Blog Two: How Stigma Impacts Recovery

How Does Stigma Impact the Issue of Treatment and Recovery?

        Stigma negatively impacts patient care for those who use substances. Stigma fosters beliefs that hinder individuals from seeking the personal resources needed to access treatment. Resources being limited include: 

• Self-efficacy.
• Help seeking.
• Belief that they deserve care.

(Weber et al., 2021)

        Patients are made to feel ashamed for what they are experiencing, therefor they are less likely to advocate for themselves or seek out resources. These patients begin to believe they are not deserving of help and often chose not to accept or search for available resources. To help reduce stigma, and to encourage patients to seek resources you can:

⭐Use person first language (Weber et al., 2021).

⭐Explore system-level causes of addiction (Weber et al., 2021).

⭐Learn more about harm reduction techniques and programs (Weber et al., 2021).

References

Weber, A., Miskle, B., Lynch, A., Arndt, S., & Acion, L. (2021). Substance use in pregnancy: Identifying stigma and improving care. Substance Abuse and Rehabilitation, Volume 12, 105–121. https://doi.org/10.2147/sar.s319180