Relapse is very dangerous. However, relapse can be a symptom of the disease. Sometimes there are multiple relapses before you get sober and stay sober.
David SheffRead
Having been hit by drug addiction, knowing how many are hit by it and what a big problem it is in our neighborhoods and our culture, I feel a responsibility to do something. I can see what's wrong with the system - that we have to recognize mental illness as we do cancer or broken bones - and how we need to make it better.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the importance of addressing mental health issues with the same seriousness as physical ailments.
David Sheff highlights the pervasive issue of drug addiction and mental illness in society, advocating for a responsible response to these challenges. He believes that mental health should receive the same recognition and treatment as physical conditions like cancer or broken bones, emphasizing the need for systemic change and increased awareness to improve outcomes for individuals affected by these issues.
Themes
Mental HealthAddictionResponsibilitySystemic ChangeAwareness
In practice
Example use cases
In a community meeting about health resources.
More from David Sheff
All quotes →If you subscribe to the idea that # addiction is a disease, it is startling to see how many of these children - paranoid, anxious, bruised, tremulous, withered, in some cases psychotic - are seriously ill, slowly dying. We'd never allow such a scene if these kids had any other disease. They would be in a hospital, not on the streets.
David SheffRead
If you love someone who's an addict and their use is life-threatening, you don't wait until they hit bottom because that can mean that they're going to die. You have to do everything you can to get them in treatment.
David SheffRead
This stigma associated with drug use--the belief that bad kids use, good kids don't, and those with full-blown addiction are weak, dissolute, and pathetic--has contributed to the escalation of use and has hampered treatment more than any single other factor.
David SheffRead
Anyone who has lived through it, or those who are now living through it, knows that caring about an addict is as complex and fraught and debilitating as addiction itself.
David SheffRead
Through Nic's drug addiction, I have learned that parents can bear almost anything....I shock myself with my ability to rationalize and tolerate things once unthinkable. The rationalizations escalate....It's only marijuana. He gets high only on weekends. At least he's not using hard drugs.
David SheffRead
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