There is a stigma assumed when someone says they’re an addict – drugs, alcohol, whatever.

However, the label of a drug addict does not necessarily mean people crawling on their hands and knees searching for the next hit (although the inner feeling of that is often times still true). Drug addicts come in all sorts of shapes and forms; it just comes down to the way you want to see them.

I have struggled with the abuse and addiction of prescription medication since I can remember, although I didn’t act upon my addiction until about two years ago. My addiction didn’t start as an addiction – it started as the use of a prescribed medication for a legitimate reason that I had to take it for. I was doing the right thing, right? Who cared if I took a little extra, I wasn’t an addict because I was doing the right thing by even taking my meds at all. I realize now that that’s nowhere near true.

Drugs fall into several categories: methamphetamines (meth, crystals, Speed), amphetamines (Adderall, Ritalin), benzodiazepines (Xanax, Klonopin, Ativan), opiates (Heroin, Morphine, Oxycodone), hallucinogens (LSD, shrooms), inhalants (hairspray, dusters), Cannabis, and alcohol – just to name a few. There are many outlets for brain-altering chemicals; frankly, it’s disgusting how easily someone can get their hands on them.

So now comes the question of what makes an addict truly an addict. Studies have shown that there is one major difference between a user and an addict. Users take the drug and feel tranquil, sedated, and lucid. The true addict, however, feels an intense euphoria after first taking the drug and then they, too, feel the sedation. Without the euphoria, one is not classified as an addict.

Let’s get back to the issue of a stigma.

There are some addicts that will go to any extent to get their fix – a lot of them will, actually. Once the brain latches on to the drug and starts altering the way the body processes things, the craving for the drug of choice becomes almost unbearable. This looks like different things to different people. Some will pawn off everything they own to get money for their drug. Others will bribe. Others will lie. Others will beg. Others will fake an illness. Some might even physically crawl on the ground for their drug. Once that drug reaches the ultimate euphoria, people will stop at nothing to get loaded once more – maybe “for the last time.”

For me, my addiction looked like deception and faking. I would fake anxiety just to get more prescriptions, I would lie about why I was up with the munchies. I would tell people that my non-narcotic medications made me so sleepy that I didn’t remember anything. One time, I even faked sleepwalking to cover the fact that I blacked out when I was in the deepest in my addiction. Once I was hooked on the drug, I would do anything or say anything to get my next fix; even if it meant throwing away some of my moral values. But, that’s how the drug gets you: it convinces you that it’s okay to do those things because it’s “worth it in the end.”

So how can we fix this unfair stigma?

Education is the most important way to battle the assumption made when someone says they struggle with addiction. The real truth is that addiction and alcoholism are diseases. They are something that alters the chemicals in the brain to make your body feel certain things (such as cravings). The debate between disease vs. choice has been going on for a very long time. The best way to find out for yourself is to check out books from the library and watch teaching videos on the subject (“Why Can’t Johnny Just Quit? By Kyle Oh, and Pleasure Unwoven filmed by Dr. Kevin McCauley).

If you or someone else you know struggles with any sort of addiction (drugs, alcohol, sex, shopping, gambling, ect.), please get help and as much information as you can ASAP. Statistics show that:

- 6.5 million Americans over the age of 12 report a current nonmedical use of prescription drugs

- 22.7 million Americans need treatment for substance use but only 2.5 million actually receive treatment

- 100 people die every day from drug overdose

- 6.8 million people with an addiction have a mental illness

- Over 90% of those with an addiction began drinking, smoking, or using illicit drugs before the age of 18

- Approximately 7,000 people try marijuana for the first time every day

- Over 800,000 Americans reported having an addiction to cocaine

- Overdoses caused by painkillers are more common than heroin and cocaine overdoses combined

- Methamphetamines release nearly four times as much dopamine as cocaine

- 22.7 million people have reported using LSD in their lifetime

- Between 2002 and 2006, over half a million of teens aged 12-17 had used inhalants

Let these statistics fuel you to get help or help those around you. Let’s break the stigma.

Drug Addiction Hotline: (888) 939-3187