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Stigma In The Context Of Methadone Maintenance Therapy

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During an anonymous Methadone addiction study, a participant articulated experiences with addiction stigma: “They look at you like you’re a drug addict and then they look at you like they can treat you any way they want. You know what I mean. You’re a drug addict. Well, you’re lower than I am if you use drugs.” (Earnshaw, et. al 117). In addition to affecting the lives of patients, addiction impacts the community’s functionality. Interestingly, frequent use of psychoactive medications by patients of all ages can lead to addiction, but administration of these medications is a valuable technique of treatment for ailments. Medications can provide relief from discomfort that a patient may experience, nevertheless while causing an alteration in …show more content…

Additionally, some healthcare professionals can be a major source of stigma which can have a substantially negative impact on well-being, and coping abilities of a patient dealing with addiction. Social Psychologist Valerie Earnshaw, a Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, focuses her research on the health effects of stigma, specifically how stigma delays recovery. In her article, “Drug Addiction Stigma In The Context Of Methadone Maintenance Therapy: An Investigation Into Understudied Sources Of Stigma,” she states, “For MMT patients, using drugs as a coping strategy for stigma-related stress and negative emotions may have particularly negative consequences on recovery efforts and mental health” (Earnshaw et. al, 112). The research on Methadone addiction related stigma suggests, the multiple sources of stigma can lead patients to find their own unhealthy ways of coping leaving them possibly untreated (Earnshaw et. al, …show more content…

Both internal and external conflict can take an emotional toll on a patient who is dealing with the psychological and physiological effects of addiction. Also, these patients lose their able to function normally, and some healthcare personnel perceive their behaviors as deliberately preformed causing an excessive amount of stigma. Addiction leaves patients having to manage the pain and suffering of not being in control of their own bodies without much guidance of healthcare personnel. However, patients would not have to persevere through addition consequences of addiction if professionals – especially pharmacists – had enhanced education of addiction which would possibly alleviate

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