Addiction memoirs: Changing the negative stigma toward addiction

If addiction is a disease then why do we treat it with a hush hush mentality?  When we hear someone is diagnosed with cancer, we don't start saying things like, "Oh well you brought this upon your self," or "What's wrong with you?"  So if the new thinking regarding addiction is centered on the disease model then why is their still a negative stigma toward addiction?  I can tell you right now.

Changing the mindset of the general public from thinking addiction is self-inflicted to a mindset that addiction is a disease and some people may have fallen into addiction not because of poor choices but because of external situations or even a different chemical make up in the brain, starts with the people in recovery not being afraid to say they are in recovery.  Plain and simple.  If the person in recovery thinks addiction is bad then of course everyone else is going to think addiction is a bad.  Ok, so maybe you're thinking well the person in recovery is afraid to say they are in recovery because people whom don't struggle with addiction will judge the person in recovery.  Is this accurate?  Probably, but this mindset will never change unless the members of the recovery program stand up and say yes I struggle with substances, however look at me now.  I know what's wrong with me and I have made a conciseness decision to improve it, now let's talk about what you are doing to improve your defects because everybody knows there's something wrong with everyone!

More to come on this topic, just getting warmed up.