We’ve been talking a lot lately about hiding addiction and uncovering it, of acknowledging people and things as well as the unsung heroes of life.
In just my lifetime, I’ve seen things change for the better when it comes to drug treatment and mental health. A lot of these positive changes relate to the increasing willingness of people to be open about these topics.
Don’t get me wrong, there’s still some negativity and judgment surrounding these topics. Despite the growing research about the complexity of the human brain and the mounting evidence that psychological conditions like depression have physiological connections, some people still think that mental illness = crazy. That substance use disorder = moral failing.
These judgments do so much more harm than good. And they’re so … wrong. How do you account for the fact that many families have many members who are depressed or deal with substance use disorder issues? Yes, environment might play a role, but the fact that so many family members often have such related conditions means you can’t eliminate genetics as a possible factor in these conditions. If diabetes and different kinds of cancer run in families, why can’t substance use disorder?
But, fortunately, negative depictions of mental illness and substance use disorder are less common than they once were. The U.S. surgeon general has said that addiction is a disease of the brain. Note the word disease. The surgeon general didn’t choose to use the words weakness, failing, or anything related to morality or even free will.
It’s the word disease, which means that substance use disorder has a medical basis. It doesn’t stigmatize people who abuse drugs and alcohols, it indicates that they have problems. The word disease also means that medicine and medical treatments might help addiction, that addiction isn’t something you can just stop if you’d just make better choices or be a better person.
The surgeon general has talked about addiction in a clinical, judgment-free way. It seems that others are taking that lead. Let’s hope that by continuing this discussion, we can fight the stigmas even further and encourage people to seek the help they need.
