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Samantha Urbina

English 101

Professor Granillo

3 December, 2019

Recovery

People who suffer from addiction know that at some point their drug or alcohol abuse

slips out of their hands, no longer in control of the urges. Society tends to look down upon those

who use drugs or have almost lost their lives to addiction.With an increasing stigma against

addiction, society believes that addicts have no respect for themselves and others, therefore

making them bad people. In the book entitled “They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us” written

by Hanif Abdurraqib, a poet/author who combines his passion for writing and social issues, he

addresses the redefining of a patriot in which he states, “​To bear witness to so much death that

could easily be your own is to push toward redefining what it is to be a patriot in this country. It

is even to push toward redefining ‘country,’ until it becomes a place where there is both pride

AND safety” (Abdurraqib 175). Reflecting on this idea of a patriot, a​ patriot should be someone

whom has endured obstacles and made mistakes, yet despite hardship, overcomes and can still

find success. Society tends to view an addict as weak due to their mental health, therefore

excluding them from being looked as “patriots”. Despite society’s stigma against addicts, in

redefining the “new” patriot, those who have a history of addiction shouldn’t be excluded as their

use of drugs or alcohol does not define whether they are good people. A playlist entitled, “Just

Some More to Take The Pain Away”, highlights four songs that take the listener through the

story of addiction and recovery displaying how despite adversity, addicts are able to
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Addiction is not something that occurs to one overnight, but is a by-product of something

much more serious: mental illness. Mental illness has been linked to one of the main causes for

addiction, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, “...people with severe mental

illness were about 4 times more likely to be heavy alcohol users (four or more drinks per day)...

and 4.6 times more likely to use other drugs at least 10 times in their lives” (​Severe Mental

Illness Tied to Higher Rates of Substance Use 2014). Due to the stress that can come from

certain mental disorders such as anxiety or depression, people find aid in using these

antidepressants which although may be a quick fix, will not help treat them in the long run.

Mental health is extremely important and if not handled correctly it could lead to harmful

consequences such as addiction to harmful substances. Substances such as opioids and alcohol

provide that sense of pleasure for the person who isn’t feeling their best, struggling to calm or

distract themselves from their anxieties. Addiction becomes dangerous to the individual as these

cravings begin to alter the person biologically and mentally.

Parts of society, however, have built stigmas with people that suffer from addiction

seeing them as incapable of taking care of themselves and not being trustworthy of certain

things. In a report entitled “Stigma, Discrimination, Treatment Effectiveness, and Policy: Public

Views About Drug Addiction and Mental Illness”, when examining people’s attitudes, results

showed “Americans hold significantly more negative attitudes towards persons with drug

addiction that toward with mental illness” (Barry., et al., 2014). Addiction and one’s

uncontrollable urges should not make these people be discriminated against, whether it is a job or

even being looked at as someone inspirational to others.

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With an attempt to educate on addiction and its dangers, celebrities have come forward

with their history of addiction. In the playlist, “Just Some More to Take the Pain Away”, the title

alludes to the craving that comes with addiction. The first song by Labrinth and Zendaya entitled

“All For Us” is about a fictional character named Rue in a show called ​Euphoria​. Rue is a heavy

drug user who started using at age 15 after dealing with the death of her dad as a way to cope.

The title of the song serves as the chorus as she sings “Taking it all for us/ Doing it all for love”.

The song details to the reality of drug addiction as this girl has convinced herself that taking

these drugs will bring her happiness which will allow to be better with her loved one’s whether it

is her sister, mother or friends. Despite the show being based off people’s ideas, they hold truth

and reality as there are people as young as 12 battling substance abuse. American Addiction

Centers, a treatment center helping people battle substance abuse states, “According to the

National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 19.7 million American adults (ages 12 and older)

battled a substance use disorder in 2017.” ( of the main stigmas about addiction is how the

individual is selfish and neglects the thoughts/feelings of the people around them, when in reality

that it is not the case. Although the song “All For Us” is based off a fictional character, it is

based off real life situations that happens to people in our society.

Demi Lovato, a famous pop singer who has been very open our her addiction and

recovery process, wrote the next song on the playlist “Sober”. After breaking six years of

sobriety, Lovato relapsed and was later hospitalized to an apparent overdose. As of today, Demi

Lovato is in her recovery process and continues fighting. A patriot should be someone who has

had their downfalls as people learn from their past and become better people because of their

mistakes. A patriot is someone that people can relate to and demonstrate strength at times where
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it may not seem possible. There are millions of people who are struggling with mental illness or

have dealt with addiction and look up to people like Lovato. The next song on the playlist is

Elton John’s song entitled “Rocket Man (I Think It’s Going To Be A Long, Long Time)”, is a

piece written by John and his long time friend/songwriter Bernie Taupin.

“Rocket Man” despite the premise being about an astronaut who is torn between leaving

his family and going to explore the great unknown, the song was rooted in drugs and his

longtime addiction. Aside from the line in the song “And I’m gonna be high as a kite by then,''

John sings of feeling alone and using outer space in the song to symbolize the isolation that can

come along with drug use. With the societal pressures that come with fame, Elton John is one of

the many celebrities that has become a victim of addiction using drugs to cope with great

amounts of stress. John was putting drugs in him strong enough to kill a mule and was using for

almost 10 years. However, through a great deal of support and love, he was able to restart his life

and get past his addiction. Bringing the playlist to the end is the final song of Elton’s entitled

“I’m Still Standing”. This song was a perfect way to end this little story within the playlist as it

summarizes how addicts can overcome the struggles that come from the withdrawal of addiction.

In his song he sings “Don’t you know I’m still standing better than I ever did/ Looking like a true

survivor, feeling like a little kid”. The song sheds light on this idea of surviving which is just

what he was able to do as he continues his journey of being sober for almost 30 years now.

A patriot should be more than a perfect person who only does things for their country

through just serving in the army. We live in a world that is certainly no utopia, so when we think

of the characteristics of a patriot, they shouldn’t be perfect either. Shedding light on the neglect

and discrimination on people who suffer from addiction, using the playlist “Just Some More to
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Take the Pain Away” tells a story through four songs about addiction and recovery. Individuals

who have recovered and gone through their obstacles of addiction and mental health should not

be excluded from who and who we don’t view as a patriot.

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Works Cited

Abdurraqib, Hanif. ​They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us​. Two Dollar Radio, 2018.

Barry, Colleen L., et al. “Stigma, Discrimination, Treatment Effectiveness, and Policy: Public

Views About Drug Addiction and Mental Illness.” ​Psychiatric Services,​ 1 Oct. 2014,

ps.psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.ps.201400140.

Thomas, Scot. “Addiction Statistics: Drug & Substance Abuse Statistics.” ​American Addiction

Centers​, https://americanaddictioncenters.org/rehab-guide/addiction-statistics.

“Severe Mental Illness Tied to Higher Rates of Substance Use.” ​NIDA Archives​, National

Institute on Drug Abuse, 3 Jan. 2014,

https://archives.drugabuse.gov/news-events/news-releases/2014/01/severe-mental-illness-

tied-to-higher-rates-substance-use​.