Between pride and shame. The emotional spectrum in the biographies of men who inject drugs in Hermosillo, Sonora

Résumé

From nine biographical accounts of men who inject drugs from Hermosillo, Sonora, the fluctuations between pride and shame are analyzed as indicators of the quality of social ties at different moments of their drug use trajectories. The situations of deprivation and violence that the participants faced during their childhood generated feelings of shame and inadequacy. Throughout their biographies, the subjects sought to construct new accounts of themselves to compensate for the wounds to the self generated by that early shame. Membership in "deviant" groups and the use of drugs were strategies that allowed them to gain status and power. However, with the consolidation of drug use trajectories, the emotional cost of carrying the addict stigma and social disconnection increased.