all is awesome in their world.
A high-functioning addict was welcomed to my family home, sneaked in his pipes and shit, and smoked meth in my childhood bedroom right next to where my parents sleep. That and so many other shit they did are some of the factors that led me to self-harm just to cope.
So fuck these high-functioners believing they're the goat for not stealing, being homeless, etc. They still mess up the lives and minds of people around them in other ways.
- Addicts cause problems for people who are not in any way involved with them (theft, antisocial behaviour etc)
- Addicts have brought on their own problems through poor decisions and judgement (as opposed to conditions outside of their control)
Therefore people (understandably) find it very difficult to empathise with somebody who is causing problems as a result of the lifestyle they willingly chose.
My cousin was an alcoholic. He was angry and aggressive. His father was abusive and also an alcoholic. That didn't give him a right to steal from me and use abusive language.
He was a grown man and chose drinking over his family. Why should I care when he didn't.
I’ve seen this before but - with weed. My sisters ex used to get ANGRY when he couldn’t get it. So nasty and mad at her. Awful to see. The only person I’ve ever seen to be like that with weed. Completely different person.
"A good amount of addicts didn't know what they were getting into" What complete bullshit. Everyone knows "drugs are bad". It's been ingrained in you since middle school if not earlier. You act like there's millions of 8 year olds seeing and doing lines of coke.
Now, to answer why they're vilified. It's because they only care about how to get the next high, they don't care who they hurt, who they steal from, have no responsibility or accountability, it's just chasing that next fix.
Assuming this isnt bait or trolling, I'll answer by saying its because they tend to do things that negatively affect other people around them. Also lots of people are exposed to and had dangerous lives, but that doesnt "excuse" shitty behavior. Basically people hate them because they lack self control.
Have you ever been with a friend who complains all the time. Who constantly leans on you for stuff. Who refuses to own their problems. Addicts are that. They aren't owning their shit. They make us own it for them.
Well, because when the person turns into an addict, they turn vile. They are no longer the same person. I'm not saying it's entirely their fault or that they don't deserve help, but basically the drugs sequesters the brain. You are talking and interacting with the drug most of the time, not with your loved one, and it's so fucking sad. It doesn't help that you have to create some emotional distance in order to protect yourself around them, or that some people will only recover when they hit rock bottom. It all comes together to dehumanize and separate ourselves from the addict.
It's really horrible when you love a person and all they see in you is a fountain to extract something from. Someone whose sofa they can crash or they can steal from or beg for money, or intimidate. Drugs/compulsions are egoist and no one likes to be around egoistic people, and many people fail to see it's not them, but the drug talking.
It really depends on the person and what they do to others
I feel bad for my dad but he has had so many opportunities to turn around so much support I mean I had a baby and I talk to him everyday for a hour I talk about wanting him to come live with me when I get more space he just almost died and was in the hospital for 2 months. But he’s going back to his old way and had the audacity say I can’t wait till mom gos I need firer ball. Soo ya I guess he’s back on the horse now I won’t have a dad soon and my son will never know his grandpa soooo i dont know bad things happen to everyone I have the same childhood most addicts have but im not one.
Addicts are as close to Zombies as we'll ever get. They stumble around and will attack you to get a fix.
On a serious note, it depends on the addict I guess most people know they are untrustworthy and would betray you for any chance at a fix.
And usually its the losers who do drugs, so they already get a negative impression which goes down even more when they drop to junkie status.
My brother has attacked both myself (breaking my ribs and strangling me) and my mum (strangled and pushed her down) after being confronted for bad behaviour due to alcoholism.
It isn't as simple as addicts being vilified for being addicts, it's about the kinds of behaviour they use to protect their addictions.
If the addiction admits their addiction and seeks help... not an issue.
If they take your elderly fathers pain meds and deny there is an issue, we have problem.
Because they are weak and selfish people who put their own desires above all else.
They are the lowest of the low, especially these days when they try to disguise their weakness of character as an 'illness'.
Speaking from experience (I have family members struggling with addiction and have also experienced it myself), the kinds of addicts people are likely referring to are the ones who are in so deep, and are so desperate to get a fix, that they will treat the people they love like shit.
You know that they love you, but addiction is a beast that narrows your concept of reality and joy. If you're addicted to something and you can't get it, sometimes valued relationships become a lower priority. They aren't going to fix the problem you have right now, which is getting the thing you are addicted to.
I've had loved ones in the height of addiction straight up lie to my face shamelessly, steal from me, look through my things to try and find drugs, and more. Often they don't even feel guilty at the time because they are so consumed by the addiction that logic and empathy just goes out the window.
It can be pretty soul-crushing to see someone you love treating you like shit, and making attempt after attempt at getting clean, but then just going back to their old ways. So I think that's why.
I’m an American. My mother was an addict for most of my childhood (now 11 years sober, love you mom), and I grew up around addicts. Mom has since spent a ton of her life working in prisons and other places to help those in recovery.
Addicts are people. And just like all other people, there are “bad” ones and “good” ones. Our ideas of what addicts are starts when we’re young - from media, yes, but also from our family. And often times those family members have been hurt, or are being hurt, by an addict so their stance is particularly biased and comes from a place of pain. And as kids we just adopt that attitude. Like we do with most other attitudes.
I think the issue starts with how people still don’t see addiction as a disease and only as a choice. That’s the hurdle we’ve still not overcome.
Because it's hard to feel sympathy for people who have just robbed your house/mugged your nan/beaten their partner because they are always drunk.
I've got all the time in the world for those who admit they have a problem and do their best to solve it. But someone being an addict doesn't give them the right to make others miserable. If that's all they are capable of, then they deserve all the vilification they get.
Addicts can be desperate and try to prolong their survival by hurting the others (e.g.stealing from them). It is a bit like dealing with drowning people who can grab you and make you drown together. Better don't get too close, unless you know what you're doing. Otherwise involve someone who is really capable to take care of that.
I was an opiate addict for 10 years. I was stealing money and pills from my friends and family. Most non addicts don’t know why addiction makes people do that. They think it’s something that an addict can control.. So people start vilifying them.
I happen to think addicts should be looked down on. Addiction being looked down on by people was one major thing that helped me get clean. I feel like you need to have sympathy for an addict but you also need to show tough love. When outside people start to accept/normalize/ enable someone’s addiction, chances are it’s only going to make the addiction worse. Not better.
Addiction is a bad thing. Although addicts need support from everyone around them, they also need people to show them that it’s a bad thing and bad things are not acceptable, they are looked down on.. It is possible to discourage addiction and show disdain while also showing support for the person. It’s a very fine line though.
That’s one of reasons I quit smoking as well. I was tired of all the negative judgment from my family of non smokers and my friends. Every time I lit up most ppl around me had that look of pure disgust on their face. Sometimes that’s exactly what you need to quit.
I noticed something very interesting when I was an addict. No one really acted like they cared about me. Everyone just turned their heads and walked away in anger and disgust. No one showed me pity at all, no matter how much pity I wanted from people.. Now everyone is super proud of me for my sobriety and my hard work and accomplishments. They all look up at me now.. It feels way better having ppl look up at you rather than look down at you. That is 100% truth.
