September is Recovery Month, and at Cottonwood, in Tucson, Arizona, we have many reasons to celebrate. We get to cheer them on, as our clients recover from mental health, substance use, process addictions, and eating disorders. Recovery month isn’t just limited to celebrating successful recovery, though. It’s also a time to raise awareness about new advances in treating behavioral health disorders, recognize the hard work of treatment professionals, and fight stigma.
Speaking of Behavioral Health
Part of the reason Recovery Month is important is that it gets people talking about recovery. These conversations not only give people the opportunity to discuss behavioral health concerns they have and that they see in their loved ones, but they also reduce the stigma of having such a disorder. When someone you love is part of a group, it’s easier to see that the people in that group are lovable and valuable. You’re also less likely to believe that they are dangerous, immoral, or at fault for their diagnoses.
Addressing Underlying Concerns
As our understanding of behavioral health grows, we can also start to understand the various factors that contribute to these conditions or make it more difficult for people to recover, including:
- Genetics. Having a blood relative with a behavioral health disorder can also increase your risk for developing a behavioral health disorder.
- Brain differences. People with behavioral health disorders often experience differences in how their brains are structured or how certain brain chemicals are produced and regulated, compared to those without a diagnosis.
- Traumatic experiences. We are shaped by our experiences, especially painful events that we weren’t equipped to handle and for which we did not receive adequate support to navigate.
- Poverty. Being poor not only limits what tools we have for recovery, but it can also place us in situations that increase our risk for experiencing trauma.
- Being unhoused. When you don’t have a safe, stable home, everything else is harder. It can be dehumanizing and downright dangerous to live on the streets.
- Insufficient supports and connections. Many people who struggle to reach recovery don’t have friends or family they can lean on in difficult times. They may also not have any professionals in their corner to help them get connected to the help they need.
Building Compassionate Vocabulary
As we learn more about topics, we increase our ability to talk about them in ways that are respectful and compassionate. For example, we learn to use:
- Person-first language. The person is not defined by their condition. They are a person who happens to have a disorder. This is why we say, “a person with an addiction” instead of “an addicted person”.
- “Testing positive” instead of “dropping dirty.” It’s not kind to imply that people with substance use disorders are dirty.
- “Substance use” or “chemical dependence” instead of “habit.” The implication behind something being a habit is that it’s a choice that someone can simply stop making. Addiction is a disease, and it’s a lot more complicated than just being a habit.
- “Use” or “misuse” instead of “abuse.” An abuser is someone who causes harm, so the negative connotations of this word aren’t helpful to people who are struggling with substances.
- “Testing negative”, “in remission”, or “abstinent” instead of “clean.” Just as we don’t want to call someone who is using substances dirty, we don’t want to equate cleanliness with being substance-free.
- “Person with a substance use disorder” instead of “junkie”, “addict”, “alcoholic”, or “drunk.” The terms that have been used to disrespect people fighting addiction don’t help make people feel safe talking about their struggles and getting support.
- “Diagnosed with a mental health condition” instead of “crazy”, “nuts,” or “schizo.” Hurtful words just make it harder for people to admit they need help and add to their negative perception of themselves. Even if you’re not talking about someone with an actual mental health disorder, when you use these words to describe something bad, you’re adding to stigma, because you’re equating mental illness with something you dislike.
Increasing Hope
Another benefit offered by Recovery Month is providing an opportunity to shine a spotlight on people who have successfully navigated behavioral health struggles (2/3 of people who have experienced a mental health disorder and 70 percent of people who have fought a substance use disorder identify as “in recovery”) and emerging treatments that show promise. Both of these things give people who are just starting their recovery journey hope for their own future. Not only is recovery possible, but there are more tools than ever to make it happen. This includes breakthroughs in medications, therapeutic modalities, and age and gender specific programming to prevent or treat behavioral health concerns.
At Cottonwood, we have been treating people with behavioral health disorders for 35 years. Our interdisciplinary team takes a whole-person approach to recovery that includes evidence-based practices from individual and group therapy to nutritional and dietary support and from exercise classes to equine and recreational therapy. We know that recovery is about more than just fighting addiction. It’s about helping a person heal their mind, body, and spirit.
