My Life in Recovery

ALT Talking About Yourself or Others with Substance Use Disorder Use Person with a substance use disorder Person with an opioid use disorder or person with opioid addiction Instead of addict, user, substance or drug abuser, junkie. Use Person with alcohol use disorder, Person who misuses alcohol/engages in unhealthy/hazardous alcohol use. Instead of: Alcoholic, Drunk. Use Person in recovery or long-term recovery/person who previously used drugs. Instead of Former addict, Reformed addict. Because Using person-first language shows that SUD is an illness. Using these words shows that a person with SUD has a problem/illness, rather than is the problem. The terms avoid elicit negative associations, punitive attitudes, and individual blame. Use Testing positive on a drug screen Instead of Dirty, Failing a drug test Because Use medically accurate terminology the same way it would be used for other medical conditions. These terms may decrease a person's sense of hope and self-efficacy from change

ALT Talking about Recovery and Treatment Use Medication treatment for OUD, Medications for OUD, Opioid agonist therapy, Pharmacotherapy, Medication for a substance use disorder Instead of Opioid substitution, Replacement therapy, Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) Because it is a misconception that medications merely "substitute" one drug or "one addiction" for another. That term MAT implies that medication should have a supplemental or temporary role in treatment. Using"MOUD" aligns with the way other psychiatric medications are understood (e.g. antidepressant, antipsychotics), as critical tools that are central to a patient's treatment plan. Use being in remission or recovery, abstinent from drugs, not drinking or talking drugs, testing negative (on a drug screen) Instead of Clean Because Use of medical terminology (the same way you would fro other illnesses) can help reduce stigma.

ALT Talking About Babies Born to Parents Who Used Drugs. Use Baby born to a parent who used drugs while pregnant, Baby with signs of withdrawal from prenatal exposure, Newborn exposed to substances, Baby with neonatal abstinence syndrome. Instead of Addicted baby. Because Babies cannot be born with addiction because addiction is a behavioral disorder. Using person-first language can reduce stigma. Use of medical terminology (the same way you would for other illnesses) can help reduce stigma.