There are multiple myths about addiction, including that it’s a reflection of the person’s morality and that a person with addiction will never get better. For individuals trying to manage alcohol use disorder (AUD) or substance use disorder (SUD), these damaging perspectives complicate matters even more as they try to shift into recovery. Understanding the science of this brain disease is the first step to helping people realize that no one “chooses” to become addicted.
A History of Stigma
The first wave of the Temperance Movement occurred in the early 1800s when, according to the Social Welfare History Project (SWHP), different religious societies in the U.S. and Great Britain “sponsored lectures and marches, sang songs, and published tracts that warned about the destructive consequences of alcohol. Eventually, these temperance societies began to promote the virtues of abstinence or ‘teetotalism.’”
Some supporters of America’s nationwide Prohibition, enacted between 1920 and 1933, included feminist Susan B. Anthony, who felt “abuse of alcohol so often led to violence against women,” SWHP states. There was also a racial component, as “anti-immigration proponents associated alcohol with Irish and German immigrants.”
The Institute for Alcohol Studies (IAS) states that as society progressed into the 1900s, people with AUD or SUD were often referred to as “moral inferiors” and their children as “born criminals.” Additionally, the IAS notes that “physicians regarded women who used alcohol as ‘significantly more deviant’ than men. They believed such women had defied their ‘natural’ social roles and responsibilities by engaging in immoral behavior that was associated with ‘sexual promiscuity and ruined motherhood.’”
Well into the 1990s, there was still an overwhelming stigma involving people of color and drugs, resulting in a tendency, as the Office of Justice Programs indicates, “to apply different normative standards to the types of drugs used and to believe that Blacks are largely responsible for drug trafficking. As a result, drug law enforcement may be ethnically skewed, policies may ignore the unique patterns that characterize the drug crisis in different communities, and treatment techniques may not be designed for the specific needs of different groups.”
Additionally, for all the benefits of 12-Step programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, and others, there’s also been a lot of criticism over the years regarding the use of certain language. Repeatedly calling yourself an addict, for example, or considering yourself “powerless” over alcohol or drugs are two of the major points that stir controversy as to how, regardless of what someone might do, they simply don’t have what it takes to manage their SUD or AUD healthfully, and will always suffer as a result. This perception influences other people who might not have experienced issues with substances.
Moving Past Myths With Research
The American Medical Association (AMA) classified alcoholism as a disease in 1956 and included addiction as a disease in 1987. In 2011, the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) joined the AMA, defining addiction as a chronic brain disorder, not a behavior problem or the result of making bad choices.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that “1 in 7 Americans reports experiencing a substance use disorder. There’s not one single driving factor that leads to addiction.” The Centers also offer this clarification: “Addiction is a disease, not a character flaw. People suffering from AUDs and SUDs have trouble controlling their misuse even though they know substances are harmful. Overcoming a SUD is not as simple as resisting the temptation to take drugs through willpower alone.”
Nevertheless, research continues. Some scientists don’t think of addiction predominantly as a brain disorder like Parkinson’s or Huntington’s but more of a complex health problem that requires “emphasizing a prominent role for psychosocial and environmental factors, and would focus on offering alternative reinforcers—non-drug alternatives that decrease problematic drug-taking. From a practical or clinical perspective, this approach means it is unacceptable to tell substance-use disorder patients that they suffer from a diseased brain. Instead, a comprehensive psychosocial assessment should be employed, and the resulting findings should dictate intervention strategies.”
Other studies support that any disagreements about addiction as a brain disease “reveal the need for multidisciplinary research that integrates neuroscientific, behavioral, clinical, and sociocultural perspectives.”
The bottom line? Addiction isn’t a choice. However, if someone feels discriminated against or judged because of their problem, they’re less likely to understand the root causes of it and seek appropriate treatment. The National Institute on Drug Abuse points out that “to eliminate the stigma surrounding substance use disorders, we need to see these disorders for what they are: chronic, treatable medical conditions. People with substance use disorders deserve compassion and respect—not blame for their illness.”
The Great Oaks Philosophy of Care
As an addiction rehabilitation and dual diagnosis treatment center, Great Oaks Recovery Center outside of Houston, Texas, offers a full spectrum of evidence-based practices, holistic therapies, and lifestyle modifications. This multifaceted continuum of care meets each individual where they are and helps them create lives renewed with health and purpose. Talk to a member of our admissions team to learn more.
