Fighting Stigma On Facebook

Lauren Hoffman revisits her “coming out” as an alcoholic:

It was five days after my last drink, four days after I told my parents, and three days after I started treatment. “I read a marathon training book once that said you should always tell people you were training for a race; that way, you’d have extra incentive to not abandon your goal midway through,” I wrote on Facebook. “In the spirit of that: I’m a (newly sober) alcoholic. I’m exhausted and overwhelmed but mostly profoundly relieved to not be trying to keep a giant secret anymore.” …

There’s absolutely something self-serving about that openness. I speak as honestly as I do because it’s always been a way for me to connect with others with similar struggles or to reach out to my friends and family, both of which are essential to my sanity and recovery. But I also talk about my alcoholism and bipolar disorder as frankly as I do because I see and want to contribute to a decrease in the level of stigma associated with addiction and mental illness. For as great as large-scale educational campaigns or Partnership for a Drug-Free America ads can be, I don’t think stigma can truly be broken down with sweeping gestures. Those misunderstandings and prejudices are demolished at a personal, individual level.