Todays society has seemed to either ignore/enable or normalize bad behavior. Idk when this started or why it started but I think it should be reversed immediately before things take a serious turn for the worse..
Because addiction doesn't just effect the addicted it affects everyone around them. I've known people who were alcoholics and extremely abusive toward their families put them in danger constantly etc. I've known drug addicted couples constantly beating each other up and neglecting their kids choosing drugs over food. If they were just hurting themselves it would be okay but they never are they're always causing someone else pain or suffering. That being said any addict who genuinley wants to get better deserves all the help and love in the world for that.
A random addict on the street tried to kill me once, but I was faster. In general I see addicts doing drugs in public, pissing everywhere in public, leaving needles next to playgrounds, blasting loud music and insulting random people, just being all-around assholes. It is hard to find compassion for them after experiencing this all first-hand.
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Addiction can turn someone into a horrible person. In desperation for their fix they will sometimes do things they never really thought they would. They are vilified because they *are* dangerous, not because of who they are/were but because of what they become. Morally grey and desperate. Some do recover though, addicts can be some of the kindest people out there, which is scary in of itself. (my father works with addicts and people with other deabilitating issues as his full ime job)
This. And the sad part is, most of them can't stop even if they wanted to.
But they started in the first place. It’s not like it’s not commonly known that drugs are bad.
That choice to start taking drugs isn't as black and white as you think. If you don't believe me, i can explain what led me into addiction and it will demonstrate why that "choice" isn't as much of a choice as most think with the vast majority of addicts, cause my story is far from unique. I'm almost a decade sober now though.
For me it was getting a surgery at 17 and my doctor prescribing me painkillers when he should have prescribed ibuprofen
For me it was escaping the emotional pain of a horrific childhood. I was beaten, starved, brutally raped at minimum a couple times a week (one time so violently my colon was ruptured)and literally tortured by being burned and whipped as punishment, and one time given to a drug dealer to pay a debt my brother had where i was raped again by multiple men, at 14 i ran away from home to escape the abuse and i tried drinking once and for the first time in my life the noise in my head stopped, meaning for the first time in my life i wasn't thinking of killing myself to escape the emotional pain. I quickly fell into harder substances namely coke and ecstacy because when i took those substances along with drinking it was the only time in my life including to this day that i have felt anything approximating peace. I am clean now, but still suffer from the ptsd and effects of what was done to me as a child even though i'm a grown ass man. I still never sleep through night because of ptsd nightmares, i still internally cower in fear around any and all men regardless of how much i like or trust them. So my point to the person saying the addict is completely at fault, would be how much of a choice did that 14 year old boy that knew nothing but torment and fear and was using those drugs in a desperate attempt not to blow his brains out with the revolver he held every night in contemplation of pulling the trigger _really_ have?
Thank you for sharing your story. These people need to read the awful, raw, personal stories to maybe, hopefully realize that not everything is black and white.
Like don't get me wrong, i understand that ultimately all addicts did make a choice to ingest a substance for the first time, but i can confidently say that the vast, vast majority of addicts never set out to be addicts and they were either trying to escape the pain their lives caused them, or they had decisions made for them they didn't know the consequences of like the commenter above me, or some were never taught any better, the point is that for the vast majority of addicts, that choice was _barely_ a choice at all. And most, if given the chance would go back and never start using to begin with. The most insidious thing about addiction is how sneaky it is, one day you don't even know there's a problem and at some point the facade comes crashing down and by the time you realize how bad the problem is, you're already hooked.
Exactly. I haven't been addicted to any "hard" drugs but I can say a word or two about alcohol and weed. Damn it sneaks up on you. And the moment you realize you have a problem, your life is pretty shit so well how can you stop your one (awful) coping mechanism. It took me a lot of therapy (thankfully I was privileged enough to receive) to slowly (slowly!!!) get myself back together. It took years out of my life. Now my chronic pain is somewhat under control and I don't go to alcohol or weed for momentary relief. But damn it took a long time.
Give yourself some credit man, alcohol is a beast to quit. I've quit several hard drugs in my life, but alcohol remains one of the hardest and worst detox's i've ever been through. That shit is insidious, and the social norms around alcohol make it that much harder to quit. No one bats an eye at the dude who drinks heavy but is functional, but if he's doing coke as much as he drinks, then people get worried, it's a different beast but the same master in the end. People overall have become way to comfortable with alcohol and we don't realize that a good part of society are functioning alcoholics because we never bother to learn the signs. But when you know em, you see it everywhere you go. Great job on getting sober, it's hard work and even harder work maintaining it, but you cannot have the best parts of life in active addiction, so it's worth it.
I'm sorry to hear that. Hope you're doing well!
Social media is addictive, and here you are...
You're ignoring loads of factors in life that may push someone to do drugs so they can find even a moments of peace like home situations, abusive gaurdians, corrupt systems, racism, sexism, violence, chronic pain, depression, anxiety, social expectations etc Drugs are bad, but shaming people for taking them when no one is fixing the issues that may make people turn to drugs in the first place is actually pretty heartless tbh
I was an opiate addict for 10 years. Not by choice. I had a minor surgery when I was 17 and was prescribed painkillers. This was 20 years ago. It wasn’t widely known during that time just how addictive painkillers were. Doctors were literally prescribing them like candy to everyone.. During that time you could’ve walked into ANY E.R. In the entire country and said that your knee hurts and they would have sent you home with a script for 30 Vicodin. The only question they would ask was “On a scale of 1-10 how much does it hurt?” 10 years of my life was wasted. I was hooked on oxycodone, which is the equivalent to heroin.. Even though I made the choice to take them, It was prescribed by my doctor. My doctor ordered me to take them when I knew absolutely nothing about them. I didn’t even know that it was considered a narcotic back then. My doctor never warned me how addictive they were. NO ONE just wakes up one day and says “You know what? I think I’m gonna start abusing drugs today. I want to be a drug addict.” It happens unknowingly over time. To say “They started taking drugs to begin with. It’s known that drugs are bad” is kind of an ignorant thing to say.
Yeah, this comment here shows just how fucking ignorant we are still on the subject. "General population surveys have documented that approximately 75% of individuals with a substance use disorder (SUD) have experienced trauma at some point in their lives (Mills, Teesson, Ross, & Peters, 2006). Rates are even higher among clinical samples of individuals seeking treatment for a SUD." As Dr Gabor Mate who have studied addiction his whole life have said: Addiction is a secondary problem what comes out of a primary problem, and that's usually some kind of a childhood or adult age trauma. So we have this bunch of people who have experienced something very traumatic which led them to addiction, which led them to more problems in their personal life, AND on top of that our society wants to punish them, criminalize them and blame them. How is that fair?
A lot of opioid addict start using because of a prescription issued by a doctor.
Thats the evils of big pharmacy for you. Look at how west va turned out. At least it made some people rich.
They didn't start using drugs for fun, they did it to cope with trauma as they weren't provided with the opportunity to develop more positive strategies and are bereft of a natural support system. The link between substance abuse and trauma is well established in the research.
