Stigma
Stop Judging, Start Healing
Let's End the Cycle of Stigma
In discussing disorders or diseases, “words can be powerful when used to inform, clarify, encourage, support, enlighten, and unify. On the other hand, stigmatizing words often discourage, isolate, misinform, shame, and embarrass…” This website is designed to help destigmatize these chronic diseases, through appropriate language, so that societal barriers to treatment are removed.
WHY LANGUAGE MATTERS
The language we use when referring to people speaks volumes about how we think about them. And how we think about things impacts our attitudes and approaches to addressing them. Calling someone an “addict” or “crazy” not only reduces them to just that, it also increases negative perceptions that influence the value of our social and public health policies.
Person-first language puts a person before a diagnosis, describing what a person “has” rather than asserting what a person “is.”
Person-first language is humanizing. When we use terminology like “addict” or “crazy,” we may unknowingly begin to objectify the person and strip away their individuality. This often reduces the person into a predetermined box that discriminates.
By placing the person first, the person is what is important. Addiction or mental illness is no longer the primary, defining characteristic of an individual, but one of several aspects of the whole person. We must speak, write and think in a way that acknowledges the human being first, rather than their condition or disease.
Healthcare Professionals
The treatment and recovery communities can help recovering people grow by recognizing that they have a disease but are not defined by that disease. Recovery is about becoming a caring husband or wife, a loving father or mother, or perhaps a better son or daughter. Helping people achieve healthy biopsychosocial and spiritual lives and helping them to recognize that they have the capacity to do so is the greatest tool we have to prevent and reduce stigma.
—Richard Landis, Senior Vice President of Operations, Danya International, Silver Spring, Maryland
When a patient comes in for the first visit, focus on three things to minimize stigma and promote an effective dialogue:
Let the patient tell their story.
Start out broadly, asking open-ended questions to get the patient talking about their story—not their substance use disorder story, but rather their personal story. People really want to tell their story, but they often feel constrained in a medical environment. But if you allow them to [tell their story,] it can be the most efficient thing of all…. People want to be heard. You can get a lot of relevant information right up front. Certainly, by the time [a patient] is open to treatment, they’re not having a good time. They’ve really exported to a phase of substance use disorder that’s miserable in trying to avoid withdrawal and struggling with something that feels like it’s got a stranglehold on them.
Get to the heart of the matter.
Understanding the reason for a patient’s substance use is key to finding the treatment option most suitable for that patient. “They’re usually really hurting, and almost always they have some story of trauma that underlies it.
Convey respect.
Stigma is a big issue in these conversations, and respect is a key ingredient to avoiding it. “People with substance use disorders, because of the stigma, are used to being treated badly,” Dr. Komaromy said. “It’s so important to convey respect. The message—on a really gut level—is that I’m just another human being like you, and I want to figure out how I can help.”
Pay attention to the following:
Never conduct the interview while standing.
Try to sit at the same level as the patient.
Make eye contact.
Say things that are encouraging, empathetic and simple during their story such as, ‘That sounds really difficult.’
Impact of Person First Language in Addiction Treatment
Using appropriate language in a rehab treatment setting can positively affect the ways individuals view themselves and their ability to make lifestyle changes. Inappropriate language can have the opposite effect by stigmatizing certain groups and depersonalizing someone who is attempting to withdraw substance use from their individual identity.
Stigmatizing words can discourage, isolate, shame and embarrass someone with a substance abuse disorder. Entire groups of people become devalued and excluded from society when identity first language is used to describe socially unacceptable health conditions. People may decide not to seek the treatment they need because of the stigma and social or economic consequences resulting from the way they’ve been defined.
MAT Stigma
Medication for Addiction Treatment
(MAT) is the use of medications, in
combination with counseling and
behavioral therapies, to provide a
“whole-patient” approach to the
treatment of substance use disorders.
Medications used in MAT are approved
by the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) and MOUD programs are clinically
driven and tailored to meet each
patient’s needs.
Stakeholders, Law Enforcement, First Responders, Non-Profits
Change the Dialogue
Words can heal. Words can hurt. Words can poison. Labels can lead to stigma. And stigma leads to discrimination.
Addicted people are not all the same. They are as varied as the general population. There is no “addictive personality” common to addicted people. There is as much biological, psychological, and sociological variety among addicted people as there is among the general population. Don’t generalize.
Speaking out is central to the prevention and reduction of stigma. On the most basic level, stigma prevention involves people in recovery, treatment providers and advocates, and people concerned about stigma speaking out. There is power in people telling their stories. Perceptions can change. Attitudes can shift. Behaviors can be modified. Knowledge can be increased. But none of these will happen unless people speak out. When people speak out, the power of stigma is diminished. When people tell their stories, others struggling with recovery receive encouragement, recognize that someone else has taken this journey, and perceive that they too can stay on the journey to recovery. It gives people in recovery hope.
Help is Available
There are a number of resources in Alabama to assist with information, prevention, treatment and recovery. Reach out to one of these trusted resources to get the support you need.
Call the 24/7 Helpline at 844-307-1760 or visit Ross Helpline
Provider Directory Mental Healthcare and Substance Abuse Support
Crisis Numbers for Mental Healthcare and Substance Abuse Support
Hot and Warm Lines for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Support
Mental Health Peer Support
Understanding the Opioid Crisis