Overcoming the stigma Addicts face roadblocks on their path to recovery
After the Eagle reported a meth lab operator's sentencing last spring, one Facebook commenter wrote “Oh, an entrepreneur. Does he have a motor home for sale?”
Another was more direct: “More Butler druggies time to take out the trash!” A third wondered publicly if he would still have done the crime if “his parents would have beaten their kid's ass more.”
Tracy Hack, the operator's mother, also commented.
“This is my son,” Hack wrote, “who is loved.”
Though their stories varied, every addict interviewed for this series of articles described the same phenomenon when asked what Butler County could do differently to help its addicts. There is a stigma against addicts, they said, that keeps people from seeking help and even hinders people who are beating their addiction.
That stigma can stop job offers, tank relationships and shame addicts from seeking medical help.
Victims of the storm of addiction often include the addicts' children. A three-month special project by the Eagle revealed the effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences, or ACEs, on the most vulnerable members of the community are being dealt with by agencies and area school districts.
Families struggling with addiction can spark “potentially traumatic events” like violence, abuse or neglect that influence children's behaviors, health and even life expectancy, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Surviving the family tree takes more than determination and specialized services — a change in the public's attitude is essential, according to adult children now struggling with their own addictions.
Children of addiction
Jill is one of those children of addiction who also faced abuse.
The 25-year-old, navigating recovery from an opioid addiction to better raise her daughter, said she sees the stigma everywhere.
She hasn't experienced it much herself, she said, but Jill only tells people she trusts about her struggles. Once, a friend discouraged her from dating another recovering addict because of his drug problems, not realizing Jill was enrolled in the same rehabilitation program. People, Jill said, can be “brutal.”
“A lot of people don't seek help because of the perception people have on addiction,” Jill said. “I think that's the main thing that needs to be taken care of to fight addiction.”
Rebecca, the 46-year-old woman who picked up pills and booze after seeing her dad do the same, is thriving in Butler today.
She is active in her church and hosts ministry groups for recovering addicts, but again and again she's frustrated by their willing lack of visibility in the community.
“The one thing I would love to showcase is the talent of people who are hiding,” Rebecca said. “We have so many talented people here in recovery.”
Rebecca recounted a list of cruel names people have called her Rebuilding self-esteem was a critical part of her recovery.
“In my mind, I was the cause of everything,” Rebecca said. “I hated myself. I hated where my drinking took me. I hated where the drugs took me. I hated where my life took me.”
A preponderance of academic research suggests that stigma is worthy of attention.Public stigmaA 2017 study published in the journal Current Opinion in Psychiatry used a mass of academic work to paint a picture of the havoc public stigma about addicts wreaks.“Stigma can reduce willingness of policy-makers to allocate resources, reduce willingness of providers in non-specialty settings to screen for and address substance abuse problems and may limit willingness of individuals with such problems to seek treatment,” the study concluded.The public seems to hold addicts in two, seemingly conflicting regards, a study published in Substance Use & Misuse found. Americans tend to see use disorders as both a disease and sign of moral failure by the addict.In former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy's 2016 report on addiction in America, Murthy addressed the stigma against addicts.“For far too long, too many in our country have viewed addiction as a moral failing,” Murthy wrote. “This unfortunate stigma has created an added burden of shame that has made people with substance use disorders less likely to come forward and seek help.“It has also made it more challenging to marshal the necessary investments in prevention and treatment. We must help everyone see that addiction is not a character flaw — it is a chronic illness that we must approach with the same skill and compassion with which we approach heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.”Hack has two children with substance abuse disorders. She said her daughter is only clean because she eventually agreed to try medication. Some drugs are prescribed to opioid addicts for the purpose of reducing withdrawal syndromes as they quit their habit.“People can abuse it, but it really is a crutch for people who want to get well,” Hack said. “If you fall and break your leg and someone gives you a crutch, are you going to use it? Probably. I think families get caught up in the stigma of those crutches.”Jill said understanding both addiction and recovery are keys to success in Butler.“People aren't educated on this disease,” Jill said. “I think that's the biggest factor in helping to fight this.”