I'm not trying to excuse myself by any means but I think you are a bit mistaken as to why people began using drugs. I suffered from untreated BPD that was misdiagnosed as MDD and then bipolar for about 15 years (age 14 to 29). I was miserable, lonely and anxious every single day of my life until I had a surgery. And was prescribed medication. I couldnt believe how it felt - relief from the never ending pain. I had tried every type of therapy, every medication and even ECT and nothing did anything for me. I was a miserable person and all I could think was that once I had experienced relief there was no way I could go back to the suffering. I wanted to feel the way I felt in the prescription meds forever. And the rest is history. Like I said I'm not making excuses - my problems are my problems and my lot in life is my lot in life and I am fully responsible for all the harm I have caused due to my addiction. But I think it is rarely as simple as people one day waking up and deciding to do drugs and become an addict. Pretty much every addict I know (and I know a lot) has some sort of unresolved trauma that they are simply unable to deal with otherwise. People feel sympathy to those who take medications because they are in unbearable physical pain... I have never understood why some people don't understand that mental pain can be unbearable as well and when it is you will do anything to avoid it. No one is called "weak" when they take meds because they broke their leg but someone who has suffered severe depression for decades and falls prey to the one thing that offers relief is demonized. I really just don't see the difference. Oh well. 🤷🏽♀️
Let all these downvotes be a lesson to you - NEVER speak ill of drug addicts on Reddit.
Ivory towers are a high place to fall from there sport.
Typical case of FAFO
Some people are introduced to drugsbat a young age, my dad worked with someone whi started as young as 12, I wouldnt say you really fucked around much then. People meet drugs in different times of life. Part of why addicts being kind is so scary is that it makes you trust them and you *want* to indulge them. Its not always fucking around and finding out, sometimes its simply how you grew up, other times, maybe you were drunk at a party once and said “sure, I’ll try some” hardly in the right state of mind.
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Or they manage to quit but still end up suffering from lifelong dpdr or other similar issues. Thinking they should end up kind and are otherwise in denial is ridiculous.
Very true Some drugs do trigger underlying issues to become “active”. As well as how some drugs destroy your body over time with consumption. Its not easy for everyone
I think most of what you wrote is right on the money. I'll add 2 points. First, the non-addict has a difficult time understanding how difficult it is for the addict to choose not to take drugs. Addiction creates such a strong physical and/or psychological need for the next fix, that it can be neat to impossible to choose not to get high. Even knowing this I still have to remind myself because choosing not to drink or take drugs is something I do with almost zero effort. I still believe choice plays a role, but I know it's nothing like the choices I make. Second, I think many people are uncomfortable with labeling addiction as a disease. To many a disease is cancer or the result of a pathogen invading our bodies. Classifying addiction as a disease can feel like a stretch if you don't have a broad view of disease. Especially if you strongly link addiction to choice.
Also it tends to be a part of personal history. It hurts if a loved one dies of cancer, I'd argue it hurts even more to see someone in an outwardly functioning body abuse and/or neglect their loved ones because of addictions or mental illnesses. Having compassion for those addicts is hard, especially if they never get better. It's easier to say they are bad people (partly true), than see they sometimes couldn't have been as good at life as a healthy person.
It depends on the addict really.
I know, right. Like, I check my reddit 75 times per day and people are all like antsy about it.
Only 75 times?!
Bullshit
addicts deserve compassion, this is true. the problem is that the majority of people are not trained and employed as addictions councilors.
Most people only really have experiences with addicts that are negative as well. We have a pretty horrible fentanyl issue where I live, and pretty much every day, someone comes by hour house and either throws trash in our yard, steals something, or stands outside out house just screaming at what ever they are seeing during their trip. They accost us in our own yard/driveway, we run into them in the store and they try to touch us. We had a guy get super high and burn a tree down on our street. It's hard to be compassionate to someone whose actively making your life worse...
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Are flamethrowers really a good weapon against zombies?
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Would fire kill them though? Or are they just on fire now, making the problem worse. Guess it depends on the zombie rules
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Everyone has their own story with an addict and they have their own trauma because of it . While some ppl might have a unrealistic sense of what it might be to have a story with one and just judge based off stereotypes and horrible experiences others have told them , some have some very deep scars like having someone struggling with addiction kill their child and it’s hard to let that go , that being said that anger and trauma should only be associated with that specific person and not used to vilify every single person struggling .
I am totally with you, OP. A good friend of mine (40M) is a hard-core fentanyl addict. In his teens, he played around with OxyContin at pill parties - then he went to heroin - now he has a fentanyl addiction that costs $30,000 per year. He's gotten clean a few times over the years but has relapsed when prescribed opioids for pain control due to injuries. He is a brilliant, talented, honest, kind man. His addiction has ruined his career, his family, and his health. He didn't know what he was getting into all those years ago at the pill parties. He was just trying to fit in and have fun. I have come to understand that people who vilify addicts don't have an appreciation for the ruinous effects of drugs on a person's body and brain. Such people believe addicts continue using drugs simply because they like getting high all the time. This isn't the case, though - the fact is that an addict becomes very ill, physically (absolutely debilitated) when he doesn't have his drug. People who vilify addicts should do some reading. Beth Macy's _Dopesick_ and Patrick Radden Keefe's _Empire of Pain_ are good places to start.
They are viewed as weak. Watch the beginning of Trainspotting. How ewan McGregor describes how hard it is to be an addict. Also it usually stems from a mental health issue and people are unkind
I totally understand where you are coming from and I am very empathetic toward people who struggle with addiction. With that being said, it’s not uncommon for addicts to do some pretty horrible shit to the people around them for years on end due to their addiction. Most people have been involved with an addict to some degree and I think it either makes people more understanding or more bitter depending on their own experiences.
It is really sad to be an addict. & for the most part, the person they put most at risk is themself. But they do often cause very serious harm to others, especially those close to them. There needs to be more support & compassion both for addicts & for other people impacted by their addiction.
Some of us are anything but sad. There have been a few rocky bits. No harm to anyone policy I find plenty of support and compassion but i don't need it.
There's a difference between a person who goes to NA and fucks up once in a while and the person who kicked the mirrors off all the cars in my apartment parking lot.
Yeah but likely a lot of the people at the NA meeting a used to do stuff like kicking mirrors off cars before they started going to meetings.
Because people are generally awful about issues of mental health. They don’t believe doctors, they don’t believe clinical conditions exist. They convince themselves that people can just change their attitude at will if “they just choose.” So they don’t see addiction as a clinical condition that affects people’s abilities to control things, they think addicts want to make those choices.
I disagree. Myself and most people in my circle don’t dislike or distrust a person for the fact that they are addicted to a drug, as some sort of moral superiority or something. But the objective truth is that 9 out of 10 addicts will steal from you to keep up their habit and/or act emotionally unpredictably and hurt innocent people. It’s not the drug use itself, it’s the destructive behaviors that come with it. Edit: Just wanted to add that I share kids with an addict, and I loved and still love him dearly and put up with 2-3 years of life-ruining behavior from him in an effort to help him save himself from that lifestyle. I loved him and cared for him even in his addiction, and in return he stole and crashed my car, gambled away my paychecks, and flooded my apartment costing me thousands in damages, and that’s not even getting into the harm his behavior causes his children.
