Addiction Related Content

Kate’s Story: Recovery Is a Learning Process

If there is one thing that Kate is familiar with, it’s stigma. During the years when the HIV/AIDS crisis was ravaging Africa, she worked on community-level response programs. She observed how people were ostracized, judged, and feared for their diagnosis and saw how these attitudes prevented people...

Video: Tackling Addiction With Mental Health in Mind

Addiction and mental health challenges are often deeply connected. This on-demand training explores their intersection and provides strategies for integrated treatment, recovery, and long-term support. Why This Training Matters Addiction and mental health conditions commonly co-occur. Treating one...

Teens, Drugs, and Alcohol: What Parents and Caregivers Should Know

Growing up can be difficult. Oftentimes, adolescents are curious, stressed, emotional, and looking for ways to escape boredom. Adolescents are also more likely to experiment with substances due to the way the brain develops. Sometimes, when given the opportunity, they’ll find an escape through drugs...

Julian’s Story: Don’t Give Up On Yourself

Julian’s childhood was shaped by pain and turmoil. By the time most kids were learning multiplication tables, he had already been exposed to drug use and gun violence. At just 10 years old, he witnessed the murder of his cousin—a moment that left an indelible mark. By his teenage years, survival...

Beyond the Myths: A Deep Dive Into Understanding Addiction

Addiction is not a sign of weakness, a character flaw, or a moral failure. It is a common condition that affects millions of people of all ages, backgrounds, and socioeconomic groups. And while there is no one cause of addiction, there is hope—it can be treated effectively.

Detoxing From Drugs or Alcohol: A Guide to the First Step in Recovery

Addiction is one of the biggest challenges facing society today. Countless people are turning to substances, including prescription medications and alcohol, to cope with stress, trauma, and symptoms of common disorders, such as depression. There is massive stigma around addiction, whether someone is...

Teen Drinking & Brain Development: What Every Parent & Teen Should Know

Studies at McLean Hospital and elsewhere have shown that alcohol affects the brains of adolescents in profound and dangerous ways. During the teenage and early adult years, the brain is still developing, making it more vulnerable to alcohol than the adult brain. Moreover, research indicates that the...

Tom’s Story: Saying Something Could Change Somebody’s Life

When Tom started feeling depressed, his buddies from the bar noticed changes in him, but they never brought up the topic. At the end of the day, nobody really approached me with it. It’s that macho mentality, where we don’t talk about our feelings. We don’t get into that stuff. When Tom’s mental...

Video: Chris’ Story: Addiction, Courage, and the Road to Recovery

In the world of sports, toughness is often prized above all else. For Chris, the pressure to appear invulnerable led to years of silence about his struggles with stress, anxiety, and feelings of inadequacy. Instead of seeking support, he turned to alcohol, a choice that nearly cost him his life...

Amanda’s Story: Sometimes We Have To Live Moment by Moment

When Amanda was 19, she knew the grip of anxiety and panic attacks—she’d been living with both for years. But something new was unfolding. She felt overwhelmed and out of control. Despite running eight miles a day, her body was wired. Sleep became impossible. She turned to sleeping pills and alcohol...

Paulie’s Story: I’m So Grateful I Was Able To Hang On

Paulie was a flight attendant with United Airlines for many years. He worked the night of September 10, 2001, on United Airlines Flight 175, coming into Boston-Logan International Airport–the same plane that would depart the next morning and crash into the South Tower of the World Trade Center in...

Kelly’s Story: Find the Silver Lining

Kelly grew up in a small town in Iowa in the 1970s. At the time, people thought that mental health disorders didn’t exist—you just needed more discipline. Kelly had episodes of rage starting from when she was around 7 or 8 years old. I said to myself, ‘Normal people don’t do this.’ I thought I was a...

Video: Early Life Trauma, Addiction, and Acceptance With Charles King

In this session, we talk to Charles King, a participant in the Deconstructing Stigma public awareness campaign whose story is too compelling not to share. Charles bravely shares his struggles with alcoholism, drug addiction, suicidal thoughts, bipolar disorder, depression, and anxiety. As the son of...

Transforming the Stigma of Addiction Into Compassion

Addiction touches millions of lives, yet stigma and misunderstanding often stand in the way of real healing. Through education, training, and powerful lived experience storytelling, we are changing outdated narratives about substance use and recovery. Whether you’re here to learn, teach, or find...

Chris’ Story: You Are in Charge of the Rest of Your Life

I feel much more in control of my daily life and have a road map to follow to make the most of what lies ahead for me. For many years, Chris was a heavy drinker. He also struggled with anxiety and depression. Despite his issues, he was always able to put on a calm exterior to prevent detection. He...

Sean’s Story: I Lost 20 Years of My Life Because I Was Scared To Talk

Sean, a 39-year-old graphic artist and illustrator recalls the night his “brain broke.” At 13 years old, he was watching the film “Halloween” alone in his bedroom when he had an intrusive thought. I saw my dad in my head, and as I looked through the same Michael Myers mask, I saw myself killing my...

Joe’s Story: We Are One Drum Beating Against the Stigma of Addiction

Joe himself doesn’t have a mental health condition, but he knows all too well the problems that stigma can cause. I’ve been labeled with stigmas since I was a child. I was adopted, so there was a stigma that came with that. I was born legally blind, so I was ‘the blind kid’—another stigma. Then...

Kitty’s Story: The Support I Have Received Has Been Real

Kitty began to experience significant depression in her early forties. Following her husband Michael’s defeat in the 1988 U.S. presidential election, she received inpatient treatment for alcohol use disorder and continued to struggle. Depression was brutal. The medications they gave me back then...

Wayne’s Story: I Was Losing Myself and Justifying It in My Own Head

While serving in a high-stress, high-responsibility role as a corrections officer, Wayne developed a serious problem with alcohol, and he knew he needed help to overcome it. My alcoholism was getting worse and worse, until I was totally depending on it to function. I was losing myself and justifying...