Why do people with addictions get judged so badly ?

I am currently clean and sober . I have had addictions to drink and substances in the past . There is so much tabboo and stigma where there should be love and support .

For all those in active addiction I want to say I don't judge , I care and hope you find peace and support when you are ready .

For those who are clean and sober , congratulations . You are strong and powerful .

I found something on Facebook I really like do I've added it to this thread . If only more people thought this way the world would be more beautiful

this is lovely!
bizi

It depends on the person with the addiction. There are people that want help, and willing to get it, and know they have issues stopping. Then there are mothers who will leave their children to go out and prostitute themselves to support their heroin addiction in the middle of the night.

Stopping can be difficult, and I don't judge a person for having trouble stopping. But where does the line draw? When does someone have to have sympathy, and then when are we allowed to not feel so bad? How about mothers(or fathers) who drive drunk with their children? Alcoholics who beat their partners while drunk? I lent someone with a heroin addiction $70 dollars (money which my grandmother had given me) because she said she couldn't afford to buy groceries for her babies. She never returned the money, and I found out she was stealing hundreds of dollars worth of merch from my store.

Don't get me wrong, I am addicted to alcohol...but judging myself for doing it is one of the ways I am able to control and stop it. If I don't judge and feel "sympathy" for myself because it is hard to stop I will drink again.

I’m not sure about judging, but people don’t trust people with addictions because the pull of the addiction is so strong that they are likely to do bad things in order to supply it.

Congratulations on staying sober!

I wouldn't say I am totally sober, but I am definitely working towards not ever binge drinking again. But thank you I don't know how I can separate "judging" and "trust". I had a friend who ended up addicted to heroin. She started breaking into cars, constantly asking for money, etc. I tried to help her, and I loaned her money to get her license back under the stipulation she was to begin to search for a job. Payback wasn't totally necessary, but she needed to start working and pay for me when we went out sometimes. I found out later she was "upset" over the fact I had pushed her to work and was complaining about me shortly after to a mutual friend.. She got fired from her next two jobs for being late and I haven't spoken to her since.

So do I judge addicts? Yes, I do. Do I support them if they want help? Yes, I do. IMO you have to judge an addict to a degree or they wont ever feel the need to get help. Knowing what these people behave like I would be very hesitant to welcome one into my life and I would be very cautious about helping a friend/family member through addiction.

Judging someone's bad behaviour is one thing . I get that . But judging a person for the act of drinking or using drugs to an extreme extent , assuming they are scum when that's not nessassarily true is what gets me . When I was taking drugs I was below scum to my family and one or two members still think I am scum for the fact that I took that particular type of drugs even though they took other drugs which they consider more exeptable . I did not harm any body or steal . I may of degraded my self privately . But never went out of my way or hurt anyone . I am not scum . People are not scum if they use . People that do bad things to others is one thing . But labelling all people because of a drug or alcohol is wrong . I am not a bad person. People use alcahol or drugs for various reasons that we can't cope with . They need help . Then again there are some that don't or will never want help in their life . They may have their reasons for that . I just don't like the generalising of all people who drink / take drugs assuming they will all do really bad things which is not the case always .

I agree, you aren't scum just for doing drugs. Neither am I for drinking. I never went out of my way to hurt anyone. I guess for people it is hard to not associate the very bad people who do these things with the people who truly want help and just can't stop. I get up, go to work, try to help others...but sometimes I just can't control myself and I go and drink alcohol. Not one drink, but 20 +. I have been kicked out of bars, fallen, etc. Sometimes I just can't stop.

I do however think that people like the ones I have mentioned above ARE scum, and the scum is the reason why good people who run into problems are tormented more so. There are plenty of alcoholics, heroin addicts, cocaine addicts, etc...all who suffer in silence.

