Not many people understand the importance of September. This is Addiction
Awareness Month. Those who do know are usually the ones celebrating their recovery from drugs and alcohol. People celebrate second chances, renewed spirit and mind, restored relationships, and a healthier approach to self and life. For years, people challenged by addiction have been stigmatized as making the choice to use. This stigma suggests the addict makes the conscious decision to steal, manipulate, hurt people, and practically kill themselves repeatedly. Who would consciously make these choices? Addicts are also stigmatized as lacking willpower and as immoral people. Addiction does not define the addict. It does become the more dominant issue to a more complex issue within.
Addiction is a disease, not a choice. According to the American Society of Addiction Medicine, addiction is a treatable, chronic medical disease involving complex interactions among brain circuits, genetics, the environment, and an individual's life experiences. People with addiction use substances or engage in behaviors that become compulsive and often continue despite harmful consequences. Addiction is cunning, baffling, and powerful. It is so powerful that addicts become powerless to it.
The alcoholic, the compulsive thief, the obsessive gym guy or gal, or anyone who is
truly addicted are real people. They are sensitive beings, who usually love large. They are intelligent and are some of the hardest workers you will come across. They are wise and motivated individuals. Most, if not all, come from a place where one lacks the ability to live life on life's terms and has something greater going on inside their mind, heart, and spirit. Some come from amazing childhoods, others come from a difficult childhood, and others come from somewhere in between. You will find that many addicts laugh often and are lighthearted, embracing an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the life they get to have sober. These examples are only the beginning of who the addict is. What they are not are people who deserve to be treated like scum or seen as somehow different from other people. They are brothers, sisters, moms, dads, aunties, uncles and friends. They love and are loved. As we look at the month of September let us all celebrate with those who have made it through hell and back, because it isn’t an
easy battle. For those still suffering, let us pray for them daily that they find recovery and no longer must live life in such a self-destructive way. Remember, compassion and understanding go a long way. WE DO RECOVER!!!!
-Opal Hatfield
