ANSWERS: 51
  • I think it's important to remeber the circumstances that lead some people to become addicts. It's not always a simple matter of choice.
  • I personally do not think that anyone should feel sorry for drug addicts, as you said they made choices and will suffer the consequinces of them..I don't sympathize with drug addicts, I don't feel sorry for them. Harsh..not at all, I was/am an addict. Clean for 3 yrs :)
  • i was an addict' an i drank' it kelp me alive ' so i would'nt remember things that happened to me when growing up' but i never wanted anyone to feel sorry for me ' just needed help, someone to get me back on track' after several years i did it on my on'
  • I think we should not accept it, but even though it is their choice some people go through things that make them thinks drugs and alcohol will help, and its not the case with everyone, some people have had horrible things happen to them and they are fine, but everyone is different. I guess you should feel bad because they made a bad choice and don't have the strength to stop.
  • i dont thnk drug addicts choose it 100 percent. i thnk there are social, psychological and environmental factors that contribute,
  • Sympathy never hurt anyone...
  • I fostered a 6 month old baby for a year and a half,what a joy she was. but the parents were anything but joyous. they were very frusterating to say the least.she is now being adopted and I do not feel sorry for the drug addict parents.they don't need our sympathy and understanding. their families do however.
  • For the people that reached the bottom, i bet they appreciate those that were able to help. But how they're planning to go about making their amends to the dead... hmmm..
  • It all depends the reason why they started, the age, and if they're willing to try or maybe even talk about it. i would feel helpless but not sorry.
  • I don't know about the feeling sorry for them thing but everyone makes mistakes. We are not perfect. Just some mistakes are more serious then others. Once they get help and stop the next time they use I have no pity what so ever.
  • my s/o is an addict and an ex user but i dont for a second feel bad for him and he doesnt expect me to but i do feel bad that now that hes risen above it and gotten his shit tofether and become a million times the person he was the past still keeps coming back to bite him in the ass.
  • I don't feel sorry for them. I mean, yeah, I think "wow. their life sucks." But I don't have any pity or sympathy for them really. People make their own choices, and everytime they chose to do drugs and push themselves further into addiction, then that was THEIR choice. Nobody made them do it. And I don't really care what circumstances led to it in the first place. Most people know that drugs aren't the way to handle your problems, so I don't feel sorry for those that didn't learn that. As far a peer pressure when you're young, I have absolutely NO sympathy there. It's complete crap. Seriously, it's the easiest thing in the world to tell someone to just fuck off if you're not interested. I feel bad for people who aren't brave enough or THINK that they can't do it, because it's not hard. I have done a few drugs in my life and have been surrounded by addicts of one kind or another, and it's not hard to avoid falling into the same traps that others do. I know what I'm okay with doing, and what I'm not and it's worked out perfectly for me. Basically people choose to be the way they are. Really, to stop being a drug addict all you have to do is STOP. Just stop. *shrug* So I don't feel sorry for people can't. or rather won't.
  • Sometimes people develop addictions to different things to make up for something lacking in their own lives or because it makes them feel better about themselves. It may be their choice to try something but it is not their choice to become hooked. Just think about it. If you had a problem like that, how would you want people to treat you?
  • I do feel a certain empathy for addicts. Both of my parents were alcoholics so I know that I carry the gene to be one as well. I have done many drugs in my life, but fortunately have never been addicted to any. Of course, drugs today are a different breed than when we were doing them. While we had peyote and LSD, we did not know about crack and meth had not yet made its mark on our society. Both crack and meth are sooooo seriously addicting, and now we are faced with a resurgence in the number of heroin addicts since heroin is being harvested so abundantly in Afghanistan's poppy fields now flourishing following the fall of the Taliban, we had better get used to more and more addicts. And not the scabby, dirty, looks-like-an-addict kind. The middle-class, middle-aged, successful business kind who starts with a little snort at lunch and rapidly advances to injecting and shortly afterward looses everything up to and including possibly their life. Drug addiction is not so simple as you make it sound. No one ever aspires to be a drug addict. People start using for as wide a variety of reasons as there are people. For someone who gets sucked into the cesspool that IS drug addiction, it is also not so simple to stop. The physical withdrawl alone is enough to send one's sanity to the edge, let alone the emotional and mental damage that withdrawl causes. Many addicts have no type of emotional support to get them through the tough times and treatment centers have lenthy waiting lists. It would behoove you to remember in your lack of sympathy of those less fortunate, that there but for the grace of God, go any of us.
  • When your hooked its not your choice anymore. your powerless.
