Substance Use Stigma: The Impact on Adolescent Substance Use
“Hello, my name is Gabrielle, and I am an addict”. This is the way people in recovery are generally introduced in recovery meetings. They say their name and declare their addiction to substances. This process over decades has created an identity. The statement, “I am an addict”, has become a point of pride for some, […]
A Story of Self-Stigma, Shame, and a New Direction with Self-Compassion
What is stigma? Merriam Webster’s Online Dictionary defines stigma as “a mark of shame or discredit: STAIN.” WISE addresses 3 types of stigma: social stigma, structural stigma, and self-stigma. Do you ever have this feeling? If you only knew this “bad thing” about me (whatever that might be), you wouldn’t This is shame in action. And […]
Why I Cannot Check the Disability Box
I decided to write this following my last work-related mental health crisis resulting in me “quitting on the spot.” It was the first time I did not ponder about letting go. After weeks of contemplating leaving, I began to give notice in advance leading up to that day based on what I failed to learn […]
5 Strategies to Self-Advocacy Better Using Emotional Intelligence
Have you ever taken inventory of your social circles and asked yourself, “Do I feel seen, supported or psychologically (emotionally) safe?” If you answered “no” to any of these three areas, it may lead to difficulty with speaking up for yourself which is known as self-advocacy. This is your ability to communicate your own interests, […]
Nurses with Substance Use Disorder and Peer Support
Kristin’s Story I have been a nurse since 1991. There was never anything else I wanted to do. But in 2004, I lost nearly everything when I was caught diverting drugs from the hospital I worked for. It started with a prescription after a surgical procedure in 1997. Life was stressful and those pills made […]
A Black mother’s cry for help!
A Black mother’s cry for help! One day when working as a community intervention specialist, I remember being called to meet a 25-year-old Black male who was in need of emergency housing. What I later found during our initial meeting was that he had recently returned home from his first year at college on a […]
Reducing stigma and mental health challenges
Thank you for pausing to read this blog. As to paraphrase the announcements on airplanes, you have choices when it comes to reading material and I appreciate that you are reading what I have written. Please do not be disappointed with any recommendations or solutions, as I can only share what has worked in my experience. […]
A Call to Action: The Intersection of Race and Mental Health Symposium
This blog is a reflection and to provide highlights of, “A Call-to-Action Symposium: The Intersection of Race and Mental Health” which took place on April 19, 2022, at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and virtually. The symposium was the culmination of four virtual quarterly coalition meetings offered by WISE in 2021 on the topic. Those […]
Substance Abuse and Generational Trauma
As we begin to recover from the pandemic, we are not ready to exhale and breathe a sigh of relief that this pain and suffering from this worldwide event is over. When we examine the far-reaching implications to our collective mental health, one can’t help but to think about our personal traumas and how we […]
The Brain Behind Behavior
I was asked to consider writing this blog post just a few months into my new career here at Rogers and I had to ask myself; Why me? Is it because of my Disability? Is it because of any particular skill, knowledge, or my experience and I realize this is the stigma? What is a […]