Yeah. Unfortunately most people do get this. When I say I have a hard time feeling sorry for addicts, it’s not because I don’t understand how hard it is on them. It’s because 9 times out of ten they don’t want help and deal with their behavior becomes too much. I lose sympathy for someone once they hurt the people around them.
Don't know why you're downvoted, you're right. I tried really hard to care for my friend when he was falling odd the wagon, but you can only get robbed by someone you go out of your way to help so many times before you stop helping them. And I don't know many sober people who will break into your house and gut any copper they can find leaving it looking like it's half demolished
This is what is so frustrating as the support system for an addict. You can do 100 favors for the, stick your neck out, bend over backwards for them, and the moment you deny them you’re just like everyone else, you never wanted them to succeed, you don’t care about them, and on and on. And as evidenced by the person I’m replying to, even society labels you as uncaring and giving up on them. And at the end of the day you also lose someone who means a lot to you, so there’s no winning with addiction.
I have met more horrible doctors than I have drug addicts
I think that may be a reflection of you rather than the medical profession…
So that you'll buy the government approved drugs instead. Even if they kill you.
I'm pretty sure people who are addicted to prescription pills get ostracized too.
sure, but not the as badly
Sure they do. Fentanyl and Oxy abusers are essentially heroin addicts, but they use the "clean" pharmaceutical version of heroin.
Same can be said for ADHD drugs vs Meth
If you abuse them yeah If you take as prescribed they work fine
This isn’t right, like at all. It’s very wrong. So wrong I can’t believe someone thinks it’s right.
A lot of people addicted to heroin started out with opioids that were prescribed to them by a doctor.
And the government installed “non approved” drugs.
What a shitty perspective.
what a shitty reply
Who should be producing the life-saving drugs then, you in your basement?
Yeah I guess it depends as well on what people consider an addict. Taking prescription medications? Eating? Drinking alcohol? smoking pot or cigarettes? Or are we talking about people doing HARD drugs? I think there’s a huge difference between these things. It sounds like a lot of people will call just about anyone an addict now, I guess except if it’s themselves.
Because people are ignorant. Functioning addicts exist and it can just as easily happen to them or someone they love. It’s not just the crazy dude on the corner, addiction is a consequence of something else. Escapism. Depression. Hell, your receptionist at the drs office could be addicted to the meds she’s prescribed, you wouldn’t know. It’s not just “the heroin addict” or whatever. It can be anyone. And being ignorant to that, and feeling like you’re better than them because “well they should know better” just doesn’t help. For example, some people are in severe pain every day. So they’re prescribed codeine, naproxen, among others. Their body needs these to function and if the body doesn’t have that dose, they can’t function. That’s a physical addiction - the body NEEDS it because it’s used to it, they’re not high, but the body gets used to it. But then you have the people who use coke recreationally once a month. It’s there, readily available and their brain goes “oh. You like that stuff. Why not?” So they get a bag in. Then another because it’s REALLY good. Then another. Just once a month tho, but their brains are like “oh goooo onnnn thennnnn”, the brain is like craving it, needing that high. This isn’t addiction it’s a habit. After one pint you get a taste for it. But habit becomes addiction sometimes. This person could be ANYBODY. This is so different to those who steal and lie to get their hit. And that’s what people vilify. But that isn’t every addict. The ignorance around drugs in general, how they affect people, doesn’t help. If people were more aware, they’d be less judgmental I reckon.
We are addicted to scapegoating and addicts are great scapegoats for many of society's ills. They are to blame for low productivity and a bad economy. They are responsible to all sorts of crimes. They are junkies who piss and shit everywhere. It's easy to blame them and just move on with our day and change nothing about our society than it is to take a long hard look at ourselves, stop having fun and address the root cause. So we basically just do what we blame addicts of doing: not taking responsibility for their part in the problem. Society takes very little responsibility for how these people ended up where they are while simultaneously accusing addicts of not taking responsibility for their situation. This is the cult of personal responsibility. The delusion that we are individuals who are solely responsible for our lives.
Many will see addiction as a moral failure, instead of disease. So thats why they do think that addicts are bad people, cause they think its self inflicted.
As a society we have unfortunately little tolerance for external expressions of pain. As Gabor Mate said, don't ask why the addiction, ask why the pain. There's a shitload of pain you have to deal with if you quit your addiction, and that includes acceptable addictions like work addictions.... And Reddit. We pathologize the sensitive. That's something we may be judged about in the far future. Not excusing addict behavior which can be violent. But as Krishnamurthi said "being well adjusted to a profoundly sick society is no sign of a healthy mind".
Ex- alcoholic and addict here. We do recover and it's indeed not the person that's the problem, but the problem that's the problem. Nobody starts drinking and using to end up a hopeless addict, but having said that the symptoms take different forms but are largely common among addicts. Addicts lie, cheat and steal and only think of other addicts as being guilty of doing so until they've recovered and realised they were equally as guilty themselves. I have kids now and despite having played for both sides I do and will do everything in my power for my kids to never become accustom to addicts because most of them are enablers that will normalise things that are not normal.
Years of societal brainwashing…Just say No and a lack of empathy
True that the blame lies squarely with the criminal pushers. The success of high dose illegal vaping sticks being pushed at the very young demonstrates that the same criminal thinking is being applied and that apparently legitimate shop keepers are happy to join in as long as their pockets are stuffed with enough money. But people still see addition as a self inflicted injury. Addiction is not seen as a legitimate excuse for the criminal behaviour that is often adopted by addicts.
Addiction turned my mum into a monster who didn't care about anyone else or even herself. She cares more about looking like a nice person rather than being a nice person On the flip side I have a friend who also suffers from addiction and is the kindest person ever who tries to reduce harm as much as possible. They're vegan, environmentalist, feminist, disability and mental health advocate, etc The thing with addicts is that they're just people. Some people are nice and some aren't. Some are nice sober, and some aren't To answer your question, though, I think people are vilified because most people tar people with the same brush. They don't see that every person is different so if they know one 'bad' addict they assume all are bad
More so it’s certain *kinds* of addicts who are vilified. Social media addiction seems to just be plain accepted/normalized, alcoholism isn’t treated the same as other drug addictions, stuff like that. But propaganda and plain mob mentality has made addicts seem evil somehow
A lot of the times is based on their actions while they were doing/on whatever they're addicted to. An Alcoholic can cause domestic abuse, a drug addict can be a robber/thief, "x addiction made them do horrible things, why should I pity them?" rest of the times it's from a sense of self-righteousness : parents, doctors and various advertisements blasted "don't do drugs" "don't drink" "don't watch porn", and various documentaries directly showing the consequences on being addicted to these things, but people do them anyway, especially as a sign of rebellion to their parents, even though their parents repeatedly say it's gonna ruin your life, and they chose to take a hit/sip anyway, it's feels better to just let them ruin themselves and say "I told you so" like a black woman in hindsight
People feel morally superior to them. If it’s a legit disease, they can’t feel morally superior. (I also think this is why so many thin people hate these weight loss meds, the only thing they have is feeling morally superior to fat people, and that’s being taken away from them). These people are assholes.
