Addiction Stigma

People with drug or alcohol addiction problems often face severe discrimination (both publicly and privately) that restricts their access to necessary health care, employment, benefits, and discourages them from seeking treatment (which is both detrimental to the addict as well as costing society millions of dollars). Because of this, Join Together, a project of Boston University’s School of Public Health, formed a national panel to address this situation. As a result the panel outlined two guiding principals and ten recommendations if an effort to end this discrimination.

The first principle included the notion that addiction to drugs or alcohol is a treatable, chronic disease that needs to be seen and addressed as a public health issue. This means that those suffering from addiction need to be allowed to receive necessary treatment and recovery support to the extent of other chronic illnesses. The second principle established is that people seeking treatment or recovery from the disease of addiction should not be at risk of legally imposed bands or other barriers based solely on their addiction. Such as someone being repeatedly punished for the same offense.

In light of these two principles, the following recommendations were made.

• Insurance coverage for addiction treatment needs to be available at the extent it is for other illnesses.
• Insurance companies should not be able to deny claims to injury that occurs while someone suffering from addiction is under the influence.
• Treatment for addiction needs to be personalized to each patient and based on the best scientific protocols and standards of care and including services that significantly enhance the likelihood of success. This may include a variety of treatment options including Neurotransmitter Restoration, behavioral therapies, and more. There are many different type of treatments for addiction, and no single treatment is right for every individual. The “one size fits all” treatment model is outdated and ineffective.
• Employees who voluntarily seek treatment for substance abuse should not be at risk for discriminatory actions or dismissal from employment. It was estimated in 2000 that 70 percent of people who needed treatment were employed.
• It’s estimated that 75 percent of people who admit to a prospective employer that he or she is in recovery, will not get the job. This admission should not be a consideration unless relevant to the job.
• People in recovery with prior drug convictions should not face obstacles in getting student loans, grants, scholarships, or access to government training programs.
• People in recovery with non-violent drug convictions should not be subject to bans on food stamps and cash assistance.
• Public Housing agencies should use the discretion afforded them by law to help people find treatment instead of barring them and their families from housing.
• People who are disabled as a result of their addiction disease should be eligible for Social Security Disability Income and Supplemental Security Income.
• Decision regarding custodial cases should be made in the best interest of the child based on what is happening at home, and not solely on the presumption that a positive drug test automatically means neglect or abuse.

This report sheds some interesting light on a difficult matter at hand and offers hope for change in the future.

Because of the negative addiction stigma, many addicts are still embarrassed or scared to talk about their illness. This is despite continuous scientific evidence that addiction is a brain disease. Science makes clear that addiction is not a choice, a lack of willpower or a character flaw. Hopefully, the more that people talk about their disease of addiction, the more it will challenge the addiction stigma and make obvious that addiction shows no discrimination. It can effect anyone, regardless of socioeconomic class, ethnicity, age or gender.

A good example of this: Col. Edwin Eugene “Buzz” Aldrin, Jr. Heard of him? Probably you have. He played a central role in one of the greatest accomplishments in human history: the Apollo 11 space mission. Astronaut Buzz Aldrin was the second man to walk on the moon. It made him one of the most famous people on our planet with countless children aspiring to be just like “Buzz.” Even before he changed the course of mankind, Col. Aldrin was considered an overachiever. He turned down a full scholarship to M.I.T. to attend West Point, where he graduated third in his class with a B.S. in mechanical engineering. He joined the Air Force and was a decorated fighter pilot in the Korean War. And to this day, he is one of only twelve or so people to succeed at the near impossible feat of walking on the face of the moon. However, few people know the rest of the American hero’s story. He released a memoir in 2009 titled, “Magnificent Desolation: The Long Journey Home from the Moon.” In it, he recounts his long-time struggle with alcoholism and depression. In an attempt to challenge the addiction stigma,  he is quoted as saying, “From the pinnacle of Apollo, my greatest challenge became the human one — overcoming alcoholism and living beyond depression — a challenge that required more courage and determination than going to the moon.”

The addiction stigma is so pervasive in society that we rarely think of a successful business person, doctor, lawyer, or astronaut as an addict. Yet these people are just as likely to suffer from the disease of addiction as any other. The addiction stigma continues to perpetuate a false stereotype of what an addict is. In doing so, the addiction stigma reinforces behavior of stress, fear, denial and secrecy, all of which exacerbate the problem and stand in the way of people getting help. In fact, one of the main reasons people report for not seeking treatment is the negative addiction stigma.

Col. Aldrin, and many like him, are testimony to the fact that the disease of addiction can strike anyone, regardless of how strong, successful, intelligent or willful. It is stories like his that will hopefully help change the negative addiction stigma, and encourage those who need help to seek it. Because the good news is, addiction is a treatable disease. People who get help are able to live wonderful, fulfilling lives in long-term recovery.