Remove the Stigma

Example: Substance use disorder affects more than 21 million Americans, including my son who is in recovery today, but will live with this chronic disease for the rest of his life.

​​As the Anti-Stigma Toolkit says, “addiction doesn’t define who a person is, it describes what a person has. A person’s addiction represents only a part of the person’s life. Defining people exclusively by their addiction diminishes the wholeness of their lives.” Say “people with Substance Use Disorder”, “people with addiction”, etc.

Example: There are more than 43 million people with substance use disorder in America, 21 million in active addiction. It is likely that everyone knows someone affected directly or indirectly through a family member or loved one.

There is a long history of these negative, stigmatizing terms being used in movies, in the news, and in society. Everyone can do their part to change this historical practice by erasing these terms from your vocabulary altogether.

Don’t say: My father is using.  Say: My father is in active addiction (or active use) right now.

Say “he has a Substance Use Disorder,” “she is addicted,” “people with addiction,” or “addicted people” instead of “suffers from,” “afflicted with,” or “victims of” addiction.

When we sensationalize a disease through the use of these types of words we create a barrier that separates addiction from other less-stigmatized diseases. We don’t hear “there is a dementia scourge hitting America…”, we hear data and facts of the rise of people with dementia.

When people with addiction have a setback this is the same as when a person with diabetes stops managing their disease, takes fewer glucose readings and finds that their health is affected. We don’t say that they have relapsed off their care plan.

Use the medical term for the drug screen result “positive”. Do not use the stigmatizing word of “dirty” which assigns guilt/blame to the individual.