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People who are addicted to say, heroin, can still drink There are findings that support the theory that those who have addiction are predisposed by certain inherited genes. There is still much contention over whether addiction is a disease or a choice, even though the medical community had begun to recognize addiction as a medical condition about half a century ago, there are many prevailing beliefs that alcoholism and drug addiction somehow has to do with the person and their choices rather than their brain chemistry. This leads us to the next most common stereotype on the list. Many of us were desperately trying to cope with unresolved trauma, finding solace in drugs and alcohol. And, in fact, that it has nothing to do with our morality and who we are as a person. Not realizing that there’s much more to it than that. And we tend to view ourselves that way, too. At least, that’s how most of society views you. If you are an addict, you’re a bad person. In my experience as a functioning addict, I really didn’t believe I had a problem because my life didn’t “look” like that of a junkie’s. This stereotype is grossly detrimental to the cause of raising awareness about the disease of addiction and it keeps many people under a heavy veil of denial about their addiction. In reality, actually, there are many of us who were ‘functional addicts’ – we had good jobs, homes, cars, married with children, even pillars of our communities. I think it’s quite common for people to hear the word ‘addict’ and then immediately envision a homeless person living in squalor behind a Dumpster or else in some abandoned building.

Here are the 13 most common addiction stereotypes. The problem with this is two-fold: it derails society at large from truly understanding the nature of the disease, which then perpetuates these negative stereotypes, and it deters people who are struggling with addiction from seeking help, because they believe these terrible things to be true about themselves.

There are several common myths and misconceptions about addiction that run amok, and these are passed around by not just those who are lucky enough to be non-addicts but, by addicts, themselves.