WHAT ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF COMMONLY USED PHRASES THAT CAN HAVE UNINTENDED DAMAGING CONSEQUENCES?
“This dessert is like crack to me.” “My girlfriend is psycho.” Have you ever considered certain language commonly used to reference behaviors can be harmful to those with addiction and behavioral disorders? What can you do? When you avoid using stigmatizing words and phrases that cause shame, minimize experiences, and distort reality, you can help eliminate one of the major obstacles to getting treatment.
It’s not about being politically correct but being mindful of how a choice of words may affect those in active addiction around you.
Words like ‘addict‘ or ‘alcoholic‘ stigmatize people who use substances and can make them less likely to seek treatment. Make it a goal to avoid using phrasing that reduces a person to or defines them solely by a single characteristic. People are not their substance use or their mental health diagnosis, and the issues at hand are much more complex.
Why is phrasing important?
“Phrases can make or break a person’s perception of themselves and others. Phrasing can send messages of judgement, essentially depositing additional shame into a person’s negative core beliefs about themselves; isolation can result. On the other side, harmful phrases send messages to society that encourage alienation of others,” says Santé Primary Therapist, Amanda Gatlin, LCSW. “As a trauma therapist, I see a lot of individuals who over identify with their past. Using people first phrases, can essentially assist in the process of people separating from shame. Shame, implying who we are versus guilt, what we have done.”
What are “people-first” phrases?
Person-first language is a way to emphasize the person and view the disorder, disease, condition, or disability as only one part of the whole person.² Describe what the person “has” rather than what the person “is.”² Person-first language avoids using labels or adjectives to define someone, e.g., a person with diabetes not a diabetic; or person with cancer not cancer patient; or a person with bipolar disorder not a person who is bipolar.²
What are the trends concerning harmful phrases?
While society tends to tread lightly around language concerning disabilities, race, or religion, it seems to not apply the same sensitivity to language involving mental health or addiction.
One might say something like, “I’m so addicted to this TV show,” to mean they really enjoy watching it – but there is likely no true addiction present. Addiction is disease and mental health issues are serious; both can destroy lives of individuals and those that lovingly surround them.
How many people have substance use disorder?
Among people aged 12 or older in the US in 2019, 20.4 million had a substance use disorder within the past year. In a single-day count in March of 2019, 1.5 million people in the US were enrolled in substance use treatment.¹ With statistics like this, it is good practice to think before you speak and expect someone in the room will be affected.
IS THERE A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ADDICTION AND ENJOYING SOMETHING?
A person experiencing addiction can desire to stop engaging in the addictive behavior but feel unable to control their use despite continued negative consequences. There’s a great difference between enjoying something and being addicted to it. Being mindful of this when speaking can help to not minimize the serious problems addiction can cause.
Photo: Designed by Freepik and @wayhomestudio
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