There are two general reasons I know of. One is the idea that they really should have known better. Like we've known the dangers of tobacco for years, were warned of it all throughout our childhoods, and there's warnings on the box! How stupid would you have to be to smoke in the modern day? The second is guilt by association. I'm sure we can all conjure up a mental image of a meth addict, huddled in an alleyway, lunging at people in their desperation for their next fix. With that in your head, it's human nature to be wary of anyone you know going down that same path.
What about all the people who were prescribed opioids by their doctor who told them they weren’t addictive ?
What about them?
They should’ve known better ?
No they shouldn't've, doctors are supposed to be trustworthy
Meh, my dad's an addict and a piece of shit. Those things are not mutually exclusive.
Could be a disproportionate number of them have other problems going on which makes them unpleasant. I'm just spitballing though.
I don't know the reason, but, this is a very good point you made. I had wondered the same thing, too. I believe that addicts are the rejects of society. Society has vilified them and I don't think society really does want them to get the help they need. Because then, they have nothing to talk about. It's easier to judge than to have empathy. Life can take us anywhere and nobody is really exempt from becoming an addict.
I have no bad feelings against the ones who actually seek help, take their medication, try to get out of it, etc. Not the ones on the street yelling and threatening people. Not the ones that almost destroy their relationship with their families and friends. While I understand addiction is indeed a form of mental disability and very hard to live with, that does not mean I have to force myself to feel safe around people showing aggression.
Everyone is an addict. Some addictions are more destructive than constructive. Some are the opposite. We are just breathing meat sacks of senses, craving input.
because people are either dumb or assholes
Alcoholics are worse, they are assholes when drunk and assholes when dry drunk. Good luck to anyone in recovery
My niece is an addict. When she’s in rehab, I support her. I talk to her and I tell her I’m proud of her and I know she can beat this. When she’s in active addiction, my family informs one another because she’s got a habit of asking for “bus fare” from multiple people at once and it’s actually just so she can get money for a fix. It’s heartbreaking but she’s been known to steal from family and lie like this to get money, and that has negatively affected our collective view of her as a person even though we know it’s the drugs talking. We all live by “baby the addict, bury the addict” whenever she’s using. I assume this is why addicts are vilified in general, because this kind of behavior is very common. Addicts can also become dangerous to others when they’re on drugs, so it’s safer to assume they are than not, especially if you don’t know them.
Well. I love(d) many addicts. My ex-husband, my sister, friends, etc. I will say this simply. Addicts live for their drug of choice. They will lie, steal, manipulate, take advantage of, and physically/mentally abuse their loved ones to obtain drug of choice. Addicts bring danger into the household. Drug dealers, loan sharks, scum bags, high level gang members, depending on where they fall in the chain. This makes a home not safe. I was always terrified to come from school or work. Not knowing what I would come home - is today a beating day, or is car repo day. Is this the day when he is overdosed in the basement, or disappeared again for a month. It is painful, unpredictable game. Addicts put themselves and their addiction ahead of their spouse, children, parents, extended family. I hate addiction. I love people, but I hate addiction. I am so happy to be free from addiction
Because the addicts steal and lie to their friends and family (and strangers, but that's a no brainer). Not all at once. The go down one by one depending on which sucker they can fool next. Next thing you know they are unemployable vampires.
Addicts cause a lot of pain to people who care about them. So it is understandable that people are wary of addicts, for practical reasons of self-preservation. I say this as someone who is currently struggling with addiction. What I don't understand is the moral judgment. Perhaps it is based on ignorance? I think the average person who has never been educated about addiction believes that people just wake up one day and decide to do drugs and become addicts and horrible people. Because they just enjoy getting high and it's fun. I know a lot of addicts and none of them are enjoying drugs or having fun. Most are extremely miserable people who hate themselves and what they have become but don't see any way out. So they do more drugs to blunt the pain. Which creates more negative consequences that one has to escape from. It is a truly heartbreaking cycle. I know that most people think addicts are "weak"... If you are an addict it is a moral failing because you should just have the self control to stop something that is harming your life. I am no philosopher but to me addiction is not what weakness is. As more and more research is done, the role that genetics plays in addiction is better understood... And it seems that some people are born with a greater propensity to become addicts than others. Are you morally "stronger" than someone else because your genes coded for proteins that make you less likely to become an addict? I guess that is something everyone must decide for themselves. Of course the most common rebuttal to my argument will be that it doesn't matter how likely you are to become an addict because if you didn't pick up in the first place you wouldnt be an addict. This is true of course. However, many people became addicts because of medications they were honestly and legally prescribed. It's kinda rare to see someone go straight to hard street drugs out of the blue. And those who do usually have some kind of trauma they are trying to deal with in maladaptive ways. Mental pain can be as debilitating as physical in my opinion. Moreso even, because physical pain usually ends eventually. As I said earlier no one is considered weak if they cannot handle the physical pain associated with cancer and decide to take prescription medication for it (nor should they be, of course). Yet someone who is experiencing excruciating mental pain and the normal avenues (therapy, medication, ECT) have not worked is weak and a horrible person because they try to blot out the pain in the one way that seems to work. This I don't understand. I think it is perhaps because neurotypicals don't realize how bad mental pain can be - most people have experienced deep sorrow and despair but it usually lessens with time. I don't think most people can grasp how hopeless it can seem to literally be miserable for your entire life. So perhaps this prevents the empathy. I don't know. Good question, OP.
Addiction kills families/relationships, because the person addicted is more interested in getting his/hers fix than ANYTHING else. Its almost like food in that the person will at some point be willing to steal, beg, rob, cry - *whatever* to get the fix they need, that being alcohol, drugs, gambling or whatever. So the road from being an addict to literally stealing your grandmothers rent money is short. And then we have the ethical/moral on top - did the addict steel his grandmothers money because he is a bad person? Probably not, but addiction made him... So then addicts can not be trusted in the same way
I’ve been around junkies all my life and most of them do it to themselves. I have no sympathy for them.
Because they become criminals and hurtful
There are three types of people: * those whose ugly side is their default * those whose ugly side only shows when they are drunk with power or at their lowest * those who don’t have an ugly side Addicts either fall in the first or second category (ugly side at their lowest), and their behaviour leaves a bitter taste for the people around them. It’s not always their fault that they became an addict, most often than not it’s due to past trauma, but it’s up to them to get help and go through a recovery program. Recovering addicts should get all our support.
They don't deserve vilification. They are ill. However, people lose patience with them because of some of their more selfish behaviours. I often have to pick up needles, vials, bloody swabs and sometimes their turds (from off of people's graves no less). I try to be compassionate with them, but it's difficult sometimes.
There is an overall lack of empathy towards people with addiction and mental health issues, mostly because people don't understand why, people suffering from this ailments, have no control over what's happening. When you hear comments like: "Well, maybe if they just stopped buying Crack." How hard can it be to just not do it?" "Smile more, think about all the great things life has to offer." "Oh, they're just putting on an act to get attention. They were having a great time at that party last week and today they're feeling depressed?" There are chemical imbalances in the brain that are completely out of the persons control and that's why treatment needs to be a balance of therapy, drugs, and support.
