With the recent tragic loss of Robin Williams, I was again struck by the language often used to describe Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders and their byproducts. Grant it, I understand the media’s job is in many regards to sell, however this comes at the expense of a more productive conversation. So when we hear that Robin Williams, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Whitney Houston, Amy Winehouse or Cory Monteith “struggled with demons” or the like, it inches us away from the reality that these individuals struggled with very real and treatable healthcare conditions.
This is by far not the only area in which language can do a disservice to our efforts. How often, present company included, do you hear folks refer to something rather mundane as “addicting”? Don’t get me wrong, I am a big fan of ________ (insert your favorite new show here), but let me speak from experience when I suggest perhaps that your enthusiasm is a bit removed from substance dependence! I recall joking with a recovering friend when a “study” had hit the mainstream news that Oreos could perhaps be addictive? “You know who thinks Oreos are addictive” I laughed. “Someone who has never smoked methamphetamines”! Even some terms commonly heard in the field of Substance Use Disorder care like “battling addiction” gives the impression that if someone is just “strong” enough, they will be ok.
I guess what I am saying is that our words have power, and if you hear something enough you may just start to believe it. As an individual with long term recovery I can assure you I was never “troubled”, although my condition made life on life’s terms nearly impossible, and I have no “demons”, all-be-it I was taken to very, very dark places often. Like millions of other recovering individuals I suffer from a very treatable chronic healthcare condition. It is managed successful in remission by the establishment and aggressive adherence to a holistic regime of care that gratefully makes life a joy to embrace rather than a tragedy to try and explain.
This is by far not the only area in which language can do a disservice to our efforts. How often, present company included, do you hear folks refer to something rather mundane as “addicting”? Don’t get me wrong, I am a big fan of ________ (insert your favorite new show here), but let me speak from experience when I suggest perhaps that your enthusiasm is a bit removed from substance dependence! I recall joking with a recovering friend when a “study” had hit the mainstream news that Oreos could perhaps be addictive? “You know who thinks Oreos are addictive” I laughed. “Someone who has never smoked methamphetamines”! Even some terms commonly heard in the field of Substance Use Disorder care like “battling addiction” gives the impression that if someone is just “strong” enough, they will be ok.
I guess what I am saying is that our words have power, and if you hear something enough you may just start to believe it. As an individual with long term recovery I can assure you I was never “troubled”, although my condition made life on life’s terms nearly impossible, and I have no “demons”, all-be-it I was taken to very, very dark places often. Like millions of other recovering individuals I suffer from a very treatable chronic healthcare condition. It is managed successful in remission by the establishment and aggressive adherence to a holistic regime of care that gratefully makes life a joy to embrace rather than a tragedy to try and explain.