SPOTLIGHT ON...
Stigma
by Ames S.
The argument over addiction as a matter of chemistry or
choice continues among professionals searching for answers to one of society’s
oldest and most pressing problems. For those in the middle – those with
addictions, either active or in remission – watching the question swing back
and forth can be like watching a tennis match. Addiction is a disease, so
nobody is to blame. Addiction is entirely volitional – nobody forces those
people to drink or take drugs. They can’t help it. It’s their own damned fault.
Disease. Choice. Brain chemistry. No willpower. And so it goes.
Whether alcoholism is a disease or a function of personal
choice, the way people perceive alcoholics and addicts has not changed
considerably over time. On one hand, people seem to recognize that alcoholism
is more than a moral issue, and yet, at the same time, believe that alcoholics
ultimately do it to themselves.
You’d think that recovery would be a ticket out of this
mess, but the stigma surrounding addiction doesn’t just stop when people put
down the alcohol and drugs. According to a
national survey conducted in 2004 by Peter D. Hart Research Associates
and Robert M. Teeter's Coldwater Corporation, people in long-term recovery from
addiction to alcohol or other drugs face widespread stigma and discrimination.
According to the poll, two thirds of the public believes
that a stigma exists toward people in recovery from addiction to alcohol or
other drugs. A significant minority (27 percent) admits they would be less
likely to hire someone who was in long-term recovery from addiction, and strong
majorities say that discrimination in the workplace (80 percent) and the
availability of health insurance for people seeking recovery (75 percent) is a
problem in the United States
today.
“Stigma is one of the meanest and most difficult aspects of addiction because it makes it harder for
individuals and families to deal with their problems and get the help they
need,” says David L. Rosenbloom, Ph.D., the Director of Join Together, a
program of the Boston University School of Public Health, which helps
communities fight substance abuse and gun violence. “Society imposes stigma -
and its damage - on addicts and their families because many of us still believe
that addiction is a character flaw or weakness that probably can't be cured.
“The stigma against people with addictions is so deeply
rooted that it continues even in the face of the scientific evidence that
addiction is a treatable disease and even when we know people in our families
and communities living wonderful lives in long-term recovery.
“Stigma is the reason there is so much social and legal
discrimination against people with addictions. It explains why addicts and
their families hide the disease.”
According to the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT)
in “Substance Use Disorders: A Guide to the Use of Language,” one way to combat
stigma is to stop perpetuating negative connotations people may have about
addiction by using words like addict, alcoholic, user and abuser, which
reinforce the stigma, says CSAT. These terms label a person by his or her
illness and, because they make no distinction between the person and the
disease, deny the dignity and humanity of the individual.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS)
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) Center for
Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) published a report entitled Changing the Conversation: The National
Treatment Plan Initiative to Improve Substance Abuse Treatment in November
2000. The intent of this report was to "change the conversation"
about substance abuse and treatment to stress that addiction is a treatable
disease.
Clearly, it will take more than a change in language to
alter society's perceptions, attitudes, and policies toward addiction. Says Dr.
Nora Volkow, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, "At one
point, we had the stigma of leprosy. Nobody spoke about leprosy. We had a
stigma of cancer at one point. There's still a significant stigma with some of
the mental diseases, but much less so than there used to be. But the one that's
lagging behind is addiction."
Millions of Americans are in long-term recovery from
addiction to alcohol and other drugs and are leading productive lives. “It is
now time for this to be affirmed in all areas of society,” says Pat Taylor of
Faces and Voices of Recovery, a national recovery advocacy organization.
"Breaking the cycle of addiction is critical to a healthy society,"
continues Taylor.
“Our nation's policies and programs should support -- not set up roadblocks for
-- the 23 million Americans who still need help."