Our mission is to eliminate the stigma associated with addiction by promoting long-term recovery as a life affirming movement to unite communities and families. Recovery is a lifestyle and a life of virtue and morals doing the right next thing. Many in society view a person in long-term recovery --humbly speaking-- just as an ex-addict
Even in today’s modern society, drug addiction is still looke
d down upon in many respects and widely thought of as something that afflicts the weak-willed, poor, downtrodden, or uneducated. While certain demographics and risk factors will predispose one person to addiction over another, addiction knows no bounds. A survey published in the International Journal of the Addictions questioned 256 Americans as to what comes to their minds when they hear the term “drug addict,” and the majority produced a description of a disoriented, sickly, skinny, lower class, diseased, male “hippie” that has skin problems and behavioral issues. The stigma that plagues drug addicts began long ago, and despite our current knowledge on it, most people still align drug addiction with criminal activity and negative thoughts of their personal experiences with addicts and their common bad behavior. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, stigma is partly to blame for why some addicts don’t receive the treatment they need, in addition to the reason many physicians won’t treat addicts and why some drug companies aren’t trying to develop new addiction treatments. Some efforts to reduce stigma toward addicts have proven to be beneficial, but the big picture of drug addiction still poses the idea to non-addicts that addiction is nothing more than a series of bad choices. In all actuality, addiction is a chronic, lifelong battle to hold onto your life and your identity. Experiencing a shift into recovery changes the way you view the world and often the way you view yourself, frequently resulting in feelings of low self-worth for many that are compounded by society. Addiction is an inability to stop using a substance even if the user really wants to, as defined by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Recovery is a lifestyle and a life of virtue and morals. Many in society perceive a person in long-term recovery as abstinent and drug free. I'm going to highlight what a life in recovery means. Help people look at a person in recovery in a truthful light. I will provide information regarding people struggling with addiction early signs of drug use that may be life saving. I am NOT my addiction. I am Jacob Weakland a person in long-term recovery and I am grateful my past lead me to taste the simple truth of life.
