Drug Addicts in TV shows

This is probably a function of not having had much interaction with folks with substance use disorders, and/or from seeing stereotypes or reading news stories. The majority of people with SUDs are harmless. And there are plenty of people not on any drug or alcohol who are angry and potentially violent.

Of course it makes sense to assess situations and keep oneself safe above all else. And at the same time, when we let go of the judgmental language and perspectives, it opens up compassion.

 

Again, no offense, but this is a completely ignorant and judgmental statement. I don't mind educating people, but I really wish people would consider the hurt and harm of what they are saying when they're displaying their ignorance.

Alcohol use disorder ("alcoholism" is an outdated term) is fundamentally identical to other substance use disorders.

A very large portion of opiate use disorders start with opiates prescribed for dental work, broken limbs, recovery from surgery, and the like. Likewise, a huge portion of amphetamine use disorders arise from prescribed use of amphetamines commonly used in treatment of ADHD. Or, in other cases, from someone offering a pill to someone with a headache (in the case of opiates) or needing to study for an exam (in the case of Ritalin or Adderal.) Same with benzodiazepines.

The "dirty dealings" and "sinister behavior" almost never starts out that way. The judgment just oozes from your description of this, and is incredibly offensive to those who are struggling with these disorders.

Those who are prone to dependency may not even realize what's happening at first, and then usage increases... and doctors may initially merrily refill... or people may go to a second doctor to get a second prescription.

So the idea that "alcohol is something you can buy without breaking any laws"... the exact same thing is true of the majority of drug addictions. Oxycontin is almost indistinguishable, chemically, from heroin. Methamphetamine is nearly identical to ritalin. It's easy to pretend that you're somehow better or different than people who have become dependent on drugs, but if you had the predisposition to addiction, and were prescribed Vicodin for a broken leg... you'd soon enough be doing the "dirty dealings" in order to meet your needs. Your judgment of others is, quite frankly, incredibly fucked up.

As for alcohol... the overwhelming majority of people who become dependent on alcohol do so before they are of legal age to drink. So as far as your argument that those people are "not breaking any laws"... well, that's just bullshit. Underage consumption of alcohol is no different than illegal diversion of prescribed medication or, for that matter, buying illegal drugs such as cocaine or heroin. It might also interest you to know that treating alcohol use disorder for someone with a serious problem is actually far more complicated and risky than treating someone with opiate or stimulant use disorder; a significant number of people with AUD die during detox each year; almost no one dies of opiate detox. And it is quite possible to die from alcohol intoxication, though the death rate is lower than, say, injected use of opiates, for the simple reason that our bodies have the capacity to expel orally consumed alcohol, reducing what would otherwise be an obscenely high death rate from alcohol overconsumption.

I really hope that people reading this take away the idea that judging those with substance use disorders does nothing except make the person doing the judging feel better about him or herself at the expense of others. No one wants or plans to be an addict. No one who is in the throes of an SUD doesn't wish they'd never started, that they could just stop, or that it was as simple as "talking to their doctor" or "just saying no" or anything of the sort.

The truth is, no one can know for sure if they are at risk for developing an SUD until they do. We can make educated guesses, for example, by looking at familial history of addiction, significant trauma early in life, severe mental health issues on the part of parents early in life, and similar factors. And we know also, for example, that anyone who has 'blacked out' from overconsumption of alcohol is at severe risk for alcohol use disorder, because the same gene that causes blackout is highly correlated to alcohol dependence. (Those without that gene won't black out.) But outside of those factors, no one can reliably predict. And just because it hasn't happened yet doesn't mean that it could not happen to you in the future.

So showing some kindness and compassion for those who are less fortunate than you are might be sensible.

 

Interesting attempt to reframe things, but if you look at your earlier posts, especially where you were talking about your own situation, and getting emotional and heated, I don't think you can credibly make that argument. And even if you are, much of what you said does not apply to fictional TV shows, as many of them are getting very realistic in the way they portray the problems.