I am just as guilty as anyone on this subject so this is not a high horse post. I’m hoping to open some dialogue and not derail the check in thread. @Mno@Kdog@MrsOdh all have valid points but also open the door for a wider discussion.
Is there a difference between the phrase junkie and alcoholic?
I’m not suggesting we start censoring but are we open to being mindful and admitting that language can be detrimental?
Do we think it’s okay to take ownership of certain words? For example I used to call myself a crack head although I don’t use that as much any longer.
Do certain terms mean different things across different languages?
This is something very close to my heart. I have lots to share on this but not much time, so I’ll share a couple key things to start with.
I choose not to use words that imply I’m stuck, as though I was a certain category of thing that is always ____ (whatever the problem is). As a sexaholic in recovery from a list addiction, I can say I’m a sexaholic - usually in meetings I say “Matt, grateful recovering sexaholic”, and I like that phrase because “recovering” is a process, and it’s a process that grows and strengthens, and it is always accessible with the right mindset.
Always accessible with the right mindset.
That, to me, is what this is about: do the words we use relate to an accessible, constructive path? I think it’s important that they do.
Meaning isn’t in letters and alphabets. Meaning is in how people use words to talk about themselves and others. So the only way to know if something is stigmatizing, is to dig into the intent. I think intent is important too.
This reminds me that words and language only have the power we assign to them.
However some words are universally denounced as offensive regardless of the meaning assigned and a generally considered slurs rather than stigmatizing words
This is a difficult one, but equally a fascinating conversation.
I would say that the difference between the term junkie and alcoholic comes from the medical/non medical use. Alcoholism is a medically recognised term (although I personally am still reluctant to be labelled an alcoholic), and junkie is a colloquial term, and one that is quite dismissive of the experiences of the person. It is interesting that you used to refer to yourself as a crack head @Englishd but no longer feel it is appropriate.
Reclaiming words is an interesting topic in itself. Gay people reclaiming the word Queer for example. I don’t think that Junkie can be equated with that though as while it does form a part of a person’s identity, it isn’t something that is a fundamental part of them from birth.
I think words can be extremely powerful. I dont think that there is truly much difference btwn the words junkie and alcoholic as they are words often used to label someone in a negative way (at least in my experience). I do think its important to try and be mindful of others in this forum when using such words bcuz you never how a person will respond to it, wether its in an indirect or direct manner. For example i used to be crack head and a junkie. I personally dont even like using or those terms or hearing those terms bcuz thats not who i am anymore. Even when i was in full blown addiction and technically a “crack head”, i didnt like that label bcuz i am more than my addiction. I think once we start throwing around those terms, we start labelling others and i truly do feel that we are all more than our addictions. That there is more to us than being a “junkie” or “crack head” or “alcoholic” etc
There’s an interview Samuel L Jackson did after Django that I think of here:
Is it really the words? Really the words themselves? Or is it the choices made by people using those words, and the places (and audiences) that hear those words?
I think that matters. Choice matters; intent and action matters; whether I’m using a word to create a constructive connection, or to show contempt - that matters. The same set of sounds can mean very different things, depending on the place and the people.
“Junkie” is a good example of this. Hearing someone share at a meeting and hearing them say “I’m just a lust junkie who decided he was done with lust”, to me, is a signal of belonging and it’s a signal of positive choice. All of us in that meeting have been through the same thing he’s been through and we all make the same choice every day. (Not all of us use the word junkie like that but we all know what he means. We know what he did; we know the pain and profound shame and regret and danger he’s been in.)
But “junkie”, like all words - it matters who says this and to whom they’re speaking, and why, because there are lots of times and places where that word doesn’t have any constructive effect.
