September 29, 2018

ADDICT LIVES MATTER

Is addiction a choice or a disease? Does the addict control their actions fully or not? Is Suboxone and Methadone “real recovery” or is abstinence the only true way? Do addicts rightfully struggle or are they weak? No matter your answer to these questions there is something that is horribly objectified about this subject. There seems to be a failure to discuss these topics without discounting or even attacking the person behind the topic. These “addicts,” the people that have found themselves in the battle of addiction, no matter how they arrived at this point in their lives, they are people, actual human beings who are not defined by their struggle. Often times when faced with situations that are not easily identified or explained we tend to remove the face, the person, from the issue and argue about ideological systems and theories so that we can disconnect humanity from the problem. It’s much easier to argue about a data set or an abstract solution to a theoretical issue. We have to stop. Just stop. These are people. I have been around addiction professionally and personally for close to 20 years. People who struggle with addictions are some of the most incredible people I have ever met. They are often more intelligent, creative, and harder working than the average person and we should focus on their strengths, not their weaknesses.

Psychology Today and many others have written articles talking about the disposition for people who have higher IQ scores to ingest psychoactive drugs. There are several different theories as to why, but nevertheless true. Sigmund Freud, Ulysses Grant, John Lilly, and Howard Hughes are just a few brilliant minds that struggled with a range of substances. One of the most popular theories for this is that people with higher intelligence see the world’s most urgent issues more clearly making life more difficult to endure. No matter the reason, there is a correlation between higher intelligence and drug consumption. It can be incredibly frustrating and even seem hopeless for a person to understand more of life’s overlying issues, and it’s interworkings. Especially when the person sees no easy solution or is left proving why they are correct.

It’s really no surprise and has even become somewhat of a stereotype that creative people use substances. Marilyn Monroe, Stephen King, Kurt Cobain, Jimmy Hendrix, Ernest Hemingway, Tchaikovsky, Vincent Van Gogh, and Charles Dickens are a few. There seems to exist a sort of tortured soul that tends to lend itself useful to the most creative. They see the world differently than many. This viewpoint has produced some of the most fantastic literature, art, and music that the world has ever experienced and all from people who struggled with the use of substances. Because many of these people were ahead of their times in their chosen art form, they found themselves feeling as though no one understood them or their work.

The idea that people who are in active recovery from substance use are hard working came from a University of Chicago study. They found that people who are in active recovery from substances call off work less, work more extended hours, and are excellent employees. Addicts aren’t lazy, don’t want to remain impoverished, and are willing to work hard. Often times an addict is thought of as the “skid row junkie,” the person that is living in a cardboard box on the sidewalk. This just isn’t even close to always true. People in recovery are doctors, lawyers, professors, mechanics, chefs, artists, musicians, celebrities, politicians, engineers, and more. Ambition isn’t the issue. Once the problem they are faced with is arrested, they thrive in any position.

Not only are addicts people, but they are incredible, vibrant, creative, sincere individuals. They are not defined by their issue with substances. Their strengths should be embraced and cultivated. We don’t remember Ernest Hemingway for the fact he used substances, but for his novels. Freud, not for his struggles, but for founding modern psychology. What if our society built on the strengths of people who struggle with addictions instead of arguing about how they arrived at their psychological state? Let’s welcome the good, encourage growth, and watch people flourish.

—
In His Steps,

Jonathan Hughes, MA, CNP, CTBHP
Kentucky Peer Support Specialist
Addiction Recovery Care
Corporate
Program Development and Training
(606) 471-5305