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“Be the Beacon” Seeks to Change Attitudes Around Substance Use Disorder
Person-first language can make a difference in reducing stigma and encouraging recovery
Addict. Junkie. Selfish. Lazy. Liar. Alex knew these words all too well. She had started self-medicating in college to help her ongoing battle with depression and had felt the judgment and prejudice of those around her.
She didn’t want to continue the fight against the pills alone, but she knew better than to reach out again. She felt the sting of rejection and disgust from so many — her mother, her sister, her friends and even her doctors. They already had their minds made up about who she was and what her motives were. So she stopped asking for help.
Like Alex, many Americans with a substance use disorder don’t try or stop trying to seek the help they need because of the stigmatizing attitudes of others. Common misconceptions are that the substance user’s addiction is a moral failing, or that the substance abuser is at fault for their condition. Often the substance user is described as an addict, not as a person with substance use disorder. In 2021, only 6% of people aged 12 or older nationwide who met the substance use disorder criteria received treatment, according to the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
Through its new “Be the Beacon” initiative, Make Mississippi OD Free is working to change that narrative by changing perceptions. When more Mississippians understand the science of substance use disorder, they can contribute to better outcomes for those they know and care about who struggle with the disorder.
“The percentage of people who don’t receive treatment in Mississippi is staggering and, quite frankly, unacceptable,” said Jan Dawson, program director, Mississippi Public Health Institute. “And those people feel the stigma attached to substance use and how many people, sometimes even their own doctors, view them as flawed or weak individuals. That’s why change needs to come from all angles so that those struggling to find their way receive treatment and begin their path to recovery.”
No matter who we are or what our background is, we all know at least one person who substance use has affected. They may be someone from our own families, our circle of friends, our colleagues or our neighbors. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) note that overdose rates have risen five times nationwide over the past two decades. The Mississippi State Department of Health reports that overdose deaths rose another 34% from 2020 to 2021.
“What many people don’t realize is that substance use is a medical disorder characterized by an inability to stop despite the negative consequences,” said Dawson. “It is a chronic disease, not a lack of willpower. From families to friends, from healthcare professionals to policymakers, everyone can make a difference by being a beacon of compassion and hope in their thoughts, words and actions.”
Surveys have shown that stigmatizing patients deepens prejudicial feelings such as fear, anger or disgust among providers that can result in discriminatory clinical care. And some providers indicated they felt their practices would suffer if they treated individuals with substance use disorder. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
For example, changing the conversation can make a big difference especially when person-first language is implemented. Putting a person before the diagnosis and discussing what they “have” instead of asserting what they “are” can help avoid marginalization or dehumanization.
“Deciding to seek treatment is difficult enough on its own,” said Dawson, “but when someone is seen first and foremost as a person and only secondarily as having a disorder, it retains their innate humanity. For this reason, it’s imperative that we end the stigma and remove the unnecessary barriers that impede recovery.”
Make Mississippi ODFree is a multiagency statewide partnership focused on overdose data collection and overdose prevention and intervention. Administered by the Mississippi State Department of Health in partnership with the Mississippi Public Health Institute, the program is supported by a federal grant initiative funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The program’s purpose, called Overdose Data to Action (OD2A), is to collect comprehensive and timely data on nonfatal and fatal overdoses to inform OD prevention and response efforts nationwide.
Learn more at https://odfree.org.
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