  • Maybe they already made the decision to quit, but can't or need help in doing so and don't know where to start. Probably not the case most of the time though, but it's a possibility.
  • Because it's very sad. Someone makes a mistake and tries something and become very addicted. Addiction is all emcompassing. There are so many factors why they did it in the first place. We're human. We have to be there for eachother.
  • Sympathy and pity are useless to an addict who is using. Understanding is helpful. The actual addiction itself is more powerful than the addict. There are ways to deal with addicts that stop us enabling and help us to deal with our resentment so we do not feel powerless. I, too, am a clean addict and, when using, played on people's sympathy and pity. A bit of understanding, empathy, and a hell of a powerful programme, helped me to stay stopped.
  • A person getting into a life of drugs is a lot more complex than most people think. Especially if they start young, you can't expect young people to always be fully aware of all the harms and shit that drugs can do. I hardly think that it has to do with a ''hey I want to be cool too!'' *Inject.* If that IS the problem something else would have gotten them eventually, insecurity and poor self esteem often find other nests. Sometimes it's circumstances like poverty or child abuse, and I think I could be slightly more lenient towards such causes if I ever did frown on drug addicts as persons. Also one should consider ''addiction'' and ''casual use'' as two different things. Being addicted to drugs must be a goddamn nightmare, and most of these people won't be helped by pompous presentation of moral values and opinions. It may be their decision to have plunged themselves into this, but considering the nature of drugs, not everyone can be strong like you, as we're all products of our society anyways. :/ Secondly it's pretty easy to dismiss them all as fools or idiots if you haven't gone through the experience yourself. Many people break away from a habit though, and it takes extreme strength and willpower to do this. If you're not going to try and be understanding that's completely fine, and you certainly don't have to feel sorry for them either, nobody's forcing you too, but don't piss them off about it or rub it in their faces. Just ignore them, most of them like it better that way anyways.
  • You can "feel sorry for" an addict, just as you can for anyone who is in pain, pity, sympathy, even empathy for an addict without indulging in the "enabling" behaviour that is sooo easy to slip into. And without condoning the mistake that got him there in the first place. Not all addicts get hooked through wild, profligate self-indulgence. Some do it by a mild overdose of an otherwise harmless substance; others get hooked on medical prescriptions. It all depends on the individual and how his body systems, hormones, enzymes, and/or metabolism react to various substances. Some alcoholics get hooked on their first or second drink, and are lost for life. . My drugs of choice are caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, and occasionally aspirin, and I can go without any or all of them for weeks or months at a time. Well, not without coffee. So I'm really out of my depth here. I cannot know the ghastly, paralysing, mind bending pain of withdrawal experienced by a recovering addict. Maybe it's a case of "Hate the sin but love the sinner," but I think that oversimplifies the case by a long, long way.
  • People don't wake up one morning saying I'm going to be a drug addict. They smoke weed or try cocaine and then they need something stronger. They try the stronger substance heroin crack or meth and they're addicted to that within the first few times they use it. So i do feel a certain sympathy for them but not really, I know this one crackhead who has a son in sixth grade so maybe around 12 and the guy smokes crack in the house with his son. I feel so sorry for that kid. I sometimes give him money or take him to McDonalds with me just so he can eat.
  • Yeah I think we should be a little sympathetic. Some people's parents did a better job of talking about drugs. Others were raised with drug addict parents. Some people are raised in areas where there is more peer pressure to use drugs than others. For those of us who are drug free, we should be grateful for not having to learn the hard way and have some symathy for those who are suffering.
  • There are diffrent answers to this question because I know people who brought it on themselves and then people like me. I was given xanax by a doctor because I was depressed and had bad anxiety. I took them for over a year and then I missed a doctors appt one month and didn't think anything of it till my body went crazy I felt restless, hot and cold sweats, I thought I was dieing. I went to the hospital and they told me it was withdrawl. I never drank only tried pot once and here I was a drug addict and didn't even know it. I had to get put on a diffrent meds to get off of xanax and it spirals out of control. I never wanted to be an addict but I was never knew something a dr gives you could ruin your life!
  • The same reason you can feel sorry for or sympathetic to someone who skis or snowboards out of bounds in the mountains. You can either feel sympathy or you can say 'Well, what else does the idiot expect when they do such a dangerous thing?' Which would be your reaction to the person caught in an avalanche?
  • Because life happens. And everyone in the world makes mistakes. It's just feeling sorry for a person wasting their life away.
  • They decided to do the first line/drag/ whatever. And then they got hooked. Now, if it was a child who didn't know better (I remember reading a story about a mother got her young children addicted so she would have someone to do drugs with) then yes, I would feel bad. But adults who made a bad choice? Sucks to be you, but why should I now care? That was your decision.
