Language of Addiction: How the words we use affect the person we see

 In life, it is often not what we say but how we say it.

 In life, it is often not what we say but how we say it. This rings especially true for those who’ve dealt with the disease of addiction (or more formally known as Substance Use Disorders).

The words we use to describe someone that is affected by alcoholism, addiction, opioid use disorders, etc… can have a profound effect on the afflicted person’s self-esteem, confidence, and even their willingness to get help.

There was a study done at a University where they split a group a patients that were being treated for substance use disorders into two groups. One group they referred to as “substance abusers” and the other they referred to as “people affected by substance use disorders.” The results of this study showed that those referred to as “substance abusers” were actually prescribed more punitive style treatments. The group the was referred to as “people affected by substance use disorders” were treated in a more holistic style fashion and their disease was looked at as just that…a disease. The explanation for this is because, subconsciously, the term “substance abuser” implies that the person using the substance has made a willful decision to use drugs and/or alcohol. It makes it the person’s fault, and not the disease’s fault. There is no willpower once a person is in the grips of an addiction. Using equals survival at that point so the person’s brain essentially believes they need the substances to survive just as they would need water or food to survive.

It’s important we begin to separate the person from the disease. We don’t dislike the person, we dislike the addiction. Terminology is the first step in the right direction of reducing stigma surrounding the disease of addiction and helping the general public view it less as a moral failing, and more as the brain disease that it is.

Please enjoy the video above.