What you think about addiction is all wrong.

When you ask most people what causes addiction they say drugs. That may be true, but it’s so much more than that. It’s more emotional than physical. Yes, at a certain point your body becomes depended on whatever substance the user is using.

However an example of it being emotional would be your grandfather going into the hospital to get surgery, and most likely he would be given six or five massive doses of morphine, which is just refined heroin. Your grandfather isn’t going to come out a full blown addict and want to get another fix of heroin. The root cause of addiction is having an emotional disconnect when there is something missing in life. Which is why most users continue to use, because it’s what makes them happier and fills the emotional hole that isn’t there.

Right now in the United States, we are facing a massive heroin epidemic in which we are trying to fix horribly wrong. We shame people who are addicted to a hard core substance, we push them away and make them feel worthless. That is not what an addict needs, but instead they need love and compassion. It is understandable how that may be hard to understand because all the addict cares about is the drug itself and getting their next fix. They are trying to fill the emotional hole that isn’t there, but with love and compassion we can fill that hole and help these people get better. They are not worthless, no human being is. No matter how many times they relapse you have to continue giving them a chance, because eventually they will get better.