We Live With Addiction. This Is The 1 Thing We Want People To Know.

Vuk Saric via Getty Images HuffPost asked people with addiction to share the biggest lessons they want their loved ones, and people in general, to know about the disease. “When I was planning to treat opioid use disorder at my clinic, the staff was up in arms that I wanted to bring ‘those people’ into our nice little primary care office,” she said. “The most important thing I want people to know about addiction is that it’s widely misunderstood, and these misconceptions can be harmful,” said Lester Morse, director at Rehabs UK, who has experienced addiction in the past. Many of us don’t know how to support someone with an addiction, and going about it in the “right way” is easier said than done. “I want people to understand that there are many available options today to treat addiction, and it does not have to feel like you are pedaling uphill or ‘white-knuckling’ it to stay clean,” said Alex Gardella, a 26-year-old in New York City.