Understanding Substance Use
Health is a state of total well-being—physical, mental and social—helping us both survive and thrive in our everyday lives.
The Language We Use to Talk About Mental Health and Substance Use
Words matter. They impact the assumptions we make about others, the way we understand someone else’s experiences, and the value we place on others.
Treatments: What Works?
It seems like everyone has an opinion when it comes to treatments for mental health or substance use problems. To add to the confusion, it isn’t always obvious who is basing their opinions on real evidence and who is not. And while we often hear people talk about evidence-based treatments, it’s also clear that complementary and alternative medicine approaches are helpful for some.
Finding the Right Help - Navigating the System
While it's common to talk about the mental health system, the system isn’t a singular entity. The system might include primary care, mental health, substance use, housing, income assistance, and justice. They are not always accessed the same way, through similar gatekeepers.
Recovery
When we talk about mental illnesses and substance use problems, it’s easy to talk in clinical terms: that person has this symptom, or that person uses a certain drug. But recovery is so much bigger than a checklist.
FASD
Learn more about FASD or fetal alcohol spectrum disorder affects babies who were exposed to alcohol before they were born. FASD is made up of several different disorders (including fetal alcohol syndrome, partial fetal alcohol syndrome, alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder or alcohol-related birth defects), but they’re all caused by expose to alcohol.
