No Sympathy for drug addicts?

It's a sad situation. I know what you mean but I think this is not the case, I don't agree with some of the things you said like they're stupid for getting into it, I mean the act is stupid but there is a reason behind every action. These people could of not been raised up in a house like you did, or had a family that loved them and cared about them, they were lonely, they were suffering. These people need love and sympathy to even be able to believe and quit, people who will put them down will make their lives worse.

Everyone should follow it's path and even if you don't feel sympathy, if someone genuinely reaches out for help we should be available to help in what we can.

I could see that, definitely. I am the mother of a gifted child and she is very hard on herself. I myself am rather sensitive and an over-thinker.

Being hard on ourselves really doesn't solve anything, what does solve is having good sense and correct actions. We should help others as we would like to be helped.

Interesting story. Good for you that there is no drug problem. The anger and crying thing; this can have to do with food. Bi-polar is nonsense. Histamine levels are high with this crying all the time thing. Just take a look at what foods make your histamine levels go up. Cut them out, you will see a difference. The anger you want to cut out processed foods. Chemicals in these foods today are the source of a lot of health issues including your fibromyalgia. The other feelings of people not caring about you that should have. It is not necessarily that they didn't care about you; but not being able to take care of themselves sometimes makes people turn away in shame. Self-centeredness can become pronounced when a person is dealing with a lot. Reactions are not always the best. Sounds like your parents were incapable. Not your fault. However they did NOT give you a basis for the strong ground work to lay the future out in a good way. The only way is to make your own way and hopefully break the pattern with your own child/children. Smile and keep your chin up.

Fortunately I've seen many things like that happening and in fact it's the key for the change, breaking the pattern. At least in my case, I will not do to mine what I didn't like that was done to me.

Life is not one dimensional and we have to try to be understanding at times. The fact is that even though someone might know of the harmful effects of taking drugs, they may be so hurt and so messed up in their mind that instead of killing themselves, they try to find pleasure in something that they know Can eventually destroy them. I do believe that we should have pity on drug addicts but at the same time, drug addict should have pity on themselves. If an addict is going to get out of that state of self destruction, then it is their effort and their decisions that will help them out, no matter how much we encourage them. We must understand that we are all human beings, frail and weak and we all do stupid things throughout the course of our lifetime. We just have to hope for the best for others as we hope for the best for ourselves and ensure that we learn from our mistakes and don't let them reoccur.

Being the parent of an adult child who has been an opiate/heroin addict for 13 years I feel the addiction is an illness causing physical dependancy as well as psychological dependancy. However, getting help to overcome the illness is a choice. Sticking with the program knowing it is a life time commitment to staying well is a choice. One can choose the path either down the rabbit hole or to redemption and wellness.

I have sympathy and compassion the first time someone reaches out to me for help. I've helped family members and friends when they first reached out to me with their problem and wanted to get clean. You never know the reason why the got addicted in the first place and I'll do anything to help my loved ones get healthy and clean.

It's when it happens multiple times that I turn away. I've been burned in the past by family members who assure me "this is the last time," and use the help I give to go get high again. It's not worth my own health and stress to constantly be dealing with someone who has no intention of getting clean, even if they are family.

I am bothered by this question. How is it that an organization, which should know that addiction is classified as a disease by the AMA, is posing a question as though it were even up for debate? How about using your reach to promote and educate the public on the matter? This isn't about what we BELIEVE. However, post after post is, I dont believe, or "in my opinion"... Would you pose the question " should cancer patients receive our sympathy?"... Addiction and cancer are classified in the exact same context medically and as such, need to be viewed in the same context. We never question when cancer returns, but yet, when a person suffers from addiction and they relapse or (have a difficulty overcoming a disease which depletes their cognitive ability as time goes on)( medically proven), we hold these unrealistic expectations for them. Rather than base opinions on public fodder, pick up a book. You don't have to live with, or experience addiction, to recognize that it is not only ignorant, but fatal to refuse to accept medical conditions defined as such, by both the American Medical Association, and the American Psychological Association . More-so the same can be said for those whom refuse funding, deny votes, or in some way, through opinion, ridicule or refusal to acknowledge, disallow them to be treated properly in caring environments.

