Addiction is nothing to be ashamed of. This chronic disease is a common affliction that affects people of all ages and backgrounds, and it is treatable. While all of this is true, there’s no denying that the stigma surrounding addiction and recovery after drug and alcohol abuse shows no signs of fading away.
Whether it’s misunderstanding the reality of the situation or trying to assign blame for this disease, all too many people don’t quite see the reality of addiction or get the truth of what’s happening here. Because stigma remains, many people who are suffering from addiction can feel guilty about their disease or even be full of shame about the situation. While these are understandable responses, it’s important to know how to overcome this stigma and reach out for professional help that can provide life-saving treatment.
At Faith Recovery Center’s luxury drug rehab in Los Angeles, our team of addiction specialists knows that the stigma surrounding this disease can become a significant roadblock to achieving recovery. That’s why we work with our patients to address the physical and mental aspects of their addiction while also assisting them with understanding the truth about their disease and accepting the fact that, with treatment, they can get the better, brighter future that they deserve.
Let’s explore why stigma remains a common problem today when considering addiction and recovery.
Why Is There Still So Much Shame Around Addiction?
An article in the Frontiers in Psychiatry journal was all about the stigma surrounding addiction, especially how that stigma plays out as an internal dialogue in the person with addiction issues. According to the article, people with addiction suffer from two types of failures—the failure to not use or practice self-control with the substance, and shame about this failure and not living up to the life standards they think they should be following.
Instead of considering shame to be a mistake, the author of the article said shame is part of the overall shape and process of addiction, and it can become a motivation to heal when tapped into correctly. Rather than fight against these feelings, the article author suggests that people with addiction try to focus their feelings of shame toward their recovery journey and work to overcome shame while they overcome addiction.
Still, other experts suggest the reality is a bit more complicated than this. A 2021 article published by the Addictive Behaviors journal said some research shows that guilt can be a valuable tool to overcome addictive behavior, while shame isn’t helpful in this way. The article’s author said this viewpoint isn’t quite correct either, and instead suggests that people with addiction can become empowered to make constructive changes in their lives if they process their blame, guilt, and shame in the right ways. Rather than look at the past and think they’re “fixed,” unable to change, people can use their feelings of guilt and shame to become motivated to make the changes they need to make.
Are Media Representations Helping or Harming Recovery?
As with many other serious topics, media depictions of addiction and recovery are a bit of a double-edged sword. There’s no denying that TV series, documentaries, and movies that have addressed the issues of addiction to drugs or alcohol have helped raise awareness of the problem and educated the broader public about the signs of a drug problem and how important it is to get professional help.
The best media representations make it possible for viewers to gain a sense of empathy and understanding of what someone is going through—nuances and all—when dealing with a substance use disorder. These depictions can also help to strip some of the stigma from addiction and recovery by showing just how unique and diverse these experiences can be.
Another benefit of this media coverage is spreading awareness of support and treatment options. Still, perhaps the best part of these representations is that they can share inspiring, hopeful stories of recovering from addiction, which can make people more likely to take the first step and get help themselves.
Still, not all media representations are helpful, and the worst ones can perpetuate negative stereotypes like suggesting people with addictions are morally weak or somehow bad, keeping the stigma going. Consider also shows and movies that glamorize or normalize drug and alcohol use, or pieces of media that oversimplify and speed up the reality of recovering from addiction.
These can spread unrealistic, unhelpful ideas even further. Another potential pitfall of media representation is sensationalized depictions and reporting about addiction, which can spread fear and make it harder to access treatment. The wording that these pieces of media use also matters, and dehumanizing portrayals or poor language to describe what’s happening to these characters can make people less likely to get help.
What Happens When People Are Too Ashamed to Ask for Help?
Even if it’s true that addiction is nothing to be ashamed of, there is a real risk of danger from stigma and poor representations of this disease in the media: People might be too ashamed to ask for the help they need. They might understand that they need personalized addiction treatment, but admitting this would be admitting to the thing they’re ashamed of.
It can start to seem like no one else would understand the situation, or that others will judge them for their moral failures, so they think it’s easier to just ignore the problem. This kind of roadblock to getting help keeps addiction raging, and it puts the person at continued risk of missing out on the happier, healthier future they deserve and could attain if they got the right help.
How Can Stigma Affect Employment, Housing, and Relationships?
As we’ve said, addiction is nothing to be ashamed of, but the discrimination and stigma that people with addiction often face can cause some major real-world problems. Misunderstandings about addiction or incorrect assumptions about the “fault” of the person with this disease can severely limit the person’s options for the future.
Consider, for example, applying for a job where the manager assumes someone who sought addiction treatment is unhirable because they’re an “addict.” The same discrimination can come up when trying to secure housing, such as renting a new apartment, where a background check could turn up a past run-in with law enforcement that was related to an addiction that has since been treated.
Stigma can even affect relationships, with friends and loved ones who don’t understand the reality of the disease taking out their frustration or anger on the person rather than the illness.
Addiction Is Nothing to Be Ashamed Of: Get Help at Faith Recovery Center
Addiction is nothing to be ashamed of, but it can be hard to accept this as true after so many misrepresentations and false ideas have spread throughout media, entertainment, and popular culture. At Faith Recovery Center, we’ll work with you to understand the roots of your addiction and to accept your disease as something you can treat, not be held back by forever.
Our comprehensive treatment programs will address the mental and physical aspects of your addiction, teaching you coping skills, calming techniques in addiction recovery, and other helpful lessons that will assist you in recovery for years to come. Call Faith Recovery at 844-598-5573 and start getting better today.
External Sources
National Library of Medicine – The Shame of Addiction
ScienceDirect – Managing Shame and Guilt in Addiction: A Pathway to Recovery
National Institute on Drug Abuse – Stigma and Discrimination
