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Addiction Recovery Bulletin
TO EACH HIS OWN –
Dec. 4, 2024 – Stigmas can result in poor mental health, physical harm, lack of understanding and fewer opportunities. I saw this firsthand with my brother and the stigmas that were put onto him and by extension my family.
Substance Abuse Disorder has been defined as a medical condition of the brain by the American Addiction Center, yet there is still debate whether addiction is a true medical condition or simply a choice someone makes. Being from a small town in Florida, it’s hard to have any kind of moral failing without everyone dissecting your every flaw. Because of my brother’s issue with substance abuse, he experienced people constantly discussing his “failings.” Stigmas were hung over him from a young age, making him feel outcasted. This kind of harmful speech only worked to further his feeling of isolation.
As a society, we have worked hard to rid our world of hateful stigmas, from race to gender to class. Yet why as a society have we allowed Substance Abuse Disorder to be the final frontier of socially acceptable shame?
CONTINUE@Gargoyle
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