Pretty much everyone is addicted to something . The perception of that addiction comes down to how sociably acceptable it is and the addicts ability to support themselves . If you have someone who is addicted to coffee , but makes a six figure salary , owns a mansion and a Ferrari ...it's unlikely society will look down on them . An actor called Dean Martin many years ago was much loved even though he was an alcoholic . He could afford to be an alcoholic and operated ok . Alcohol was also more sociably acceptable . WWII British prime minister Winston Churchill was addicted to cigars and whiskey , yet because of his ability to operate in his environment it's not frowned upon in history .
Society sharpens its knives if your addiction starts to effect your life , means you need others assistance either financially or emotionally . You get viewed as weak. Also the substance your addicted to and the way society views it at the time has a bearing . Humans can be a flawed and downright nasty species at times . I just choose to accept that as a fact more than wonder why it is .

I think it is hard for some not to judge in general because they have their own problems and feel some sort of pleasure from this judgement. Yes there are people who use drugs doing illegal things to maintain their habits. There are scandlelous people who do drug and scandalous people who judge. The media is terrible when it comes to the portrayal of addicts.

I have been an addict for most of my life. I hurt myself and my children. I was controlled by this drug for so long. Then I got control of that drug. Yeah. I use to this very day. I do not use if I do not have the money for it. I work. I have a wonderful relationship with friends and family. Unfortunately none of them know I use this drug. I don’t know how I became a functioning drug addict.

I am not proud. I am forced to lie to everyone I know because of this judgement and my own fear of persecution. I pay my bills. I don’t compromise my values in anyway except for the non disclosure of my use. I know this drug will eventually put me at an early death. I would like to get away and free from my addiction. I cannot function without it.

I try often and end up suicidal in just a few days with the serious depression. I suffer unimaginably over those days without. I won’t get out of bed for weeks. Until I want to die. Then I go back to this drug for relief. I cannot afford to not use this drug. My employer would fire me if I didn’t go to work. I am no longer trying quit. I miss too much work.

Every once in a while I will take a few days vacation. I try to quit. I spend that time in my bed suffering. I fail again. Fortunately I earn tips daily to afford this habit. People think I am doing well when I am high and if I am not they get concerned for my mental health. I want to discuss my situation and ask my doctor to give me something that will help me function too. They say this is self medicating. The medical doctor can help an addict by prescribing something and do medication monitoring for addicts like me. I am taking medications anyway.

I have taken meds my entire life. I will take them the rest of my life. In fact I get an injection of Resperidol every two weeks for the last 10 years. They say they don’t want to prescribe drugs that are habit forming. Wtf. 10 years of this legal prescription drug. They could help me. They could give me something to help. Who cares if it is addictive. At least it wouldn’t be poison like the stuff I use to maintain.

God only knows what this stuff they make actually is. It’s illegal, it’s poison, but I cannot survive without it. The doctors could help many addicts, but we are forced to self medicate. Addiction to illegal drugs could be better managed by the health care system. Many addicts could have a normal life with a simple prescription drug. If I have to take my normal meds for life. What is the difference?

This is not meant to sound harsh ..but probably will . It's meant to accept human nature . Humans judge each other every minute of the day . Even the ones that say they are non judgemental ...are , you just have to find what they "deem" as being unacceptable behaviour .
When it comes to "certain" drugs which society promotes as being "evil" then people will judge those who use them as being lesser for it . They have been trained by society with the campaigns ( quite rightly ) warning against them . Then if the individual using those drugs admits they can no longer function normally and will need some form of assistance . Then there will always be people who see them as a burden on society ( or family/friends) , therefore a lesser person , which they can feel superior to .
That's just life .
At least in our societies there is assistance people can turn to if they need it ..even if they are judged by others . There's plenty of other societies where you just get to die under a bridge .

My doctor's won't prescribe me any medications that can help me either . They say it's too addictive . So it's better i suffer all my life instead I guess . So many self medicate . So did I . I actually miss my drug use. Luckily I moved and do not have contact with any dealers or anyone who could help me get it . I regret that I stopped on my own accord without support . It was only easy to do this because I moved at exactely the time I wanted to try to stop .

It's good that you can function still while using. I was not able to function on alcahol or drugs , whatever I used . It's good you can still pay your bills first . I was unable to do that . I wouldn't even buy food . Just drugs . I had to give half my drugs to my neighbour because he was the one who new the dealers and I didn't . But my neighbour would sometimes let me eat food with him when I was starving .