Addiction rehab is one of the most stigmatized healthcare treatments in the country. And addiction itself is more stigmatized than most other mental health concerns. Because addiction is accompanied by so many other health problems and social issues, it can be hard to overcome and stigma makes it much harder. Even today, with many years of proof, much of the population is reluctant to see addiction as a mental illness.

Why Addiction Stigma is Harmful

Only around 20% of people who need rehab services ever seek out treatment, and this is due in large part to the stigma that surrounds treatment and the disease. People are very reluctant to accept that they need treatment in the first place because it has been seen as a weakness and moral failing rather than a disease. This stigma, and the accompanying stigma that sufferers place on themselves, make seeking treatment very difficult for most people.

Because people are so hesitant to seek treatment, many times they do not receive any treatment until they are ordered to do so by a court magistrate. This saves many lives but adds to the stigma that addiction is a moral failure and a choice. These people often attend treatment only as long as they are required to, and immediately relapse after their ordered time is over. This is because the personal desire to succeed is important for mental illness.

Finally, stigma towards addiction illnesses decreases the likelihood that sufferers will seek treatment for other medical conditions. Other mental illnesses often accompany addiction, such as depression and anxiety, and patients with addiction concerns are unlikely to receive help for any of their illnesses. They are also less likely to receive treatment for any condition, from dental care to routine medical checkups.

Changing our Language

The first step to reducing the stigma surrounding addiction rehab is to change the language that we use. Language such as “she’s clean”, “addict” and “abuser” can lead to the stigma that addiction is a choice and individuals with this disease can simply choose to no longer have an addiction. Science has proven that addiction is a disease, not a choice, and people who suffer are patients, not failures.

Increasing Scientific Understanding

Increasing scientific understanding and awareness of addiction can help support treatment and decrease stigma. When people understand more about the nature of addiction, they will be less likely to look down on sufferers. Information about statistics and studies can help increase scientific understanding, but only if it’s done in an easy-to-understand, approachable way.

Treat Addiction as a Disease

Addiction has been proven to be a disease, and it should be treated as such. When family and friends see addiction as a disease, rather than a choice, it opens the door to acceptance, not of the problem, but of the individual, who, like every other person, experiences health issues. Focusing on treating the disease removes the personal failure stigma and allows the patient freedom to seek whatever treatment they need, as much as they need.

Stigma in Employment

Employers are much less likely to hire people who have current or past addiction problems than they are other mental illness patients. This increases the problems linking poverty with addiction and decreases the ability of patients to find and pay for treatment.

Remove the Mystery Around Treatment

By making treatment and rehab centers less mysterious and unknown, we can increase the likelihood that they will be facilitated. No one wants to go somewhere they know nothing about. Rehab treatment doesn’t have to be a terrible experience. In fact, therapeutic luxury drug rehab centers focus on the whole person- mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual. Patients who attend these centers have high-quality treatment as well as days filled with beneficial activities, such as yoga, therapy sessions, outdoor activities, and small group friendships.

Encourage Re-treatment

Returning or staying in treatment should be encouraged. This can happen if we remove the blame from addiction and treat it as a chronic illness. Other chronic illnesses both mental and physical, also have high rates of relapses and do not suffer from the same stigma of blame. Patients who are encouraged to seek out treatment and re-treatment as much as they need it will have greater success and a higher quality of life.

Humanize

People who suffer from mental illness in general, and especially those who suffer from addiction diseases are seen as “less than” by most of the population of the US. This is because of the outward appearance addiction has developed over the years- a downward spiral of addiction, depression, blame, failure, poverty, crime, and violence. By seeing and treating patients the same way we see and treat all people, we greatly increase their chances of avoiding or pulling out of the cycle. People who need help, and can get help, without lowering themselves in the eyes of their friends are at an advantage from the start.