Most broadly generalized stigmas don’t apply to anyone but they cast undeserved, negative impressions on people. According to Bruce Self, RN, BScN, MSc and former street nurse, this is particularly true of substance abusers and those with mental health issues.
Self was hired to deliver training to front line workers to reduce the stigma attached to these people.
“Most of the time, those bad things people fear just don’t happen,” Self said.
“First and foremost, they are people. They have all the same things in their life as most people.”
The training program, funded by Community Action Initiative of B.C., was delivered primarily to service providers such as social workers, Seasons House employees, government offices and Community Living employees, Axxis Family Services, local First Nations employees and others who regularly have dealings with those with issues of substance abuse and mental health.
The training was delivered in eight modules beginning with promoting an understanding, differentiating between fact and fiction about the stigma and general discussion and direction on what works and doesn’t work. Each module focuses on a distinct topic, like: understanding mental illness; dual diagnosis (people suffering from both mental illness and substance abuse); substance use and abuse; anger, abuse, depression and suicide; harm reduction versus prohibition; and treatment, intervention and community development strategies. However, throughout all the modules common threads include understanding of Aboriginal as well as northern, rural and remote contexts and will connect the content to service provision circumstances specific to working in the area of training delivery. In addition, all modules look at the impact and implications of power imbalances, poverty, racism, gender, colonization and patriarchy.
After the initial delivery of the training in Quesnel, Self has been contracted to deliver the training to front-line service providers in Williams Lake where there will be six modules, containing the same information, but slightly condensed. Each module takes between 1.5 – 2 days to deliver.
For Self, he feels it’s very important to understand most substance abusers and people with mental health issues aren’t dangerous.
“Especially with mental illness, its invisible. Its just
the same as any disease – they don’t have a choice,” he said.
“Most people with mental illness can be controlled with medications but many have ugly side effects and people get tired of the side effects.”
He went on to say that there’s a lot of cross-over between mental illness and substance abuse.
“The drugs make them feel good and it can dispel the sense of isolation people with mental illness often feel, they believe they don’t fit in,” Self said.
“Substance use also numbs them.”
He went to explain that most injection-drug users also suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder usually based on a disturbed childhood that often included sexual abuse.
“The same dynamic for alcoholics, very often there’s childhood trauma.”
Despite the high interest in this training in Quesnel, the nature of the funding demanded the program be delivered in another community.
Although Self was adamant he doesn’t condone the use of any drugs, he emphasized the
drugs aren’t the issue, it’s the social constructs around the drugs.
“The vast majority of heroin users are recreational and they manage their use and continue to live normal lives,” he said.
“Illicit drugs are a problem for three reasons; what’s in it; how strong is it; what do you have to do to get it.
“Drugs aren’t
good, but we make them worse by the negative political and legal implications of use in North America.”
Self came back to his basic premise and that is those with substance use and mental health issues are human and should be treated as humans.