Week 1 of 7: The Blame Game 🔥

We used to lock alcoholics in asylums.

We used to tell them they were weak. Sinful. That if they really wanted to stop, they would. That their drinking was a choice — and a selfish one at that.

For most of human history, that was the full extent of our understanding. No research. No treatment. No compassion. Just judgement.

And the consequences were devastating — not just for the alcoholic, but for everyone who loved them. Because when you believe someone is choosing destruction, you stop trying to help them. You shame them instead. You distance yourself. You give up.

Here’s the thing though: shame has never once cured an addiction.

What changed everything wasn’t a moral campaign or a religious revival. It was science — and specifically, psychology — slowly and painstakingly dismantling the idea that addiction was a character flaw.

It turns out that the question “why don’t they just stop?” is a bit like asking someone with a broken leg why they don’t just walk normally. The answer is: because something is genuinely wrong — and willpower alone was never going to fix it.

Over the next seven weeks I’m going to explore what we’ve actually learned about addiction — the biology, the psychology, the trauma, and yes, even the spirituality. Because the full picture is far more interesting, and far more compassionate, than the one most of us grew up with.

Next week: why calling alcoholism a disease wasn’t just a semantic shift — it was a revolution.

 I’d love to know: how did you grow up thinking about addiction? Was it seen as a moral failing, a medical condition, or something else entirely? Share in the comments.