Stigmatisation refers to the process by which a person is unfairly judged or devalued because of certain traits, behaviours, or circumstances. This can lead to prejudice, discrimination, microaggressions, and serious social and health-related consequences.
Stigma can have a profound impact on a person’s mental health, often fuelling feelings of shame, hopelessness, and isolation. It can also affect physical wellbeing, relationships, and access to support services. These barriers can make it harder for people to seek treatment, find opportunities, and move forward in their recovery.
People living with challenges related to mental health or substance use frequently identify anticipated stigma—the fear of being judged—as one of the main obstacles to asking for help. Internalised stigma can often be an issue, and be experienced as low self-worth, guilt, or thoughts like “I don’t deserve support” or “this is all my fault.” Others face experienced and enacted stigma, including exclusion, discrimination, and harmful attitudes such as victim-blaming or being labelled “too complex” or “undeserving.”
It’s also important to remember that alcohol or other substances can affect mental health, contributing to anxiety, depression, and other emotional difficulties — which may be overlooked or misunderstood due to stigma.
September marks both National Recovery Month and National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month — a timely reminder of the importance of challenging stigma head-on. These awareness campaigns promote education and understanding, helping to correct misconceptions, foster empathy, and reduce fear. They also encourage contact-based approaches: sharing real recovery stories, using person-first language, and creating opportunities for meaningful connection.
Recovery in Derbyshire: Visibility, Voice and Action
The Derbyshire recovery community recognises recovery as a personal and individual journey, and that recovery is important to celebrate. Recovery means different things to different people and can be supported in many ways — through community networks, the support of others, online resources, specialist treatment and recovery supports. All recovery journeys are valid and all worthy of respect.
The goal is to help people affected by alcohol or substance use to live well, find purpose, and thrive in their local communities. We celebrate National Recovery Month in Derbyshire to raise visibility for people with lived experience, promote evidence-based treatment, and honour the incredible work of individuals, service providers, charities, and recovery communities across the county.
Our Derbyshire Recovery Network includes:
🔹 Recovery Projects
Recovery Projects across Derbyshire offer community-led initiatives that support people in recovery through creativity, connection, and purpose. These projects help challenge stigma by showing recovery in action and celebrating lived experience.
🔹 Recovery Spaces
Recovery Spaces are places where people can come together, connect, and offer mutual support; they provide safe, welcoming environments for peer support, workshops, and mutual aid. They help reduce stigma by making recovery visible and accessible in local communities.
🔹 Lived Experience Pathway
The Lived Experience Pathway supports people with lived experience into meaningful roles in the substance use workforce. It helps build confidence, skills, and visibility — showing that lived experience is a strength, not a barrier.
🔹 Derbyshire Recovery Partnership, our Specialist Treatment Service!
‘’Derbyshire Recovery Partnership provides advice, support and treatment for adults in Derbyshire who wish to address issues and problems arising from the use of drugs or alcohol. This can include binge drinking and recreational drug use as well as physical or psychological alcohol or drug dependence. The aims of Derbyshire Recovery Partnership are: to reduce the harms drug and alcohol use can cause to individuals, their families and communities, to reduce or stop their alcohol or drug use, and to support them into long-term recovery.
Derbyshire Recovery Partnership (DRP) is a drug and alcohol treatment service, it is a partnership between Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Derbyshire Addictions Advice Service (DAAS), Phoenix Futures and Intuitive Thinking Skills. The service is based at various locations across Derbyshire.
🔹 News on Growing Recovery in Derbyshire
The site’s news section highlights ongoing developments, events, and achievements in the recovery community. It raises the profile of recovery work and keeps lived experience at the heart of local progress.
🔹 Lived Experience Recovery Organisations (LERO) Development
Work is underway to develop a Lived Experience Recovery Organisation (LERO) in Derbyshire. This will embed lived experience into decision-making and service design, helping to reshape how recovery is understood and supported. The work is being progressed by a number of LERO Roadshows taking place across Derbyshire.
🔹 Recovery Month Events
Recovery Month events across Derbyshire celebrate recovery in all its forms, from walks and workshops to creative activities. These events raise awareness, challenge stigma, and bring people together in solidarity and hope.
🔹 Recovery Stories
Personal recovery stories shared on the website to offer powerful testimony to resilience, growth, and change. They help dismantle stigma by showing the humanity and strength behind every recovery journey.
🔹 Derbyshire Recovery Steering Group
The Derbyshire Recovery Steering Group brings together partners, providers, and people with lived experience to guide recovery strategy. It ensures that recovery is shaped by those who live it, not just those who deliver it. Could you be involved?
All of the above support is available beyond September, but Recovery Month helps us shift the narrative from stigma and silence to visibility, community, and hope. 💜🧡🤍
