I was browsing a subreddit for one of the online dating apps. And someone was talking about how they saw someone who they know has struggled with addiction. They said this was a red flag. I get it, when we’re in active addiction, we do bad things. But this person didn’t know whether this person was in recovery or not. And all the comments were saying drug addicts are likely to relapse and that’s a red flag.

Now I can’t help but feel like no matter what I do, or how far into recovery I am, people will always see me as a giant, walking red flag. I feel like maybe I don’t deserve to be loved by someone because no matter what I do, there’s always the possibility I may relapse. Why should I deserve love when all I am to a lot of people is a ticking time bomb ready to mess with the lives of those I love?