New Study Challenges the One-Sided Stigmatizing View of Addiction
Drug and alcohol use is not always purely destructive. A new study from the Department of Public Health Sciences at Stockholm University shows that, before turning harmful, they sometimes boost people’s ability to work, cope, or feel whole. Understanding these early “benefits” could help reduce stigma and improve treatment.
By examining the life stories of people who have had problems with substance addiction, the researchers behind the study show that the story of addiction is often more complex than the one that is often told. Contrary to the prevailing view of drugs and addiction, for some users – before the damage sets in – alcohol and drugs can improve their ability to cope with work, relationships and everyday life.
“The dominant explanations for addiction tend to be based on one single cause and treat it as a permanent condition. This means that insufficient consideration is given to how addiction constantly changes through the relationships and other factors on which it is based,” says Jukka Törrönen, professor at the Department of Public Health Sciences at Stockholm University.
By simply describing addiction as illness or moral failure, we miss the reason why people turn to drugs in the first place – and why it is so difficult to stop.
In-depth interviews with former addicts
In the study, the research team analysed 33 in-depth interviews with individuals who identified themselves as former drug or alcohol addicts. Rather than focusing on illness or recovery narratives alone, the team looked for “counter-narratives” – moments in the stories where substance use was portrayed as a productive force.
Using Actor-Network Theory (a theoretical framework that analyses how social and material elements interact and form networks), the researchers investigated the complex mix of people, objects and circumstances that led individuals to perceive drug use as beneficial at certain times.
Four examples where drug use was initially positive
The study found four main ways in which substance use could strengthen people's abilities: firstly – to support life goals; secondly – to balance distance and engagement, thirdly – to radically change the direction of life; and finally – living parallel lives.
One participant in the study described how regular drinking helped him keep his hands steady and perform well in the stressful work environment of the restaurant industry. It even helped him advance to management positions. Another participant used cannabis to “calm her mind, sleep and cope with a destructive relationship”. This enabled her to continue working and caring for her child. A third participant said that prescription pills transformed her from an anxious introvert into a more outgoing and creative person, giving her a whole new experience of reality, socially and economically. A fourth participant maintained an identity as the ‘perfect mother’ at home, while using alcohol to ‘feel sexually free and emotionally whole’ in a separate, hidden life on the side.
Important to know why people are using drugs
The researchers clearly stress that the results should not be interpreted as an argument for drug use. However, they could be seen a recognition that people often continue using substances for years because those substances are meeting real needs.
“By simply describing addiction as illness or moral failure, we miss the reason why people turn to drugs in the first place – and why it is so difficult to stop,” Törrönen says.
The findings in this study also underscore the risks with substance abuse. In nearly all cases, the same patterns that initially enhanced life eventually destroyed it, leading to violence, criminal charges, health decline or social isolation.
For addiction treatment professionals, the takeaways from this study are clear: prevention and treatment need to take into account how drugs are woven into people's strategies for coping with everyday life. An understanding the positive role that alcohol and drugs can play – at least initially – could help reduce the stigma surrounding addiction problems and guide interventions that replace these functions with healthier alternatives.
“Well-being in life is not about being free from ties, it is about being well anchored. Substance use can help individuals stay grounded – until it begins to break those ties.,” Törrönen says.
Håkan Soold
Facts
The study Using drugs to enhance capacities for action in everyday life practices: Analysing addiction stories’ descriptions of the escalation of substance use as counter-narratives was published recently in the scientific journal Social Science & Medicine.
In addition to Jukka Törrönen, professor at the Department of Public Health Sciences at Stockholm University and the study’s first author, the following researchers contributed to the study: Ulrika Winerdal and Malin Gunnarsson, researcher and doctoral student respectively at the Department of Public Health Sciences at Stockholm University.
Last updated: September 1, 2025
Source: Department of Public Health Sciences