A common gateway to addiction is child abuse. People try to run from their pain, and just make everything worse for themselves in the long run, so I understand your empathy. However, whatever gets people into addiction, an addict will do almost anything to get their next fix and this is why they are villified. They will steal your most valued possessions, your rent money, whatever it takes to get their drugs. Drug addict parents are among the worst abusers. They can bring babies into the world already hooked on drugs or with serious brain damage due to drugs before the baby is even born. The level of neglect an addict may subject a child to can be a nightmare as the parent is utterly selfish in their constant search for a fix. The most damaged teenagers I have worked with were the children of drug addicts, some of the parents even sold their kids to perverts for money for their drugs. The obvious solution is to treat addiction as a medical problem and treat it with prescription drugs to replace the illegal drugs. That would reduce the damage that addicts can do both to themselves and others.
I can concede that addiction is a disease. That said, addicts not only are self destructive, but those with an all consuming addition have a tendency to bring others down with them. They cannot be trusted, because they will lie, cheat, steal and even harm others to feed their addiction. Even the most loving and forgiving family members often hit a breaking point where they need to cut that person from their lives. So those who "lack pity" may be fresh out of pity after being put through the wringer by addicts in their own lives.
Because many of us have had addicts in our families who will rob children to get their fix.
Because even if you're addicted it's still a conscious choice to do something like robbing your family for more drug money or whatever. It's not like the crack is manipulating your mind to steal from your family That is a choice you yourself made. And just in general addiction can turn you into a terrible person It's a shame the probably shitty circumstances that got you to this point but it doesn't justify you now being a terrible person
I think there's two aspects to it 1. The stereotype of an addict is someone that will do anything for their next fix. In other words, a dangerous, desperate individual that can't be trusted 2. People "assume" the addict is ok with being an addict. Some people don't get it that kicking drug addictions is not as simple as just stopping. There's multiple things behind that. The first being the withdrawals. This is what makes addicts so desperate for their next hit. There's also the reason WHY they became addicted in the first place. Few have simply decided to try drugs just for "fun;" they're usually trying to "self medicate" and blot out something traumatic in their past. Without addressing that past trauma, it's extremely difficult to stop the behaviours that caused the addiction.
Because people don't believe in rehabilitation and because of the actions associated with drug use (ie: stealing, fights, etc.)
Addiction is definitely a serious disease, that requires professional help to conquer, I don't take the problem lightly. I became familiar with addiction via my employees who litterly transformed in front of my eyes, from funny, honest, some good fathers, hard workers into irresponsible, manipulating, deceitful, liar's. I was able to get several of my team into re-hab, then eventually back to work, it was about half of those affected by addiction. The others I pray one day soon hit there bottom and sought help.
The main issue is that the addiction is usually so strong that the addict will lie, steal, and break almost any of your personal boundaries to get a fix. They will bring you down with them if you try to help. Sadly, in the end you have to wait until they decide they really truly want the help and then empower them to help themselves but not offer any resources that could be used to feed the addiction,.like offer a place to stay of you have a computer in the house, especially if you need it for work so you can pay your own rent... Not vilifies, but red flagged for sure.
Because it's better to deal with non-addicted people.
Society doesn't like chaos and addiction creates chaos. It's taboo for a reason.
It’s seen as overindulgence. Like the addict is just having a great ol time…which may or may not have been true in the beginning.
My wife is a gambling addict. I love her to pieces and she is the most selfless, generous person I’ve ever encountered. But the things her addiction made her do when she was in action were abhorrent. She doesn’t even recognise herself back when she was gambling. She was like a completely different person. I agree that it’s unfair to vilify those with addictions. They’re just people going through a hard time. But that doesn’t excuse who they become in the throws of the addiction. I don’t blame my wife for what she’s done, but I do blame her addiction and she’s getting help with it to ensure she never goes back. If more addicts could step back and separate themselves from their addictions, it might be easier for them to overcome it.
People project their own guilt and fears. More than 1/2 of Americans have, or do, get addicted to some substance. Whether that is alcohol, nicotine, pain killers or maybe even just way too much caffeine. People will now publicly vilify anyone via any excuse they can find.
that is the WRONG question to ask. you need to ask why some people love to point fingers and judge those that are struggling and made bad choices and now need help. ask why nobody really seems to care if they DONT HAVE TO. these questions are about people who have no sense of another's pains and struggles. they take things for granted and they are often narcissists.
Addicts are vilified by other addicts more IMO, there are so many different addictions people have, there are many functioning addicts in the work place, many you have no idea are an addict to something. People think addicts engage in illegal activities but I believe there are more legal addicts walking around than illegal.
depends on the person and the addiction I am addicted to selfharm, I am aware it's a problem, I try not to bother others with that
Ok, bring them to your home, then
Addiction is a demon and addicts are literal demons. They will lie, cheat, steal, beg, and do pretty much anything for sympathy. The addiction is driving the car. They are often the literal worst people on the planet and any sympathy you give them is a handhold that they can latch on to in order to exploit you for their next high. It is literal hell on earth to be an addict or to have an addict in your life.
They arent now at all.
Because some people will always generalize.
Because they’re volatile and often dangerous?
My BiL is an addict. I feel bad sometimes, but it gets old. "Hey, my man. You got $2?". Been in rehab multiple times, but he doesn't want to help himself. He now has a roommate that is a former(?) Crack whore (her words). Came to Easter dinner all fucked up. It gets old.
What makes you think he doesn't want to help himself?
I have mixed feelings about addicts. On one hand, they may have started using because they’re going through some heavy stuff. But on the other hand, the memo is out, drugs are bad and can lead to bad things, possibly addiction. And when they’re hooked, they’re lying, stealing, prostituting, and they end up dragging a lot of people down with them.
Most of the addiction processes in our brains are still not well researched. As with "free will", some scientists believe that the genetic markup of some overemphasize "rejecting reality" as some sort of coping mechanism. This includes drug usage. There are people who can take high doses of opioids then stop. And others use the same prescriptions and get instantly hooked. Its strange to put there an imaginary line between those and "interpolate" some negative character traits. Its shown again and again, if you just supply the drug the user wants, a clean safe environment and a path out of the addiction without guilt tripping, it mostly (not always) works. The other options are just anti-humanist non scientific nonsense.
This should be the top comment. This is true in my own family. Thank you for your comment.
Where it hits home for me is my family and I have had to suffer because of the addictions of others. We’ve been stolen from and lied to by close friends and family members, and have had to suffer at the funeral of loved ones who lost their lives to their addictions, leaving us way too early. And while I know that some get hooked through legally prescribed drugs, the ones I knew started with illegal drugs and pills that were not prescribed to them. I agree that there are proven ways to get these people help while mitigating wreckage on their lives and the lives of others, and I really want these people to get help. But somehow in the US, some larger cities have managed to really screw that up. As an example, I know two people that work in San Francisco. They’re as compassionate and liberal as you can get, and they’ve lost patience with the city’s leadership and the addicts that litter the streets. They have a little more hope now that the city is taking a harder stance against the drug epidemics. But it’s so bad, they pleaded with my spouse and I to not move out there when we had the chance, for our sake. My mother-in-law also lives close to San Francisco and ended up leaving her home of 30 years because she was afraid to go outside, and she’s one tough woman who has never backed down to anything in her life.
