GINTA: Ignoring the issue of addiction, will only make it grow larger

That the stigma and judgment persist not only amplifies the pain but makes finding solutions that much harder.

People whose loved ones are struggling every day with addiction, which means that every day they face the gut-punching fear of ‘what if?’, know that story too well.

Among them, parents of teenagers.

Back when my boys were little, I rarely thought of the teenager years and their many facets. Sure, you hear stories but few of them stick until you get close to it through for each one of them to become relevant.

When my eldest went back for the last high school years, after being homeschooled for a few years, the stories I was hearing sounded surreal.

Kids as young as 14 use hard drugs. Some continue to use throughout high school. Whether it’s yielding to peer pressure or curiosity, they step into the land from where they cannot find their way back to safety.

The resources available in our province for treating teenagers especially are limited or non-existent. To call it troubling would barely scratch the surface. Teenagers are a vulnerable group to begin with, and yet too often parents find themselves facing a reality that defeats them and yet, not surprisingly, also powers them up to keep going. The power of love is infinite, but no one can do it alone.

That needs to change and there are success stories showing that it can.

Since the pandemic has started, we have witnessed a spike in overdoses. Social media ‘experts’ will tell you that it’s because people got the CERB money and bought more drugs. Let’s consider this as well: people are isolated, due to the coronavirus, they use alone and that takes away any level of safety, meager as it may have been in some cases.

It’s been said too many times, but it bears repeating – we need to revisit the way we think of addiction, safe drug supplies, and decriminalization.

We also need to stop lumping everyone together, often by using derogatory words to describe what we have yet to understand the depths of. Both in everyday life and in rehab programs, we must consider the individual, their story and their struggles. That increases their chances of reaching safe ground. When a community cares, that becomes possible.

Judging from the position of ‘not happening in my family’ is, to say the least, ignorant. Among my friends and acquaintances, I have one too many who are facing this monster. Sadly, there will always be the unanswered ‘why?’, but that’s not the most painful thing they are facing. It’s the stigma attached to addiction.

Let’s all be reminded: addiction is a disease, not a choice. People carry stories and pain that you or I will never know. What I know is that I have friends whose loved ones are chained by addiction and others who are holding on to memories because that’s all they have left.

My hope is that when we see or hear of someone who fights addiction – and yes, the word is fighting, not indulging or ‘looking for the next high’, we will feel compassion. It’s what helps people, all of us in fact, to find our way back when lost. It’s what protects our dignity and helps us see our worthiness when we look inwards.

When someone cares, people heal.

We are facing great challenges these days, but the greatest one we might be facing, if we allow it to happen, is losing our humanity. And the way to ensure we do not is by relying on it to see our fellow humans.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.

by Daniela Ginta

GINTA: Ignoring the issue of addiction, will only make it grow larger

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