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Social Recovery from Addiction

How does someone become addicted to a substance, whether it be Alcohol, Heroin or Xanax?

It’s something that seems painfully obvious: someone begins using said drug, like Heroin or Crack Cocaine and after a certain amount of days of continued and unchecked use, that person will become addicted due to toxic chemical hooks that come complimentary with the drugs.

That’s where the public’s knowledge of addiction tends to end and unfortunately, it’s inherently wrong. For starters: that explanation implies that someone just chose and decided to start using drugs on a random whim that he or she may have had. This, in turn, further implies that drug use typically revolves around a continued lapse of morality.

The explanation ultimately relies on the idea that someone is fully aware of the ramifications behind his or her actions, knowing full well that addiction is just around the corner but doing nothing to stop the decline due to an apparent sense of apathy.

Another issue with that explanation is the way it describes chemicals or toxins. The chemicals in drugs are not fish hooks that catch those who are using, but rather, they effect the chemical composition of the brain.

What this means is that the brain chemistry adapts due to the substances and chemicals that are introduced to the body, so much so, that it will need a constant influx of the chemicals just to function on a normal level.

This problem isn’t something new. Addiction is something that has plagued this country for as long as it has existed, but it hasn’t been classified as an epidemic until recently. In 2014, Nora D. Volkow, M.D spoke  in front of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control regarding the country’s Opioid addiction. But addiction, regardless of the substance, has often been viewed upon negatively, often viewing the victim as a perpetrator of moral conundrums.

Typically, when I write an article regarding addiction, I will often mention the stigma that addicted individuals suffer from, on top of their battle with substance abuse and the path to recovery. There is a plethora of reasons why someone may become addicted to a substance, but there is one common theme amongst them: loneliness.

Humans are a social species that craves interaction. When we are happy and healthy, we will bond and connect to those people that are around us, but when we are alone, due to either trauma, isolation, or beaten down in life, we will find something that will give us a sense a relief.

Drugs and alcohol feel good for a time. They provide a false sense of relief and sanity, making any and all pain and hurt to go away. When we’re alone, anything to take the pain and loneliness away will seem like a godsend.

But it’s this isolation that becomes the burden of the masses. The stigma surrounding addiction and substance abuse causes many to lash out in harmful ways. Those we see as addicts are pushed aside into a cluster of similar addicts. We cast them out, fire them from jobs, and send them to prison, a literal cage.

It’s why communities like Alcoholics Anonymous stay so tightly knit and anonymous. The wrath and stigma the whole of society can bring down on someone who comes out and reveals that they suffer from an addiction can be toxic and counterproductive to recovery. With that in mind, staying anonymous is the best course of action.

To battle this epidemic, society needs to change the way it views drug abuse and addiction. It requires the contribution of every member of the public to change this stigmatization of addiction. It needs to be more inclusive of those suffering from a condition that they are suffering from, having them get the help  that is needed.

The opposite of addiction isn’t sobriety; the opposite of addiction is a connection, a way to come together and understand the struggles of one another.