Addiction is a problem that many people know about, but nobody will talk about it. Many people struggle with addiction but they hide it from others or attempt to hide it from themselves. The purpose of this article is to inform you about addiction, and to maybe start a conversation because the more we talk about something, the less scary it becomes and then we can get help or help others.

Addiction has a massive stigma around it. People don’t want to talk about it for many reasons. Maybe they are uncomfortable or have addictions, or maybe they don’t have an opinion on addiction. Whatever the reason is it is preventing people from talking about it. Addiction can mean different things to everyone, according to mentalhelp. “Addiction is the repeated involvement with a substance or activity, despite the substantial harm it now causes, because that involvement was (and may continue to be) pleasurable and/or valuable.” Many feel that if you are addicted to drugs you are failing morally, that you are a bad person. This creates a division between those struggling and those who are judging. If we can change how we view addiction then we can help others or get the help we need. Understanding that people who suffer from addictions are people who are struggling can help our perspectives towards those with addictions change. To help other people we must first change our views of other people and think about what they might be going through.

In conclusion, addiction is a dangerous and messy thing. The stigma that surrounds addiction is a challenge to beat in itself. But, if we can change our views of people we can all help each other and help each other heal. Talking about addiction brings awareness to the issue that most people don’t want to talk about. In the end to help stop addiction we ourselves must change to help those in need.