Stigma and discrimination: some thoughts

Stigma is the taint, discrimination the ugly scar. What about self-stigma ? I was at a drop-in centre for recovering Injecting Drug Users (IDUs), a couple of days back. My co-researcher B is a rcovering IDU and a founder of a support group called Hope Foundation, and it was through his contacts that we are doing research on IDUs, and their risky behaviour etc., etc. As we walked in, somebody came up and hugged B. Let's call him X. (For those of you new to this area, we are not disclosing identities because of confidentiality reasons). X was the most emaciated human being I have ever met. His skin seemed stretched over his frame in a way that looked alarming. I wanted to reach out and wrap him up. It was then that I noticed his eyes. Clear, focused, and smiling. I felt suddenly tearful, because his eyes said more about the need for support grpoups and drop-in centres than any of my research could have done. He looked at me with understanding, and I suddenly saw my work in an entirely different light. My elaborate structured questionnaire on the knowledge and practices of IDUs became redundant in that moment. Stigma and discrimination still existed, but X had overcome the most important stigma of all - self-stigma. And that would be key in his breaking through his addictive behaviour.