  • you should feel bad for drug addicts becuase u have to imagine wat had caused them soo much stress that htey had to resort to drugs in order to be happy.. i have 3 drug addict uncles and each of which have suffered terrible occurances.. one was kidnapped and thown into the street naked when he was 18 and hte other one saw his friend get blown to bits with his own gun.. (freak accident) there is always a reason for it and therefore they should earn your sympathy
  • If you love someone, don't turn your back on them when they need you the most. Bottom line. You are permanently damaging your relationship with that person if you show no sympathy. Years later when you need someone there for you, guess who won't be there? The ex drug addict that you gave the cold shoulder to that is now sober and doing much better than yourself.
  • Some people are just born with addictive personalities. We should care for addicts even if only for social reasons because of the problems addicts create for the rest of us.
  • Many drug abuser became so because they lived a miserable life. That their life was such a hell could've been their own fault, but most likely it is related to their childhood and early years. So many drug addicts are what they are because of several persons
  • You reap what you sow. Just because you don't agree with some ones situation you don't have to be apathetic towards them. In this formula and neg + neg =neg. If you lent this attitude to every problem till it ends up on your door step you are useless to society. On the other hand if you step up and help with problems like this you would be useful.
  • You shouldnt feel sorry for an addict..pity never helps. Empathy is another story though. Trying to understand where they are coming from..there is nothing wrong with that. Just know that you will never understand, and everyone has their own story, their own reasons. Be respectful, most of the drug addicts I know are actually very smart, witty people, alot of people actually turn to drugs because of their intelligence. Learning about what is really going on this world, the crooken way people work and take advantage of you.. sometimes it can seem drugs are your only way out of the madness, a nice break. I know Id like to do drugs sometimes..but I know I never will. Wow, that was a lot of writing..
  • I was addicted to Codeine as I went to the doctors suffering terrible constant headaches as the busual paracetamol/ibuprofen were not working so he said 'have you ever tried Solpadol' (30mg Codeine & 500mg paracetmol per tablet) available on prescription only. I kept being prescribed them and after a few years I needed more than 2 every 4 hours and ended up on 60 tablets a day which is obviously way more than the lethal dose but my body had become immune to such large doses, in the end I went to the doc and asked to come off and I was put on Subutex (Buprenorphine) which is an opiate blocker that stops the withdraws symptoms. 4 years on I am still on the Subutex due to any lower than 14mg a day then my headaches come straight back. Although I was addicted to prescription pain killers I am not the same as the addicts that you see addicted to Heroin or Crack as I have never bought my tablets, stolen anything as mine were from the doctor so I have great sympathy for myself but none for the other addicts, say street drug addicts as they generally do not look after their kids at all and the kids should be taken away from them as the drugs are always more imoportant than their kids.
  • I've recently finished working for an NHS drug & alcohol service. The majority of people who we saw were taking drugs in order to block out how horrible their lives were. All except one had either traumatic backgrounds such as violence, abuse be it physical, mental or sexual, abanodment etc. Frankly if I had experienced what they had I would have gotten off my face just to forget for a couple of hours.
  • Its their choice to try it. not their choice to be addictedd. drugs have a hold on them that they cant escap by themselves. so if your talking about some one thats close to you then help a brotha out.
  • i think once a person starts using addictive drugs its very much under their control, but once they become an addicted its out of there control. my sympathy gose out to some one that is trying to get help for there addiction. not some one who dose nothing about it
  • Oh, I know all about that. I have lost people to theri addictions too. By caring for addicts I mean that we should offer rehab, treatment programs, interventions, etc. whatever works to help people to become sober. I refuse to be an enabler. Selfish politicians seek to simply fill our jails with addicts and not to offer them any real help.
  • Yes, we should. Everyone makes mistakes. How would you feel if you were the one who was addicted to drugs and needed help?
  • I really feel that most people who abuse drugs feel they can use in safety. Few can, and there are seemingly waves of people who are/were addicted to OxyContin and then to street junk.
  • most people think that once they start they can put them down as fast as they picked them up! not that easy most of them are in denial and need help, but theyre not going to admit to it. and most addicts go thru withdrawls which makes it even harder to quit which makes them want them more.
  • Haven't we all made mistakes before. They do need help and often need someone to talk with them instead of against them.. They need to be prayed for..
