Tuesday, October 30, 2007


national addictions awareness week

National addictions awareness week is November 18-24. This program and week is dedicated to acknowledge the rewards of sobriety. --www.naaw.net

Monday, October 29, 2007


These are both napkins I collected from a bar, and similiar napkins I bought to suppliment my supply that I printed shortened versions of some myths about addiction. I took the napkins back to the bar the following night, placing them behind the bar, under people's drinks, and also handing them out to some people. The main effect this experiement had was creating brief confusion to the person reading the napkin. Other effects, if any were difficult to gauge.
Myths About Addiction

1. An addict or alcoholic can stop using if they really want to.
Most alcoholics and addicts really do want to stop, at least some point in their using career. Those suffering from addiction are suffering from a physical, mental, and spiritual disease which cannot be overcome through willing the problem away.

2. Addicts and alcoholics are misfits and criminals.
Addicts and alcoholics are sick people who most times want to get well, not bad people who want to get good.

3. Alcoholics and addicts go to treatment and get cured.
Alcoholics and addicts suffer from a chronic disease meaning it is an ongoing and lifelong condition. Recovering addicts and alcoholics are granted a daily reprieve from their disease through the maintenance of sobriety.

4. Alcoholics can safely drink if they gain an education about the disease.
Alcoholics can never safely drink without reactivating the disease

5. When an alcoholic is drunk their true personality is revealed.
An alcoholic’s personality is distorted when they are using due to the changes the body and mind experience. Genuine personality features are only present in sobriety.

6. People become alcoholic due to psychological or emotional problems.
Alcoholics have the same problems as anyone else. Prolonged drinking effects the alcoholic’s ability to handle situations and problems effectively.

7. An alcoholic or addict has to want to get better before they can begin receiving treatment.
In many instances, the person suffering from addiction is forced to receive treatment because of some kind of intervention, legal or otherwise.
Facts about Addiction

9 million Americans need treatment for drug addiction, millions other for alcoholism. This makes addiction more prevalent heart disease and stroke, and as prevalent as cancer.
One year relapse rates for addiction, asthma, and hypertension are similar at 60%, 70%, and 55%

In a 2004 national poll of recovering addicts and alcoholics 1in 4 said they had been discriminated against when trying gain employment or insurance.

In a recent poll 80% of Americans think there is discrimination against people in recovery in the workplace. More than ¼ of those polled said they would be reluctant to hire someone in long-term recovery.
Above are two different people's reactions to being asked to describe an alcoholic, the resulting comments from my walk around Towson. Both of these people are local to Towson, the first is a homeless man, the second a man in his twenties. In general I found that people, at least in the downtown Towson area are either reluctant or simply refuse to comment on this topic, leading me to believe that a best it is an uncomfortable subject for those asked.

street walking

today i walked around downtown towson for a couple hours asking people to answer questions about alcoholism and addiction and mostly all i got was hot and sweaty (in hindsight wearing corduroy pants on an 80 degree day was a bad choice). this subject makes alot of people really uncomfortable, most people said they themselves had a problem with alcohol or drugs and felt like they couldn't answer any questions, or other people just simply did not want to answer any questions once i explained what i was doing. one guy literally ran away from me. i did have a really good conversation with a homeless guy named chuck about his experience wih alcoholism and he answered one of my questions which was cool. so sunday i'm going to try getting more people to answer some questions. in terms of the collage presentation, i was thinking of using peoples' answers to my questions in combination with images and quotes or headlines i pull from news sources, the collages are going to be sort of rauschenberg inspired.

Addiction is a Disease

Currently, there is still needless debate over whether or not drug and alcohol addiction is a disease. Addiction, like many other diseases, is caused by both environmetal and physiological factors. The debate which surrounds the issue both keeps the addict/alcoholic sick and helps perpetuate the stigma surrounding the disease and its treatment.
Despite repeated confirmation from various reputable medical sources that drug and alcohol addiction have genetic components that classify them as a disease, public perception is still divided on this issue. I am asserting an effort to align public opinion with the reality of the disease concept of addiction.

As with any issue worth considering there are two sides to the perception of addiction, those who consider addicts and alcoholics ‘bad” people, and those who consider them sick people. Medical sources such as the American Psychiatric Association, The National Institute on Drug Abuse, and The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, are in agreement that addiction is a disease. In contrast, I have yet to be able to locate any reputable organization that claims addiction is not a disease, through my research I have found that it is only individual psychiatrists and psychologists which quite probably are working from their own biases and motives that make this argument. The core issue debated is whether or not addicts and alcoholics are making the choice to pick up a drink or a drug or are compelled to do so by biological factors. That this issue is even discussed adds to the stigma surrounding it, stigma that doesn’t exist around other diseases like cancer, which is unequivocally viewed as a sickness the sufferer is powerless over having. This stigma still exists obviously in part simply due to information that is circulated telling people addiction is not a disease, but is probably compounded by the side effects of drug and alcohol addiction. From an outside and uninformed view, it sometimes seems as though the addict is consistently choosing to poison themselves and because of this is making disruptive/illegal/socially unacceptable choices. In addition the standard treatment for the disease is unlike any other, the most effective being cognitive therapy in combination with 12 step groups, there is no pill or procedure to cure addiction. As I stated earlier I feel that those claiming that addiction is not a disease are working from their own personal biases and motives rather than medical fact, but I suppose I am too to an extent. It is important to consider both sides of the issue, and valuable to have an understanding of the opposing viewpoint in my efforts to change them.