checkmate1

It is there it always will be for every alcoholic there will be many that have no problem with alcohol but the fact you can't handle it you will be looked down upon. Like the stigma of depression and mental illness noone understands but others in the same situation will understand noone else.

BillyPilgrim

I think that is part of the problem that people dont enter recovery sooner. They dont want to be associated with the label.

Boleo

Now that I have gotten alcohol out of my body, mind and life, I can see where those who think they need alcohol are the ones with a "stigma".

Sally1009

I agree. It's a disgrace, but the stigma is there. I've lost four good friends since I told them I was alcoholic. People I'd known for years, and who never saw me misbehave either, and my best friend's husband looks down on me like I'm a call girl. I suffer from crippling depression, too, and my mother and daughter have absolutely no compassion or understanding.

BackToSquareOne

For a lot of men there's a whole "macho man" component going on. In my family and peer group it was something that wasn't talked about, of course most of that group were also alcoholics. Mental health issues are the same. I've noticed that even on this board women seem much more open in discussing the issue. Maybe that's just my perception tho.

langkah

Fortunately when we're not drinking for a while it doesn't show at all. The cops don't know, the job doesn't know, the neighbors don't know. After a while even those who knew forget and if they think about it at all, figure we're all better now and all over that forever. After a few years sober my parents would offer me cocktails occasionally and I'd need to remind them that I don't drink.

At that point unless I decide I want to share the information with a non-alcoholic for some reason my alcoholism is invisible and no one's business but mine.

But if the drinking's still occasionally part of your life then for sure you're carrying around a huge stigma and will suffer for it often. You and others like you are creating and perpetuating the reasons for the stigma that you're complaining about.

When you're off the hamster wheel for a while the stigma problem is solved, if you're concerned about it.

Parts of UK society still have the worn out class thing going on and some do look for a reason to believe they're in a higher class position relative to others, using gossip or information to put their noses up to feel good about themselves. I suspect it makes it harder for UK people to admit they are alcoholics, signing on to the idea that being alcoholic will effect their class position and they'll then never become a peer of the realm.

Same sized slice of the upper crust is as hopelessly alcoholc as you find at the bottom.

checkmate1

not just for addictions such as alcohol but other substances like heroin. There is a difference in the substance from alcohol to heroin but for addiction of anything the stigma is there? All addicitions are looked down upon. If I walked in a room of people and said I have attended AA meetings for 10 years they wouldn't know what to say and most would say that person is a drunk.

Sally1009

Absolutely. As an Englishwoman I can assure you the class system is alive and kicking. And certainly the upper-class/ aristocracy have their alcoholics - look at Princess Margaret. It's still a disgrace, but money cushions the blow. The Royal Family, barring Princess Di, just tuck their alcoholics/mentally ill behind closed doors.

desertsong

Sad that it has to be this way but it's true. You'd think that now, after all we've learned about addiction, and shows like "Intervention," people would have a greater understanding of it and more compassion for the alcoholic/addict but they really don't and this attitude causes even greater suffering among those of us afflicted. I find the attitude of "it's a choice" still so prevalent among people who don't have issues with alcohol and drugs. The only people who can truly understand and sympathize are other alcoholics/addicts.

doggonecarl

What I did, what I was when I was a drunk and a drug addict might have been looked down on. Heck, I looked down on it myself. But I'm in recovery. There is no stigma attached to that.

Nirvana1

It's baffling when it seems like a better idea to be an active alcoholic than in recovery so that you "won't get looked down upon". You have to decide if it's more important to "keep impressing" your drinking buddies or take control of your life. I've heard this theory so many times, like somehow if people keep drinking there are not an alcoholic if they don't want to be. Very baffling!

aasharon90

Admitting I am an Alcoholic and my
life became unmanageable saved my
life.

However i do understand the stigma
that goes with addiction.

DayTrader

I pray for the folks who feel compelled to look down on others.....

It's no different than me thinking I'm any better a person because of all the wonderful things I'm doing in recovery though. It can go both ways.

I live in the US and I've not personally been penalized for my alcoholic past...other than when it was my present. (if yanno what I mean). And really, I've "heard" of the "stigma of being alcoholic" but I never actually seen it in action. I know there's a lot of fear over it.....but I really don't see it as a huge problem in real daily life. FOR ME, the stigma was more alive and well in my mind than anywhere else.


Matter-of-factly, I've been the recipient of some pretty cool "rewards" for being in recovery: got a job by being honest about my past and being in recovery, I've made some awesome connections with business clients who've got a "struggling addict/drunk" in their family and didn't know they could talk to me about it, and just for me........I don't have to walk around keeping anymore secrets. Those damn secrets get old and heavy after a while.....

Terminally Unique

Langkah more or less summed up my thoughts on this. If you take care of your addiction, and don't say bad things about yourself when you don't need to, then you will have no stigma.

Justfor1

I agree with Pilgrim. IMO alcoholics don't have the denial that they have an alcohol problem. They have a problem with the label of "alcoholic". The stigma is just as bad today as it was 40 years ago.

Terminally Unique

Shows like "Intervention" increase the stigma, because they turn recovery into a farce, and the addicted person into a side-show freak. Why do you think people watch it? Same reason people like watching train wrecks, which has nothing to do with compassion.

north

If there is any 'stigma', although uncomfortable, I don't mind if it's attached to my past under the influence drunk behavior. That was the past.

As for now and for the future, not drinking actually makes me feel more empowered. While I can understand how some people might attach a stigma to not drinking (I did when I was drinking - teetotalers were all suspect), it's something that virtually feels completely foreign to me now.

choublak

Part of it is, people in general base their knowledge on what they see on TV and in the movies.

NewBeginning010

I was once a walking talking stigma for alcoholism... now I am an example of the courage & effort it takes to change that & become a better sober person living an honorable life.

We can live the stigma or we can change it.... its our choice ;-)

GrowingDaily

People don't understand what they haven't been through personally. Even those that sympathize rather than finger-point don't have a clue what you're going through. They're just smart enough to realize that they don't have all the answers.

The only people's opinion I'm concerned with on the subject is of those who have gone through it. And as far as character goes, I consider anyone who's brought the fight to addiction to be a notch above the common man (or woman). They're the strongest people you'll ever know.