Changing the Language Around Addiction By Madeliene Carter , Deborah Fweta , and Rachel Calcote
In school , when students are first learning to write , they are told that language matters . Language can hurt people , or it can build them up . This remains to be true when talking about addiction and substance use disorders . Addiction occurs when someone chooses an object or substance over their health and responsibilities . This can be playing video games or playing on your phone instead of sleeping or spending money on vapes instead of groceries . There is a lot of stigma surrounding drugs and addiction , and the language used to discuss these things is important . Stigma occurs when negative feelings surround a certain subject and can cause people to assume and judge others wrongfully . Perpetuating these stigmas harms the health of those who struggle with addiction because it can be incredibly isolating . Stigma can cause people to feel alone and not want to seek help because when they try to , they feel judged or mistreated .
Educating people on the proper terms to use when speaking about drugs and addiction needs to start at the beginning when people are first learning about addiction , drugs , and other substance use disorders . This prevents that harmful language from ever being used in the first place , which can go a long way toward limiting the perpetuation of the stigmas surrounding addiction . However , proper language should not just be taught to children but also to adults , especially healthcare professionals . This will ensure that treatment , education , and proper healthcare can begin occurring and can help people now instead of waiting 20 years to start seeing change .
An example of how language affects perception is when using the word “ clean ” to describe a negative drug test or a person who no longer uses substances . This implies that whoever receives a positive test result or who uses / has used drugs is “ dirty .” Instead of using words that have negative or positive connotations , use words that are neutral and clinically accurate . Use negative test results and positive test results instead of clean and dirty . Use patient or person with a substance use disorder instead of alcoholic , addict , junkie , user , drunk , or other words with negative connotations . Instead of calling someone a former or reformed addict , say a person in recovery , long-term recovery , or person who previously used drugs . While this does not encompass every example , understanding and identifying the type of language to use or avoid is important to eliminating stigma and bias surrounding substance use disorders and the people it affects .
Some of the changes individuals should focus on is using “ people-first language .”
This means that instead of focusing on their condition , you are focused on them as a whole and letting them choose what words they want to use to describe their substance use disorder . This promotes a safe environment and allows more help and understanding between all parties . It is important for people , both those who struggle with substance use disorder and those who do not , to know that they are not their diagnosis , and people-first language promotes this idea . It is also important to use evidence-based language as more and more information is gathered and shared every year . We must adapt and continue to pursue the usage of proper terms to continue making progress toward eliminating stigmas surrounding substance use disorders .