  • i have no remorse for people who choose to use drugs, i have known many in my life, and i dont feel sorry for them because there are more then enough places they can turn to for help if they want it
  • it depends on the drug and at what level they started. say you started at heroin then no. but if i was a slow build up from say weed or E (and then eventually things like heroin), then yes as i don't think these are overly addictive and eventually the line between weed and smack blurs until it doesn't exist
  • Let me answer this question as a former drug abuser. Firstly, my Christian faith teaches me not to judge my fellow man/woman. I have not "walked in their shoes" so I must not judge people is a lesson I was taught by my Native America grandmother. And again, my Christian faith tells me to "love my neighbor as I do myself." After I was diagnosed and treated for what is called a co-morbid brain disorder, which is genetic, I understood why I tried to self medicate myself with drugs. Don't feel sorry for the drug addict, have compassion for them. The road they are traveling may not be the road they intended to travel. Keep them in your prayers and encourage them to live for a better day.
  • we should all feel sorry, just not ENABLE their addiction!! u cannot have commpassion for addictions, overeating,smoking, gambling, alcoholism because u have no DIRE hangups....these things are demonic and once hooked, many don't have the ability to SEE them (addictions) , and thats has to be the first "realization" of themselves....i sympathize, as no one is "immune" to addictions ,some small, most huge and destructive...i just will not enable.....most have to hit "very bottom" before they start coming back,fighting it...the sad part, lots never start fighting ,no matter how low they go.... i have always said ,i was glad i never had a weight problem....i love to eat and i eat lots.....i'd weigh 600 lbs....so, i can sympathize, but lazy and slothful is also a lot of obese problems too, and i abhor idle and unproductive and too much sleep.... my thoughts are be sympathetic and compassionate, just don't give the choice of enabling them to continue.....that is real love and compassion...tough love.....:)justme
  • We should be simpathetic to people. Period. A drug addict is not only that. It's someone vulnerable, probably very damaged and hurt, who needs help. Calling them "drug addicts" is derogatory, and labels never ever help when trying to understand others.
  • The thing is you never know what their life was like before they started. Lots of people use drugs in order to suppress memories, or to block out things that make them unhappy. How many times have had a shit day & said you need a drink?
  • There is a difference of feeling sorry for someone with an addiction problem and having empathy for someone who has an addiction. If the person is really struggling to get out of their addiction it can be really hard for them. I know I am talking from experience I am 13 years clean and sober myself but until I finally accepted the fact that I was an addict it did not hit me, but some addictions need medical assistance as well to help them through the tough transition of withdrawal and in addition to the fact that the addict will not only need to go to meetings, but they need counseling and therapy for some time to come! Not only to mention depending upon their situation of where they are living and their particular way of life is also a going to have to change which is also hard for an addict. Yes it is easy to say get a life and change when you are not addicted. But when we were using our drugs at the time it was to escape the pain of our past or some time it was for pleasure, or even we became addicted to prescription medications or even alcohol,(it doesn't matter which bottle we took from ... pills,coke or booze), but then it all became too much and our bodies and our minds became accustomed to the drugs that they needed them in order for us to be able to function. All I am saying is just be patient and tolerant with most of us, we are trying to get better and those of us who are still out there who are using all we can do is pray for them and try to get them to see the light, but not being sorry for them that is sad! Compassion and Empathy is supposed to be part of your heart as well as should be part of understanding and guidance should be a part of love ... if this world had more of that then there would be less selfishness, fighting and wars! Now if an addict did something wrong while he or she was using then a non-using person has a right to be upset, but the non-using person also has to understand that it is not the addict but the disease of addiction causing the addict to do the stupidity! Thus I suggest that you should try to let it go as well within reason depending upon the situation! And have a little compassion and understanding!
  • Everyone makes mistakes. It was dumb to start the whatever drug. But that person that is addicted to drugs has an illness. Now doctors and rehab people treat drug addiction as an illness. Do you think the drug addict likes the lifestyle he/her is living in? I 99.99% sure that once that person gets treatment and sobers up, they will regret and feel bad of what that person got him/herself into. And drug addicts are more like prisoners to drugs. It's not a choice once you're hooked. Believe me, I used to be one.
  • I feel sorry for the families of the drug addicted. The people they steal from or force to give them money or loan them their few possessions so they can go cop. I do feel sorry for some of them because they honestly don't know how to quit. And I really feel sorry for the U.S. Because the reason they don't know how to quit is that there is to much money in selling addictives and locking up the addicts so they silence people like me. Just to put it out there I was a crack head, and an alcoholic, cigarette smoking fiend. I quit all of them in three days with electricity. I work on a non profit endeavor to disseminate information on Faradism. http://Faradism.Tripod.com
  • Its called COMPASSION ... Sometimes I worry there is not enough of it in this world.

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