Addiction and prison: the undoing of shame | Lisa Selby & Elliot Murawski | TEDxKingstonUponThames
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- Опубліковано 5 вер 2024
- Content warning: Drink and drug use and paraphernalia
Lisa Selby and Elliot Murawski @bluebaglife
‘Shame is a sickness that keeps us unwell.’ - Elliot Murawski
When Elliot went to prison for almost three years, addicted to heroin, his life and the life of his partner Lisa changed forever. During his sentence, Lisa started the Instagram account ‘bluebaglife’ as a safe space to share their on-going experiences. The name ‘bluebaglife’ came about when Lisa noticed that the heroin Elliot was using would come wrapped in cut off pieces of blue plastic carrier bags, she used to find small pieces all around the flat they shared. Her mother had also been addicted to heroin and alcohol and passed away. Lisa took photographs of her mother’s chaotic house after her death, and began to write, she wanted to capture it all, in order to understand. Elliot began writing to Lisa for bluebaglife too, from his prison cell. The account quickly amassed a strong following of people fascinated by their stories, or with a shared experience.
Since Elliot’s release in April 2019, ‘bluebaglife’ has taken on a life of its own, it’s now a growing community for the voices of others to connect through sharing, learning, and educating through discussions. The couple are using their motivated network of supporters to aid their collective recovery and to help undo the shame associated with addiction and prison. They are currently working online, in schools, universities and in prisons across the UK.
‘This (social media) was a place where people would undo the shame in their lives, by speaking out, by listening, by accepting, by praising, by supporting. The supporters need supporting too, without judgments. It’s not us that need silencing; it’s the shame that needs silencing.’ - Lisa Selby
Lisa and Elliot will be delivering their talk together, giving both sides of the story. Lisa Selby and Elliot Murawski started telling their stories around their experiences of addiction, prison, recovery and love on 'bluebaglife’, their Instagram account. This account grew and began to offer the perspectives of people in prison, released from prison, as well as loved ones supporting, and all who experienced addiction in their lives.
Lisa Selby and Elliot Murawski started telling their stories around their experiences of addiction, prison, recovery and love on 'bluebaglife’, their Instagram account. This account grew and began to offer the perspectives of people in prison, released from prison, as well as loved ones supporting, and all who experienced addiction in their lives. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx
Coming this from being captivated by Blue Bag Life on TV. Awesome. Thank you.
This is heroic stuff, to come from the circumstances you both have, and shine an honest light on it, then share with others, shows an incredible strength and dedication.
I watched your talk just now. Thank you for your courageous feat. Its so not easy but its worth it. I work in a jail as a teacher of programs and which one of them is substance abuse oriented. I have taken hours upon hours to learn more about it and to learn as much as I can. I have TED talks listed and provide this list to others. I just added your talk to the long list. I will play it for inmates at the right time and place. Your story spotlights the shame that occurs but also shines a big show of hope. Shame is so incredibly huge and its needs to be thrown out in the open where the light can get in because in the dark with silence it only grows bigger. I know this in a personal sense. Just this past April my brother overdosed on fentanyl and died on the pavement at a gas station. It affected me in a huge way. You have famous peoples kids dying before they even make it to their thirties. Something has to be done and these two are doing something. Applause to you both and all that have supported them.
Very well done! This is such a valuable contribution to the discussion. Brilliant, Lisa and Elliott!
So pleased I've finally got to see this - excellent work, both of you.
So thoughtful and impactful. Thanks so much for sharing, your words and experiences are making me feel much less alone
So proud of you both. Brilliant presentation. I wish you both a happy and healthy future.
When you are a people pleaser, and your drug of choice is fixing the downtrodden, there is power in knowing what your message is and Is Not!!! I wish them the best! Shame and guilt kills! My heart goes out to them both, but mostly to her! I wish her freedom from her past, peace and acceptance for her mother, who sounds like a wonderful lady ahead of her time, in a world of not special people. I am so thankful for Brene’ Brown, please check out her videos on shame, guilt, and empathy! And could we stop labeling people as addicts, junkies, mentally ill, overeaters, tanarexic, body dysmorphic, blah blah blah?!!! It’s called being human and making human mistakes! Those who are without sin ( or flaws) cast the first stone! Just what if there wasn’t anything wrong with you??? What then? You would be just as you are meant to be without one damn to give! No reason to feel less than enough, no reason to feed those negative words that have been told to you! Forgive yourself, move on from the haters, and live life on your own terms! Happy, joyous, and free! By all accounts everyone is an “addict” LMAO! If it makes you happy or raises dopamine, people will criticize you for it! Your power is to not give a damn!
You two are such an inspiration. Loved your talk!!!
Absolutely moving story I love you guys. So proud of you both!!!
Good luck to both of you. I hope you have happy lives.
You two are amazing. Fantastic talk guys well done xxxx
Wow, such an extremely powerful Ted Talk. Thank you for sharing!
Have been looking forward to this upload for a while now. Great speech guys 🙂 HAU x
(h.addict.uk)
Powerful ❤️
👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼well done
Just because these two speakers managed to find sobriety they think we don’t care? They think we are deeply responsible for the addict? That is fine if your addict wants to get sober but if not we both go down hill.
Use “me”rather than “we” when you talk about your views.
I know a number of women whose sons died of addiction. If I was to tell them they had not cared enough that would injure them even more. They are in so much pain.
And yea funding can be improved for addictions and education and care. Absolutely.