02/02/2026
Right, I’m gonna be real for a minute here.
Most people with substance use disorders don’t die from drugs or alcohol, they die from shame.
Shame stops people asking for help. Shame tells parents they’ll lose their kids. Shame tells professionals they’re “not that bad.” Shame tells neurodivergent people they’re the problem.
📊 NOT SO FUN FACT:
People (me included) delay seeking treatment for years because they don’t want to be seen as weak, irresponsible, A Jeremy Kyle stereotype … “an addict”
And, by the time they are “bad enough” … it’s often too late. So, if your service is:
• cold
• clinical
• judgemental
• obsessed with thresholds
Guess what - you’re not preventing harm, you’re part of the pipeline to crisis.
Recovery doesn’t fail people, systems and people do and until we stop blaming individuals for surviving in the only way they knew how, we’ll keep burying people who were asking for help in silence.
Your Monday Reminder: We don’t do shame here. We do warmth. We do honesty. We do harm reduction. We want keep people alive.
