Here's a shameful secret that I hide in professional company: I'm an addict.
I come from a long line. My family tree includes alcoholics, gamblers, and serious drug users. My sister died of a methamphetamine overdose at just 20 years old. Regardless of genetic predisposition, poverty, stress, intergenerational trauma, housing instability and dysfunctional family dynamics make us all ideal candidates for addiction.
I'm not an alcoholic, or a serious drug user, but I've been addicted to nicotine since 12 years old. I've tried to quit more times than I can count, and I've been off the durries and on the vape for almost 3 years now.
I would usually never dare let that cat out of the bag in a professional setting, smuggling my secret shame in quick workshop breaks held in hidden spaces. Occasionally I meet a fellow addict in the wild, and we smile at each other ruefully.
As far as my family goes, I'm a raging success on the addiction front: it's just caffeine and nicotine for me. But in a professional middle class environment, I feel like a leper.
The data on this one is pretty clear: tough childhoods overwhelmingly lead to substance use and abuse.
Every ACE (Adverse Childhood Experiences) point increases your likelihood of using drugs 2-4 fold. Over half of the population have an ACE score of at least 1. Mine is 6, which also means I'm 3x more likely than the general population to be a smoker, 8x more likely to be an alcoholic, and 3x more likely to have chronic depression. I have a 90% chance of holding an antidepressant prescription, a 32% likelihood of being raped (compared to 5% of those with an ACE score of zero), am 19x more likely to attempt suicide and am at risk of my lifespan being shortened by 20 years.
Toxic stress permanently changes the structure and function of a child’s developing brain. When kids are overloaded with stress hormones, they’re always in fight, flight or freeze. They struggle to trust adults or develop healthy relationships with peers. They become anxious, depressed, guilty and ashamed, and are likely to use distracting substances and behaviours (nicotine, alcohol, overwork, sex, overeating) to cope.
Addiction is a class issue, and while health-promoting initiatives are important, we need to check our judgement at the door. When professional spaces feel unsafe for people to be themselves, everybody loses out. Participation narrows, voices around the table lack diversity and our products, services and initiatives are blinkered by the homogeny of perspective that comes from recruiting and promoting for 'fit'.
If you see a shameful looking smoker or vaper huddled around your office building this week, give them a friendly wave and a hello. Odds are, they're doing pretty bloody well to be where they are and will appreciate your inclusion.
#addiction #classism #aliciarants
I come from a long line. My family tree includes alcoholics, gamblers, and serious drug users. My sister died of a methamphetamine overdose at just 20 years old. Regardless of genetic predisposition, poverty, stress, intergenerational trauma, housing instability and dysfunctional family dynamics make us all ideal candidates for addiction.
I'm not an alcoholic, or a serious drug user, but I've been addicted to nicotine since 12 years old. I've tried to quit more times than I can count, and I've been off the durries and on the vape for almost 3 years now.
I would usually never dare let that cat out of the bag in a professional setting, smuggling my secret shame in quick workshop breaks held in hidden spaces. Occasionally I meet a fellow addict in the wild, and we smile at each other ruefully.
As far as my family goes, I'm a raging success on the addiction front: it's just caffeine and nicotine for me. But in a professional middle class environment, I feel like a leper.
The data on this one is pretty clear: tough childhoods overwhelmingly lead to substance use and abuse.
Every ACE (Adverse Childhood Experiences) point increases your likelihood of using drugs 2-4 fold. Over half of the population have an ACE score of at least 1. Mine is 6, which also means I'm 3x more likely than the general population to be a smoker, 8x more likely to be an alcoholic, and 3x more likely to have chronic depression. I have a 90% chance of holding an antidepressant prescription, a 32% likelihood of being raped (compared to 5% of those with an ACE score of zero), am 19x more likely to attempt suicide and am at risk of my lifespan being shortened by 20 years.
Toxic stress permanently changes the structure and function of a child’s developing brain. When kids are overloaded with stress hormones, they’re always in fight, flight or freeze. They struggle to trust adults or develop healthy relationships with peers. They become anxious, depressed, guilty and ashamed, and are likely to use distracting substances and behaviours (nicotine, alcohol, overwork, sex, overeating) to cope.
Addiction is a class issue, and while health-promoting initiatives are important, we need to check our judgement at the door. When professional spaces feel unsafe for people to be themselves, everybody loses out. Participation narrows, voices around the table lack diversity and our products, services and initiatives are blinkered by the homogeny of perspective that comes from recruiting and promoting for 'fit'.
If you see a shameful looking smoker or vaper huddled around your office building this week, give them a friendly wave and a hello. Odds are, they're doing pretty bloody well to be where they are and will appreciate your inclusion.
#addiction #classism #aliciarants