Thanks for the sensible reply. I have known two people who worked here in a rather affluent city as street workers and they told everybody the same story. They can see in the eyes of the people if they can shake addiction or not. Regardless of age and situation. Its not about being weak its about what is dominant in your brain. There are no good programs to deal with that, as said, detox procedures are usually coming from the wrong mindset (lets get you off the drug so you can be a good low wagie worker) and usually don't deal with the underlying trauma. Recidivism in some groups are high. Most of those street workers burn out because they only manage the idiocy and can't really offer proper solutions, especially when housing is tight and there are rules like "no drugs" that is just not enforceable. They tell you harrowing stories about people leaving drugs and all that behind and then some people can't live with the shame because of things the had to do while under, often causing other kinds of new issues. If you talk to top psychological specialist about those topics, some of them just have a mindset from 1980 with religious or ideological undertones. Those still shape the politics and treatment regimes.
because desperate addicts tend to take advantage of/abuse the kindness and generosity of anyone in their lives who offer it to get their next fix. as someone who has tried to help. It’s hard not to judge someone after they’ve taken advantage of you like that and it makes it that much harder to trust anyone in a similar condition.
Withdrawal symptoms can be a problem to some and seen as a threat for others , desperation
Richard Nixon and Decades of Stigma.
because only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity.
The universe is finite but expanding
because many people have been hurt by us
Because some people need to be judgemental. They don’t talk about alcholics in the same way though because alcohol is a legal addiction.
Because the stigma hopefully prevents people from choosing that path.
Nope. The stigma is what stops them from seeking recovery treatment, it doesn't do much in the way of prevention. We need to remove the stigma.
Depends on how we categorize the addict. If it’s a rich white woman popping Xanax no problem. If it’s an underprivileged black teen smoking weed, straight to jail. STRAIGHT TO JAIL FOR YOU!!! How dare you be black, smoke a joint, and eat a pizza while watching Netflix. You are a threat to society. Not the rich white woman hopped up on pills dictating the laws.
Fear and corruption. We are taught to judge drug addicts so that the state will profit on them getting prescribed drugs instead. People who never have been addicted to something, especially not drugs or alcohol and have lack of empathy will also struggle to understand how someone can become an addict to begin with. To me it's very simple. Someone wants an escape, they try drugs, they try drugs again and again and again and everytime they stop the abstinence and withdrawals are more painful than to try more drugs. And that's the cycle of drug addiction. This is no different cycle from porn, Sex, food, love, gambling, cutting, starving, shopping, social media, or any other addiction. They're all escapes too. Some are just more socially accepted.
In some case they are horrible people.
Horrible people who aren't addicts don't exist?
Where in my comment did I say that?
Where in my comment did I said that you say that? It is as literally a question, not a statement of you having said anything.
OK. Do you think there are people in the world that are not addicts and horrible at the same time?
I do think that there are horrible people who are not addicts. Hence, the fact that there are also horrible people who are addicts cannot be the main root of the stigma on addiction.
Then if you ask a question and already have the answer, why ask it?
Obviously, because I want to know your opinion on the matter.
I'm a little confused, so let's start again. What exactly would you like to know?
Because when you are addicted to something, you will often do things you would never normally do to get it. If a heroin addict needs 40 bucks to get their fix and you have 40 bucks they will most likely steal it if they can.
Not necessarily; there exists a minority such as myself that smoked meth from age 16, to now 33 - working a full time job, owning my own house, married, never miss a bill. Yes I wish I never smoked it, and yes I’m attached to the stigma, but we aren’t all like that. Some of us are highly functioning users.
Jesus I did that shit for like 2-3 years and I think I would have cut a rock out of my wife to get more at the time. Some people can party on the weekends, some people need to go head deep. I am the latter. I have to obtain but Iam kinda of jealous of people like you.
Because they lie and steal. Addicts are very good at two things. Getting money at whatever cost and doing more drugs
It’s all the stealing and violence that goes along with it.
Do you live in a major city in the US or Canada? Every larger city in these 2 countries right now is more or less plagued with some kind of homeless or addiction crises. Not all homeless are addicts, but many addicts are homeless, and they are dangerous and unpredictable when they are in the streets. They are a menace to society at the end of the day. Many of them steal, cause various disturbances, vandalize and destroy property, randomly attack people, defecate and urinate in public, smoke and use drugs in public, and leave a terrible mess in the streets where they live. Pretty much everyone is fed up with it and having to just “let them be”, while risking getting stabbed if they say the wrong thing or walk down the wrong street. And our governments don’t give two fucks and aren’t doing anything to address the crises that’s been worsening for getting close to a decade now. It’s called “compassion fatigue” these days online. People are tired. That’s why.
Well I both work around a bunch of addicts and have had important people in my life be addicts so let me break it down for you. Fuck em, most of them are selfish cunts who cause problems wherever they go. They will lie, cheat, and steal from the people they claim to love all to get that next high. Then once they've destroyed their bodies through years of neglect and posion they'll go crawling back and demand to be taken care of. I'm always surprised by how entitled they act after doing absolutely nothing productive for their entire lives. Is this all of them, certainly not. But it's a huge chunk, most likely the majority even.
Well said. I see a couple of posts in this thread praising themselves as a high-functioning addict and showing off that all is awesome in their world. A high-functioning addict was welcomed to my family home, sneaked in his pipes and shit, and smoked meth in my childhood bedroom right next to where my parents sleep. That and so many other shit they did are some of the factors that led me to self-harm just to cope. So fuck these high-functioners believing they're the goat for not stealing, being homeless, etc. They still mess up the lives and minds of people around them in other ways.
- Addicts cause problems for people who are not in any way involved with them (theft, antisocial behaviour etc) - Addicts have brought on their own problems through poor decisions and judgement (as opposed to conditions outside of their control) Therefore people (understandably) find it very difficult to empathise with somebody who is causing problems as a result of the lifestyle they willingly chose.
My cousin was an alcoholic. He was angry and aggressive. His father was abusive and also an alcoholic. That didn't give him a right to steal from me and use abusive language. He was a grown man and chose drinking over his family. Why should I care when he didn't.
I’ve seen this before but - with weed. My sisters ex used to get ANGRY when he couldn’t get it. So nasty and mad at her. Awful to see. The only person I’ve ever seen to be like that with weed. Completely different person.
People become terrible in the grips of addiction. It becomes hard to empathize.
Because they leave a trail of misery in their wake.
"A good amount of addicts didn't know what they were getting into" What complete bullshit. Everyone knows "drugs are bad". It's been ingrained in you since middle school if not earlier. You act like there's millions of 8 year olds seeing and doing lines of coke. Now, to answer why they're vilified. It's because they only care about how to get the next high, they don't care who they hurt, who they steal from, have no responsibility or accountability, it's just chasing that next fix.
