The Systems That Stigmatize
How We Unlearn What We Were Taught
Most people think of stigma as a word, a look, or a bad attitude. But stigma is more than a personal bias — it’s a system.
It shows up when safe housing is withheld from someone working hard to rebuild their life. It shows up when talent and dedication are overlooked because of a history of incarceration. It shows up when medical staff respond to an overdose with judgment instead of the same standard of care given to any other life-threatening emergency.
These aren’t isolated incidents. They’re the result of systems we’ve all inherited — systems that were built on punishment, misunderstanding, and shame.
Where Stigma Lives in Systems
Healthcare: Policies that prioritize control over compassion, leading to dismissals in emergency rooms and inadequate follow-up care.
Education: Schools that exclude students struggling with mental health or substance use instead of providing support.
Workplaces: Hiring practices that screen people out instead of creating pathways back in.
Legal systems: Laws that criminalize addiction, branding people for life instead of offering treatment and recovery opportunities.
These systems reinforce the idea that people in recovery are problems to be managed, rather than neighbors, employees, parents, and leaders with strengths to offer.
Unlearning What We Were Taught
The good news is: stigma isn’t fixed. It was taught, and it can be unlearned.
At VAMHAR, we’re working to unlearn stigma by:
Stigma Reduction Trainings: Helping organizations and institutions recognize harmful patterns, shift language, and build trauma-informed practices.
Narrative Change Campaigns: Elevating stories of recovery that highlight resilience, dignity, and hope.
Policy Advocacy: Partnering with leaders to design systems that treat addiction as a public health issue, not a criminal one.
These efforts remind us that recovery is real — and that systems can change just as people do.
What Recovery Month Reminds Us
This Recovery Month 2025, SAMHSA’s theme — Recovery is REAL: Restoring Every Aspect of Life — is a call to action. If recovery is to restore health, home, community, and purpose, then the systems surrounding us must restore dignity, belonging, and opportunity.
We all have a role in that restoration. Whether it’s changing the words we use, revising a workplace policy, or advocating for laws that center healing over punishment, every action helps dismantle stigma at its roots.
Together, We Rewrite the Rules
Recovery is not just an individual journey. It’s a collective responsibility. By unlearning what we were taught about addiction and rebuilding our systems with compassion, we create communities where recovery isn’t hidden — it’s celebrated.
Because when recovery is met with dignity, recovery thrives.