”...som att slå sig själv med en hammare” - En kvalitativ studie av fyra tidigare drogmissbrukares vägar in i- och vägar ut ur missbruk

”...like hitting yourself with a hammer” – A qualitative study of four former drug addict´s ways into- and ways out of addiction The purpose of this study was to describe and understand four former drug addict´s own experiences of developing an addiction and their ways towards abstinence from drugs. The three main questions I wanted to have answered were: How did the former addicts end up in an advanced addiction? What processes underlie the former addict´s steps towards abstinence from drugs? How have the former addicts successfully managed to change their self-image? Four interviews were carried out with four former advanced drug addicts. The conclusion I made from the study is that the process of becoming an advanced drug addict can be attributed to being labeled as a deviant in other people´s eyes which leads to a negative self-image. I also found that there were three different turning-points when the former drug addicts started leaving their life with drugs. Lastly I found that the former drug addicts managed to leave their life with drugs only when they changed their conception of themselves as being deviants into a conception of themselves as being normal and valuable persons