The Stigma of Addiction

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about the stigma of addiction. For people who don’t truly understand the disease, “addiction” is considered a very negative mark on someone’s personality. The worst misunderstanding is that addicts aren’t good people. That misunderstanding is why there’s so much shame and secrecy in the recovery community. We don’t want to be labeled “addicts.”

I am an addict. I hate the label (and labels of any sort), but it’s true, and I’m still uncomfortable with people knowing so. I always worry what people will think if they find out that I’m in recovery, and it’s a fear that I’ve had to face a lot in the past three years. Fortunately, I’ve never had a bad experience with anyone finding out (knock on wood). I still worry that some people see me differently, but if they do, I haven’t had to directly face any ill will because of it.

However, I don’t think that’s because everyone is understanding and knowledgeable about the disease. Several times I’ve actually faced the stigma of addiction in a different way than I expected: Some people who have only known me after my active addiction think that I must be exaggerating my claim of being in recovery - that because I’m such a good person now and appear so put together, I can’t actually be a real addict.

When I get that reaction from people, I tread lightly. I try to take advantage of the opportunity to debunk the stigma of addiction for them, but I’m also careful not to bash myself too much. “No, really, I USED to be a horrible person! But I was only such a horrible person because of my DISEASE. You know I’m a good person, right? Well, that’s the REAL me. But I promise you, I am your typical addict; I used to do some terrible shit! Let’s not get into that… just trust me! I was bad!”

It’s almost funny to me, but then it makes me sad. Hopefully, by putting myself out there, I can make a small difference in the way some people view the disease of addiction. In my case, I’m also very open (oftentimes more so) about my depression. Mental illness of any kind is terribly misunderstood. I want people to see it for what it is - a sickness, just like any other sickness.

Everyone needs to understand the disease of addiction because it is a fatal disease. All the addicts who are too ashamed to admit their condition have their lives at even greater risk. In recovery, we should be able to tell the people close to us about our addiction without fear of repercussion, because if we can’t, we have less of the support that’s so crucial for avoiding relapse. If addiction stops carrying such a negative connotation, we can move from being ashamed of our pasts to being proud of ourselves for our strength in the face of disease.   

I’m curious to hear what the readers of Sober Nation have to say about the stigma of addiction and their experiences with it. What do you think?

Lisa M. Hann is a freelance writer and author who specializes in addiction recovery. She holds a B.A. in Journalism from Temple University. She resides in New Jersey with her son. She has been sober since 2010 and is a Caron PA alum. She is the author of "How to Have Fun in Recovery" and "365 Ways to Have Fun Sober" (available in the Kindle store).