Addiction Happens to All of Us

Addiction is that thing that no one cares about…until it happens to you or your loved one. But these days, nearly everyone has someone whom it’s happened to. When I first started in the field of addiction back in the late ’80s, the statistic was that a quarter of individuals were affected by a loved one’s substance use disorder. Today, according to a recent KFF report, that stat has increased to two-thirds. That’s huge! My husband David McGrath and I always talk about who cares about “those people,” because those are the kinds of conversations I drag people into. And David always points out that no one cares…until they do. But when you consider that two out of every three people “say either they or a family member have been addicted to alcohol or drugs, experienced homelessness due to addiction, or experienced a drug overdose leading to an emergency room visit, hospitalization, or death” per the KFF poll (KFF), most of us should care about “those people” because “those people” are OUR PEOPLE or even US!

And yet…

We know that stigma prevents people from seeking treatment. Too many of us still believe that addiction is a moral failing rather than the brain disease that it is. And, because of that, too many of us believe that those who suffer with addictions are to blame for having them: “If he didn’t drink (or use), he wouldn’t be in this position.”

Given our culture – especially the drinking culture in Wisconsin, though, how likely is it that a person will NEVER drink? And, if we fail to discuss addiction as the hereditary disease it can be, how many people succumb to the “sins of the father,” as it were? If I don’t know that I have a genetic predisposition to get a disease and no one talks about the disease I may get, how on earth can I prevent myself from getting it?

And that’s where YOU come in! You got this far in reading this, so you’re clearly a person who cares. Put that care into action! Talk about addiction as the disease it is. Learn more about it. Follow and share this blog! We are the small group of thoughtful, committed citizens that Margaret Mead was referring to. Indeed.

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