UNDERSTANDING
WITHDRAWAL
*A Note on Language
We honor these stories by not adjusting the language people used to convey them as participants are sharing their own experiences. However, some of the videos contain language that can perpetuate stigma toward people with substance use disorders. As healthcare workers, we should use person-first language to reduce stigma and bias when discussion addiction. Not doing so leads to worse outcomes and experiences. Please review this NIDA page on person-first language for preferred terms to use when talking to and about people who use drugs.
What withdrawal feels like and how best to treat it.
Going through withdrawal is often the cost of being admitted to the hospital for people who use substances. Withdrawal can cause excruciating physical and psychological pain, but it is often under recognized and under treated in hospital settings. Recognizing the symptoms of withdrawal and appropriately treating withdrawal can be a matter of life and death, allowing people who use substances to remain in the hospital and get the care they need.
Your body's on fire. It's screaming at you, it's painful and then you got the record playing and it's madness.
- Angela, Case Manager & Mother
