drtashaswalve
Region: US
Friday 02 October 2026 21:39:03 GMT
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art_of_hudson :
For me it’s kind of like “brain feels wrong, and I’m going to try to find a way to make it feel right”
2026-10-02 23:00:39
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Trans rights are human rights. :
As a nurse I actually feel like this term does a lot of heavy lifting in destigmatizing addiction within the healthcare system. It’s relatively easy for us to see people with addiction and one of the many people who the health system failed, and I think framing it that way is probably among the most compassionate ways that addiction is frequently talked about. I worry that phasing out this term would reignite some of those biases.
2026-10-03 05:13:20
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milo :
I personally don’t find the term self-medication to be positive, in a lot of contexts it’s used almost as a synonym for a maladaptive coping strategy? like recognizing that it’s still a coping mechanism that relieves some symptoms and also has negative impacts. i’m thinking of how i’ve heard family
2026-10-02 22:11:40
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Mittens X :
PTSD and ADHD here. They give us bullshit that don’t work like gabapentin and atarax. What do they expect we gonna do? Pretend that shit works??
2026-10-03 08:48:07
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Gabriellie :
If I take a medication and it doesn’t work, was I not medicated…? What term do we use for that or do we just call it attempted medication in which case should we just call it attempted self medication?
2026-10-12 22:35:25
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wubwubkat :
smoking is also a socially acceptable way to get alone time. you can't really tell people "i'm going outside to be alone now", but you can say "i'm going outside for a smoke".
2026-10-03 16:10:43
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barfwolf :
I’ve been using the term “self soothing tool” for smoking tobacco.
2026-10-03 03:21:10
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Tom :
Self medicating is an important term, when a patient uses it they are acknowledging the failure of the healthcare system to effectively medicate them. It is a patient saying “I am struggling and this is my attempt to improve”
2026-10-03 11:27:31
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pyrit :
refusing to use the term has no real basis. When we take otc painkillers for a headache, we are self medicating. when we use herbal remedies like ginger/honey/lemon tea, we are self medicating. this is just a step on from that. I know my symptoms - i cannot get sufficient medical help for the symptoms - i know what alleviates them - i will use that method to reduce symptoms. that is medicating yourself. whether or not the chosen method is safe, has other risks ect ect is a DIFFERENT conversation.
2026-10-03 09:04:34
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Coyote 🪶🏳️⚧️ :
Honestly a massive aspect of how this discussion is even approached betrays so much the paternalistic approach the medical field and even the general public has towards people with schizophrenia and similar disorders. Most people will never have to make the painful decisions about what heavy medication to be on or how much you can bear or which organs you’re willing to damage or if you’re running the risk of developing TD. It’s also weird to be territorial around the idea of the word “self medicate”. Even animals can and do self medicate. It’s not an aberration or distortion.
2026-10-03 18:05:07
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Son0fChaos :
Hello. I'd love your expertise on the subject of cannabis smoke around pets. Like does a tiny cats get second hand high ? Also real curious to know if there is a known difference between weed & haschisch smoke ?
2026-10-03 21:28:18
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DopplegangerNZ 🇳🇿 :
I’m audhd and I as definitely self medicating with alcohol and caffeine until I got diagnosed and on brain drugs. I don’t think it’s a conscious decision tho. I think it’s more “I know this is bad for me but these behaviours make me feel good and alleviate a bunch of the bad brain problems I experience so as long as I can balance the bad with the good I’m just gonna keep on keeping on.” Once I knew that’s what I was doing and got on brain drugs my relationship to alcohol and caffeine changed almost overnight.
2026-10-03 01:01:02
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Leila Ibrahim :
Whether it be selfmedication or autodiag i see them as tools, like scissors, you can use them badly or as intended, i would not decide to stip scissors from its name if it cut a finger
2026-10-03 10:07:07
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sashamariesanders :
I think the term is fair. I self medicated with alcohol because my doctor didn't take my anxiety seriously during Covid and I needed something to cope. Luckily I have a good psychiatrist now who got me right and I was able to get sober
2026-10-03 17:30:15
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garayur :
it sounds like they want to maintain stigma and are upset at non-stigmatizing descriptions. Even a prescribed treatment may not be effective.
2026-10-03 02:26:07
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It's Nicole Not Amy :
In the U.S. we have so many barriers to treatment, the street pharmacy can be the accessible option. Self medicating as a term is only an option when you have a diagnosis and have lost access to treatment.
2026-10-03 03:46:08
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birchll :
yeah, I've only heard "self-medicating" with a negative connotation. I don't think there's many people who think it's a first line treatment for anything.
2026-10-03 12:09:08
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Vanessa Hinckley :
If we had access to what we needed we wouldn't have to
2026-10-03 07:17:17
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nameless :
I've never equated self medicating with receiving actual like... real, beneficial help. I thought self medicating meant applying a bandaid. and that most of the time when a person starts doing whatever bandaid act they are doing, they don't sign up to do it to consciously self medicate. feels like those against the use of this term are no different than religious fundamentalists
2026-10-03 02:29:09
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Kai :
I think self medicating is the most accurate term to use. I cant speak on schizophrenia but ive seen in myself and other people with adhd around me that before getting the diagnosis we were unknowingly self medicating adhd with things like tobacco, weed or in my case sugar, and only after getting the diagnosis we were able to point that out for what it is and, after receiving proper medication, able to either quit completely or at least become less dependant of it. I think to use any other term than self medicating would do a disservice to that experience and the similar experience of many others.
2026-10-03 09:24:15
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TwoDogDad :
It sounds like some doctors feel slighted because "medicating" belongs in the realm of health care professionals.
2026-10-03 17:48:38
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Functionalmicrowavecover :
so the argument against the term "self medicating" sounds like "they need to feel ashamed when they smoke and self medicating acknowledges the small part of their life that improves when they smoke. Smoking is 100% evil 100% of the time and there isn't room for any discussion".
2026-10-03 00:54:49
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Kris10 🇵🇸 :
I mean, we call it self medication when bears roll in bear root to ward off mosquitos. Is smoking helps the symptoms of a condition, they are self medicating. This is an ideological argument based on wanting to retain some legitimacy in being the one legally tasked with gatekeeping medicine
2026-10-03 18:29:57
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Mors Nexus Solonium :
self medicating = substance use to assist with dealing with whatever
2026-10-03 01:33:26
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lana :
as someone who has self medicated with different things to different degrees for almost a decade, it feels like semantics to me. I mean what alternatives are proposed? people use drugs for a reason, because the drug is useful to them in some way, we know this. two things can be true at once- the drug can be useful and harmful to someone simultaneously, maybe he needs to get more comfortable with that duality. someone can be self-medicating AND can be harming themselves and encouraged/supported to make healthier choices. one doesn't negate the other
2026-10-03 00:36:16
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