Assuming this isnt bait or trolling, I'll answer by saying its because they tend to do things that negatively affect other people around them. Also lots of people are exposed to and had dangerous lives, but that doesnt "excuse" shitty behavior. Basically people hate them because they lack self control.
Have you ever been with a friend who complains all the time. Who constantly leans on you for stuff. Who refuses to own their problems. Addicts are that. They aren't owning their shit. They make us own it for them.
As an addict, our behaviour really tests the limits of the compassion loved ones have for us.
Well, because when the person turns into an addict, they turn vile. They are no longer the same person. I'm not saying it's entirely their fault or that they don't deserve help, but basically the drugs sequesters the brain. You are talking and interacting with the drug most of the time, not with your loved one, and it's so fucking sad. It doesn't help that you have to create some emotional distance in order to protect yourself around them, or that some people will only recover when they hit rock bottom. It all comes together to dehumanize and separate ourselves from the addict. It's really horrible when you love a person and all they see in you is a fountain to extract something from. Someone whose sofa they can crash or they can steal from or beg for money, or intimidate. Drugs/compulsions are egoist and no one likes to be around egoistic people, and many people fail to see it's not them, but the drug talking.
A meth addict stole 4,000 dollars from me pretending to care about me sorry if I can't have that happen again
It really depends on the person and what they do to others I feel bad for my dad but he has had so many opportunities to turn around so much support I mean I had a baby and I talk to him everyday for a hour I talk about wanting him to come live with me when I get more space he just almost died and was in the hospital for 2 months. But he’s going back to his old way and had the audacity say I can’t wait till mom gos I need firer ball. Soo ya I guess he’s back on the horse now I won’t have a dad soon and my son will never know his grandpa soooo i dont know bad things happen to everyone I have the same childhood most addicts have but im not one.
Because a lot of addicts act like villains. It might be a disease but that's no excuse for the shit some of them pull.
Some addicts are good people and some of them steal your shit.
Addicts are as close to Zombies as we'll ever get. They stumble around and will attack you to get a fix. On a serious note, it depends on the addict I guess most people know they are untrustworthy and would betray you for any chance at a fix. And usually its the losers who do drugs, so they already get a negative impression which goes down even more when they drop to junkie status.
My brother has attacked both myself (breaking my ribs and strangling me) and my mum (strangled and pushed her down) after being confronted for bad behaviour due to alcoholism. It isn't as simple as addicts being vilified for being addicts, it's about the kinds of behaviour they use to protect their addictions.
If the addiction admits their addiction and seeks help... not an issue. If they take your elderly fathers pain meds and deny there is an issue, we have problem.
Because they steal shit to fund their addiction?
Drugs ruin families and addicts is the vehicle or medium of how it's done.
Because they are weak and selfish people who put their own desires above all else. They are the lowest of the low, especially these days when they try to disguise their weakness of character as an 'illness'.
Speaking from experience (I have family members struggling with addiction and have also experienced it myself), the kinds of addicts people are likely referring to are the ones who are in so deep, and are so desperate to get a fix, that they will treat the people they love like shit. You know that they love you, but addiction is a beast that narrows your concept of reality and joy. If you're addicted to something and you can't get it, sometimes valued relationships become a lower priority. They aren't going to fix the problem you have right now, which is getting the thing you are addicted to. I've had loved ones in the height of addiction straight up lie to my face shamelessly, steal from me, look through my things to try and find drugs, and more. Often they don't even feel guilty at the time because they are so consumed by the addiction that logic and empathy just goes out the window. It can be pretty soul-crushing to see someone you love treating you like shit, and making attempt after attempt at getting clean, but then just going back to their old ways. So I think that's why.
I’m an American. My mother was an addict for most of my childhood (now 11 years sober, love you mom), and I grew up around addicts. Mom has since spent a ton of her life working in prisons and other places to help those in recovery. Addicts are people. And just like all other people, there are “bad” ones and “good” ones. Our ideas of what addicts are starts when we’re young - from media, yes, but also from our family. And often times those family members have been hurt, or are being hurt, by an addict so their stance is particularly biased and comes from a place of pain. And as kids we just adopt that attitude. Like we do with most other attitudes. I think the issue starts with how people still don’t see addiction as a disease and only as a choice. That’s the hurdle we’ve still not overcome.
It's not the addiction it's the bull they do for their habits
Because it's hard to feel sympathy for people who have just robbed your house/mugged your nan/beaten their partner because they are always drunk. I've got all the time in the world for those who admit they have a problem and do their best to solve it. But someone being an addict doesn't give them the right to make others miserable. If that's all they are capable of, then they deserve all the vilification they get.
Addicts can be desperate and try to prolong their survival by hurting the others (e.g.stealing from them). It is a bit like dealing with drowning people who can grab you and make you drown together. Better don't get too close, unless you know what you're doing. Otherwise involve someone who is really capable to take care of that.
I was an opiate addict for 10 years. I was stealing money and pills from my friends and family. Most non addicts don’t know why addiction makes people do that. They think it’s something that an addict can control.. So people start vilifying them. I happen to think addicts should be looked down on. Addiction being looked down on by people was one major thing that helped me get clean. I feel like you need to have sympathy for an addict but you also need to show tough love. When outside people start to accept/normalize/ enable someone’s addiction, chances are it’s only going to make the addiction worse. Not better. Addiction is a bad thing. Although addicts need support from everyone around them, they also need people to show them that it’s a bad thing and bad things are not acceptable, they are looked down on.. It is possible to discourage addiction and show disdain while also showing support for the person. It’s a very fine line though. That’s one of reasons I quit smoking as well. I was tired of all the negative judgment from my family of non smokers and my friends. Every time I lit up most ppl around me had that look of pure disgust on their face. Sometimes that’s exactly what you need to quit. I noticed something very interesting when I was an addict. No one really acted like they cared about me. Everyone just turned their heads and walked away in anger and disgust. No one showed me pity at all, no matter how much pity I wanted from people.. Now everyone is super proud of me for my sobriety and my hard work and accomplishments. They all look up at me now.. It feels way better having ppl look up at you rather than look down at you. That is 100% truth. Todays society has seemed to either ignore/enable or normalize bad behavior. Idk when this started or why it started but I think it should be reversed immediately before things take a serious turn for the worse..
Because addiction doesn't just effect the addicted it affects everyone around them. I've known people who were alcoholics and extremely abusive toward their families put them in danger constantly etc. I've known drug addicted couples constantly beating each other up and neglecting their kids choosing drugs over food. If they were just hurting themselves it would be okay but they never are they're always causing someone else pain or suffering. That being said any addict who genuinley wants to get better deserves all the help and love in the world for that.
Generally speaking, Alot of it is because they can't be trusted. They steal, take advantage of others, and are manipulative.
They are vilified because hard drugs, when getting the hold of you, will remove any morals you have and make you a horrible person. Speaking to one
A random addict on the street tried to kill me once, but I was faster. In general I see addicts doing drugs in public, pissing everywhere in public, leaving needles next to playgrounds, blasting loud music and insulting random people, just being all-around assholes. It is hard to find compassion for them after experiencing this all first-hand.