When some people think of a drug addict they think of someone who steals to get their drugs, someone who can't hold down a job and a junkie. I'm about to shed some light on all of this.
Let's start with the stealing part. Do some drug addicts steal? Yes they do but not all of them do. I never had to steal to get money for drugs I always had money. But if something goes missing we are the first ones they go to. Here's an example. My mom had some jewelry that she couldn't find one day and she asked me if I took and I replied "no I didn't take your jewelry". But just because I'm an addict in recovery she instantly thinks I stole it to get drugs. I told my sponsor about it and he said "you're an addict and you're going to get asked that question if things come up missing or are lost". I understand where he's coming from but it doesn't make it any better.
Next is an addict can't hold down a job. In the beginning of my addiction I was able to hold down a job and no one suspected I was using. It came to a surprise to my boss when I told him I had to quit the first time to go to detox. After getting out they were kind enough to let me come back to work but that didn't last long due to a couple of months later I had my first overdose. After that I would work a couple of months then overdosed again. I'm not a good example for this stereotype lol as in the end I couldn't hold down a job. But they are people out there who do hold down jobs and no one suspects them of using.
And the last one drug addicts are junkies. When you think of junkies you probably think of someone strung out, haven't showered in a couple of weeks, wearing the same clothes for a week and if you're a male having a shaggy beard. While this might be true for some addicts it's not true for everyone. When I shared my story the first time I had people comment that they never suspected that I was an addict. I hid it very well and was functional. A lot of people are like this. If you saw me walking you would never suspect it by the way I look. Addicts are good at hiding the truth about themselves.
If you made it this far thank you for reading! Sorry I haven't written a blog in a while I've been busy but am going to try and write at least 1-2 a week. If you like what you read hit the follow button and if you're on a mobile device and want to follow scroll to the bottom of the page and hit desktop view and you can hit follow there. Also if anyone needs to talk I'm here for y'all. My email should be on my main profile. JUST REMEMBER WE DO RECOVER AND OUR ADDICTION DOESN'T DEFINE US! Let's break these stereotypes and prove everyone wrong about addiction! Thanks for reading and have a great day!