This is a path to the word police. As much as I think we’re trying to protect people living like junkies out there that may want help, but for some reason decide not to get help because they heard someone use this word… I honestly think this kind of action is just going to deter people from expressing themselves openly out of fear of being seen as close-minded or not progressive enough ( which is one of the biggest problems with social media to begin with because most people self police more than they Police others so they still have the same thoughts but they feel like they cannot express themselves). The idea that I can’t openly express myself is way more of a hindrance than the potential to deter someone from help because of this word and honestly if the word Junkie is enough to knock you off of the sobriety coaster then you weren’t going to get past the first stop anyway. Lastly the idea of stigmatizing is not directed at the person in addiction as much as it is for the rest of the world. The idea that we shouldn’t associate active addiction with a failing of moral character is sound, but that in no way negates the very real dangers associated with living like a junkie. Now personally I like to say somebody is “living like a junkie” or “acting like an asshole” because I do not believe people are assholes or Junkies however throughout history I think a common way to define a person is through what they regularly do. so perhaps if one is unhappy with the label of Junkie they should use that as motivation to stop living the way they are?
Either way I feel like this one conversation is just the first conversation and a series of conversations were eventually we can’t use magic words like junkie because they could hurt people’s feelings and this app will get even worse.
I have discussed this with various close friends over the years and they shared with me that it was the intent behind the word. I appreciate Mel’s share on this. I also appreciate Mno’s share on this in the check in thread. I also am not a fan of the word alcoholic and do not identify as such. That’s just me.
Appreciate the opportunity to hear people’s opinions.
I think the situation matters in contect. My brother in law calls me an alcoholic…he is being a condescending asshole trying to show he is better than me…someone on here calla me an alcoholic, they are just describing a part of me.
I think people are far too sensitive now. Being called a wino or an alcoholic or a drunk doesn’t feel good and it’s not supposed to. Thats why Im going to stop being those things.
I think you are equating the right to express yourself with saying whatever you want and feeling like there should be no pushback. Sure you can use whatever language you’d like, and other people are free to respond if they don’t like it.
I remember that point where I was considering sobriety and the fear of stigma was very real. And it did keep me from seeking recovery sooner. I also remember being a few years sober and reversing an overdose in the parking lot at work. Since I’m not a medical professional it was hard to handle. The next day at work I overheard a volunteer making some stigmatizing jokes about it. And let me tell you that shit hurt, even with multiple years sober then.
Typically speaking the ones who call everyone overly sensitive are the ones who get offended the easiest. Now I’m not saying that is the case with you as I don’t know you, that’s just been my experience both here and in the real world.
I would caution against chalking this up to sensitivity issue. I generally can handle my own feelings in regard to what I’m called, but I’m also acutely aware of how language affects a mindset of seeking recovery.
For sure if someone makes a derogatory comment about me and it’s true it does hurt my feelings but I guess that was my point. It’s ultimately more important to hear the truth even if it’s raw or hurtful. Words have the power to add a measure of levity to a situation that isn’t actually there, just like alcohol.
Back when I was “growing up” and later working in emergency services “junkies” were heroin addicts. That’s it.
The ones using PCP and all the other drugs were called “druggies” not “junkies”. Junkies were heroin.
It seems that later on the word became more generalized, a part of slang culture. You could say that somebody is a potato chip junkie, an exercise junkie, or a news junkie.
In my mind it’s oftentimes not used with a bad connotation.
Obsessive tendency good or bad.
I don’t like the term alcoholic. A person could have a ‘drinking problem’.
I have not seen what was written in the checking in thread so this is just going off the question posed at the beginning of this thread.
This is the second time in a week I’ve seen the use of language by someone who isn’t a native English speaker corrected and policed on here. Food for thought.
Language is powerful yes. The same word can mean different things for different people, depending on where they’re from.
With ‘junkie,’ I think context matters. A concerned mother describing the bloke who just kicked out her vulnerable daughter following a toxic relationship as a ‘junkie’ isn’t exactly inappropriate, in my humble view.
If someone gets offended by being called a drunk, or a pothead, or a junkie, or a cokehead or whatever label or name is given to their addiction I have found its usually their own selfish reaction to having their addiction pointed out to them in a direct way.
There are people on here who have been offended by the words addiction, alcoholic or addict so its often a case by case situation about how some one choses to feel about the word or label used.
Would if the comment is not directed to you? But perhaps the unhoused person who is flying a sign. Junkie? Drunk? Possibly, or possibly not.
You say being called a drunk motivates you, which is perfectly understandable. But what if it’s being directed towards someone else, someone who might not even hear it? But what if someone else hears it? And personalizes it?
