Where is the inclusion for the suffering?

Written by Corey Preston

The cold hard truth is that there is no easy way to sell the Opioid Crisis to the general public, and this is due to a lack of relatability with Canadians, as the way the current crisis is presented only polarizes the emergency further from understanding. When people think of the “Opioid Crisis” their first visual in their minds is most likely that of a homeless person, wandering in an alleyway getting high on dope. This prompts me to question, how can we really connect with someone suffering, if we cannot imagine what it feels like fully to be them? The simple answer is we can’t, but there is another way to elicit real change, but we must go to the root source to make this happen.

The language of judgement.

When we bring awareness to this major issue impacting our country, we must look at the language being used, while also understanding the perception of the majority. Up until now, this has not been done effectively, and so too many more souls perish in the forgotten realm of this crisis, misunderstood and dehumanized by the public, and labelled as the “scum of the earth” due to one ugly word, “addict”. This word has a great magnitude of prejudice behind it, its very pronunciation can destroy families bonds, and life long friendships.

"Pain” the universal word that binds us together.

Human beings all suffer emotional pain, we all lose grandparents, and experience break ups, no matter who you are in this world, we’ve all experienced the discomfort of pain with varying circumstances. This is why I believe it is important to utilize this powerful word when referring to “addicts”. I want you to try an exercise right now with me, you’re going to read two different headlines, and I really want you to feel the difference in what you say out loud.

1st Headline reads as follows:

“Opiate addicts continue to die from fatal overdoses.”

And,

2nd Headline reads as follows:

“Human beings suffering from emotional pain continue to die from fatal overdoses.”

Now, what did you feel when you said the first headline compared to the second? Would you say that perhaps, there was a disconnect from your the people residing in your community with the first headline, and directly having a connection with the second? If that's the case, then congratulations, you’re a human being just like everyone else. Words are powerful, and riddled with emotional triggers when said, and that is why we need to evolve our understanding, by evolving the language that we use.

Where is the inclusion?

Our society has come far with practices of inclusivity, but in order to slow down the addiction crisis, we must rehumanize the suffering in the public's perception. This will allow the barrier of shame to be dismantled, and further allow those who need help to become more willing to come forward. This can never happen though, until we pour the foundation of a new inclusive identity that has judgement absent and compassion present.

As these strange times continue to unfold, we can choose to look externally like we have in the past or start looking inward to our own biases, by changing simple words in our vocabulary, we can begin to understand that human beings all suffer the same, and thus we can shift our judgement and begin to love one another on a much deeper level. This will eliminate the stigma of emotional pain, and create a safe space for anyone that has been hurt to change their lives.

#inclusion #identity #love #mentalhealth #addiction #mentalhealthawareness #recoveryblog #blog #mentalhealthmatters