A dominant theme in addiction studies is how addicted individuals become stigmatised, excluded and marginalised as a result of their drug addiction - and the often dysfunctional and anti-social behaviour that follows. Max Dennehy and Thaddeus Müller report (in: Stigma and drug use: Research perspectives from Europe),"often, the experiences of exclusion and stigmatisation start well before the ´addicts´ have ever picked up a drug. Our research conveys the reality that many of our most excluded, marginalised, and stigmatised people who use drugs have a chronic history of stigmatisation and exclusion that dates back to early childhood. Often, addiction is a symptom of exclusion, not the cause."
Stigma and drug use: Research perspectives from Europe
The researchers observed, "a mutual and authentic connection with a peer can facilitate the deconstructing of internalised stigma. The research describes how ´experiental peers´, ´professional exes´ and ´professional wounded healers´ are best positioned and suited to act as a bridge between being stigmatised - and belonging to inclusive recovery communities. The research shows that, after decades of stigmatisation and exclusion, recovering addicts can find belonging and transformation within recovery communities, and that lived experience plays a central role in this process..."
