Tuesday 8 September 2009

Hidden Addiction...

The stereotype of addicts is accurate and outdated. True or false?

Does the general population think of alcoholics as people holding white labelled bottles on park benches and of heroin addicts as homeless? If so, why is this...films, narrow minded TV documentaries and biased news reports? But what about the wider picture – the hidden addicts? The majority of addicts are not stereotypical, in fact their addictions are largely hidden from their families, friends and employers. Do we really know what we are looking for when we define someone an addict? For example, sex and love addictions as well as gambling and eating disorders are prevalent in the UK, but not so widely acknowledged as drug and alcohol addictions, at least not in films and journalism.


How can we provide support for all addicts if we don't know how to identify an active addiction? If you are worried about changes in a persons behaviour it might not be anything to do with an addiction, however it could also be directly to do with an addiction that we just don't see – or choose to see. Currently, there are hundreds of drivers who are over the drink drive limit, hundreds of people using at lunch time and hundreds of people who are hiding their addictions from the world around them – not everyone fits a stereotype.

2 comments:

  1. A really great informational site with tons of helpful and useful information about drug abuse and addiction is www.drugabuseclinic.org.

    Not only is there helpful information about drug abuse and addiction, but it also has the symptoms and causes of the disease, as well as the different treatment options that are available.

    I found it to be very helpful.. I highly recommend taking a look at www.drugabuseclinic.org for help.

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  2. Hey, I just hopped over to your site via StumbleUpon. Not somthing I would normally read, but I liked your thoughts none the less. Thanks for making something worth reading.

    ReplyDelete