Mutual aid organisations may be the closest thing we have to a free lunch in public health, but what's the reason the seats are so empty?
Tag: stigma
Top ten of 2021 #1 – Nothing to mourn; just a drug addict
A tweet from a colleague affected me this week. The subject was stigma in substance use disorders and he related how, at the funeral of a relative who had died very young from a heroin overdose, a family member callously slandered the dead man and skillfully ‘othered’ him. The message was ‘he was not at … Continue reading Top ten of 2021 #1 – Nothing to mourn; just a drug addict
Top ten of 2021 #2 – Wiping out stigma
Reducing the stigma associated with addiction – the word itself now tagged with a degree of stigma – is a priority in drugs policy. Stigmatising attitudes contribute to drug harms and deaths through delaying access to treatment, leaving treatment early and increased risk-taking behaviour. Brea Perry and her colleagues at Indiana University took a look[1] at … Continue reading Top ten of 2021 #2 – Wiping out stigma
Top ten of 2021 #4 – Growing older and more stigmatised on methadone
In a compelling study from Dublin, Paula Mayock and Shane Butler (Trinity College) make the point that little is known about the stigma experienced by individuals attending drug treatment services over prolonged periods. They explored this through the lived-experience narratives of 25 people prescribed long-term methadone. Their findings ‘reveal the intersection of stigma with age … Continue reading Top ten of 2021 #4 – Growing older and more stigmatised on methadone
Nothing to mourn; just a drug addict
A tweet from a colleague affected me this week. The subject was stigma in substance use disorders and he related how, at the funeral of a relative who had died very young from a heroin overdose, a family member callously slandered the dead man and skillfully ‘othered’ him. The message was ‘he was not at … Continue reading Nothing to mourn; just a drug addict
Altruism: balm for stigma, boon for recovery
We only keep what we have by giving it away. Altruism helps the giver. It's at the heart of mutual aid and lived experience recovery organisations. This study from a few years back explores some of the issues in family recovery groups. The researchers in this Finnish research looked at communication and support in Al-Anon … Continue reading Altruism: balm for stigma, boon for recovery
Growing older and more stigmatised on methadone
In a compelling study from Dublin, Paula Mayock and Shane Butler (Trinity College) make the point that little is known about the stigma experienced by individuals attending drug treatment services over prolonged periods. They explored this through the lived-experience narratives of 25 people prescribed long-term methadone. Their findings ‘reveal the intersection of stigma with age … Continue reading Growing older and more stigmatised on methadone
Wiping out stigma
Reducing the stigma associated with addiction – the word itself now tagged with a degree of stigma – is a priority in drugs policy. Stigmatising attitudes contribute to drug harms and deaths through delaying access to treatment, leaving treatment early and increased risk-taking behaviour. Brea Perry and her colleagues at Indiana University took a look[1] at … Continue reading Wiping out stigma
Weaponizing Stigma: ‘people don’t die from overdoses’
Sean Fogler, a doctor in recovery writing on Stat, explains how his dual roles – that of a physician and that of a person with experience of addiction and recovery – gave him a unique insight into attitudes to patients with substance use disorders and mental health problems in health care systems. He gives evidence … Continue reading Weaponizing Stigma: ‘people don’t die from overdoses’
Scumbag: the stigma of overdose
The mention of Philip Seymour Hoffman in Jason Schwartz's blog post yesterday provoked a memory. Thomas McLellan, a prominent US addiction researcher and policy advisor, lost his son to an overdose in 2008. He wrote a piece in the Huffington Post a few years ago which has stuck with me. A journalist who had interviewed him referred … Continue reading Scumbag: the stigma of overdose
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