“Addiction is the only disease that tells you that you don’t have a disease.” Jason Z. W. Powers
This is a powerful statement about the disease about addiction. The silent voice and inner thinking that goes on with addiction—what is it exactly that makes it so difficult to just stop? Normal people, as well as addicts, have personal perceptions about addiction based on their own individual experiences with this disease. There is a stigma that if the addict/alcoholic just tries hard enough, or just want too bad enough, they can stop. Don’t these hurting behaviors that they are doing to themselves and others make them want to change? But people who have addictive behaviors are considered “immoral”, “weak”, or even cursed with a behavior defect that incarceration or punishment will change.
Education and tolerance are necessary for all people to see what addiction really is, and how they can support and help make a difference in this battle against this silent disease. Being intolerant does no good. Period. For some, addiction is a chemical imbalance of the brain. Others are cursed with the disease being a biological, physiological or psychological predisposition. It is part of a person’s past and present which can be partially modified. And others are drawn into the lure of addiction due to a traumatic occurrence as a young person which was never truly dealt with in the person’s mind. Whatever it is, it is a mental disease. And it is real. A disease that may have been afflicted with and the numbers are going up all the time. Drugs in America are becoming more and more deadly due to the opioid epidemic and abuse of prescription drugs by all ages young and old. Synthetic additions to the current drugs where the amount of intake is unable to be controlled and deadly in smaller amounts. Heroin overdose is up over 15% and this is taking young and old alike. The United States war on drugs is failing, and this bleeds into all the drug/alcohol usage.
Can America and the world see the need for change—our fight for helping reach people in need of help is not keeping up with the numbers. The numbers of new people pulled into the deadly grip of addiction. Life continues to become more and more stressful. Financial problems continue to plague so many, and the mental disorders that new strategies are needed to reach people at large. When educating and creating a new consciousness around the underlying causes of addiction, we can provide substantive information to create new solutions to slow down the disease of addiction. Once these strategies help eliminate the causes of addictions, the change will begin to occur. Hope for a world seeing more and more destruction by this disease. Hope for a world that can begin to recognize disease when it isn’t clear to the addict/alcoholic. Hope for a world that the war on the silent but powerful disease of addiction can be understood, supported, and supported in a loving and caring environment of tolerance. Tolerance and love—isn’t that what we all need and want to make our world a better place?
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