Education and careers were our way out

Abstract

Stigma thrives in vacuums of awareness where stereotypes are allowed to persist. When those of us with lived experience of addiction and addiction recovery stay in the shadows, we miss an opportunity to challenge a harmful narrative—that people with addiction are fundamentally different from other people and don't get better. Here, we three addiction treatment professionals share our lived experience of overcoming substance use disorder, highlighting how education and careers have formed the cornerstones of our recoveries. We also link our experiences to the emerging recovery capital literature, which speaks to the importance of employment in the SUD recovery process, while highlighting how systemic racism and the crimes against humanity committed in the name of the war on drugs remain barriers to many pursuing education and new careers.