My heart often breaks when I think about the challenges that patients who have substance use disorders often face in the healthcare system due to the stigma surrounding them.  I think that a lot of the challenges arise from fear and isolation.  I think these individuals sometimes fear themselves due to everyone surrounding them acting like they are fearful of those who have these disorders.  Some of the stigma surrounding users is that these individuals should be feared because they may be dangerous and untrustworthy. This constant environment of people fearing them may eventually make them fear themselves because they might start to believe the lies that are constantly being thrown at them. This fear of themselves can lead them to not want to seek help from the healthcare system to begin with so they might isolate themselves and not seek medical help.  If medical help is sought out, I think many are left feeling patronized in the health care system because health care providers can often think that they know what is best for those with disorders and don’t let the patients help in their recovery plan.  In turn, this can lead to users isolating themselves because they can feel like they’re being talked down upon and not truly being listened to.  I think most of these individuals often anticipate mistreatment so that can be another reason for decreased willingness to access health services. I have many times heard people refer to users as being “sick” and I think this term should be avoided because it implies and labels them as being pathologically sick which can lead to sickness of character for these individuals and not sickness of the brain.  I know it is easier said then done, but I want to not aid in the challenges that these individuals face and want to learn all that I can so that I can avoid joining the stigma that often surrounds those who have substance use disorders.

Combating stigma can be difficult. It’s hard to fight stigma and entirely change a way of thinking with other people but especially within one’s self.  What I find myself doing in a lot of challenging situations is to pretend that the patient or person that I am caring for is someone I deeply love.  If I am caring for an elderly patient, I’ll pretend that they are my grandparent.  If it is someone middle aged, I’ll pretend that they are my parent, and if I am caring for a child, I’ll pretend they are one of my siblings.  Putting that perspective into play has drastically changed how I treat people on a personal level.  If I have to leave people with a single tip to help combat stigma, it would be to pretend that person you are dealing with is someone you love and it can help you put away your judgements and lead you to focus on the goal of helping them.