Whew! Um, strong opinion there. I understand your perspective because those were the emotions I had toward someone who suffered from addiction. These were the views I held as a teenager and during my twenties. Near my late twenties and until now - I'm 31 - I don't hold the same views anymore. I guess because I have been effected by addiction, both directly and indirectly. I see it from both sides and I guess it shift my view. So, it depends on how you internalize constant interactions with people who are battling addiction.

@AKANOMALY The thread wasn't written by this organization (site). It's a personal opinion posted on a forum by a forum member. The organization offers a venue for discussion, and this happens to be part of the discussion.

Not everyone agrees that addiction should be seen the same as cancer. There isn't a 12 step program that can lead people with cancer to recovery.

@Zyni, thank you for the clarification. Again, you say, "not everyone agrees"...its not a matter for debate, as far the medical community is concerned. Addiction IS classified medically, and please allow me to share with you that I am currently studying for my BA with a minor in addiction studies...so, my perspective is based on facts and textbook information, not opinions. So when I draw the relationship between cancer and addiction, it is in the DISEASE MODEL connection, medically, as listed nationally throughout the texts used by medical professionals that treat our country. I find it disheartening, as I stated previously, that a bunch of people with clearly, no real education or knowledge outside of personal experience are attempting to weigh in on a life threatening disease, as though it were a personal choice. You make a very generalized statement by relating the 12 steps of AA to addiction, as though that were the "go-to" medical therapy for addiction, which it is not. We ( the medical community) are looking into wellness, diet, psychological treatment, vitamin therapies, and many other options as a holistic approach to the disease of addiction. Which far extend beyond something like Alcoholics Anonymous, which is a fundamentally Christian support group. CBT or cognitive behavioral therapy is the recommended treatment for addiction, however, that is just recommended, and again, not a "go-to". More-so, nothing leads to recovery, only assists in sustaining abstinence, which in all reality is the closest to recovery a person ever truly gets, because the mind is in constant battle. There are multiple approaches to "recovery". There is no cure, just like cancer. Addiction is a lifetime battle for those suffering. You will see with new developments in neuroscience that there is a strong corelation between addiction and cognition. There is far more to the story than that which most people know only from information sources including organizations such as AA. What an oxymoron, in the sense that an organization based on anonymity is often the public topic of discussion.

This is not really the right place to express this opinion...People from all paths of life can become addicted. Your relatives might, powerful and educated people can, everyone can. Addiction is often stronger than even the strongest person's willpower.

How then would you respond to someone who has no sympathy for those with bi polar disorder or no sympathy for those who become pregnant as teens or those who were abused in everyway? You see its all exact! You never started out one day intending to accomplish any of those things life just happened! As for the addict.

There are many causes to addiction that sometimes may not be avoided. Imagine you grew up in an environment where drugs and alcohol access was not a problem. What if your parents were addicts? There is a possibility that you may start taking drugs. Will you want to be avoided because you take drugs? That is why we need to show love to addicts. Alcohol addiction may be caused by stress as a result of losing a loved one or losing a job. Addicts do recover, but they need support.

Addiction is a cancer, a silent, stealthy ghost that sneaks up and steals your soul before you realize what has happened. When my back pain became unbearable and I took that first Lortab, I didn't know the path I was headed down. I didn't make a "stupid decision" to end up fully addicted to opiates and benzos a few years later...almost losing my job, family and life. Nobody thinks, "I want to be an addict. I want to slowly lose everything. I want to be totally dependent on a substance just to feel normal...even though I know that if I don't stop, it will kill me. I want to feel the worst pain and sickness ever if I don't get more of the drug." This just isn't how it works. Luckily, I sought help in the nick of time before it killed me. Many people don't and that's very sad. Many people don't because of the preconceived notions of people that have developed opinions without becoming educated on the subject first. And, those that don't often die...which is also very sad. Read...be educated...talk to people...the addict, the recovering addict, grieving family members, therapists, physicians...then, develop an opinion. Basing an opinion simply on one's own life experiences with no research is a fool's path.

Yes, this is a very cold way to think or even act towards someone who has an addiction. Stop and think there is an underlying problem for them to engage in that behavior in the first place. Having such a harsh thought process about this is something that addicts have been doomed to endure, only making them want to use more because of the harsh and cold treatment thrown on them.