Resources Basic Information Introduction to Health Policy and AdvocacyBeing an Effective Self-AdvocateHealth Policy-Advocacy: Know Your RightsHealth Policy-Advocacy: Addressing Daily IssuesHealth Policy-Advocacy: When Others Need to Take OverHealth Policy-Advocacy Resources More Information An Interview with Peter Breggin, MD on the "Psychopharmaceutical Complex" Latest News People Are Avoiding the ER During COVID-19 Crisis at Their Peril: StudyAs Postponed Surgeries Resume, Can U.S. Hospitals Handle the Strain?Most Americans Still More Worried About COVID-19 Spread Than the EconomyBig Need for Blood Donations as Postponed Surgeries ResumeEmergency Transport Can Surprise Many With Big BillsOnly Half of Americans Say They'd Get a Coronavirus Vaccine: SurveyIf Prescribed Opioids for Pain, Ask Lots of Questions: FDAState Texting Bans Are Saving Teen Drivers' LivesMillions of Older Americans Can't Get Enough FoodLayoffs and Losses: COVID-19 Leaves U.S. Hospitals in Financial CrisisFDA Goes After Unproven COVID-19 Antibody TestsDuring Droughts, Many Poor Americans Will Lack Clean Tap Water: StudyDid the Movie 'Joker' Reinforce Prejudice Against Mentally Ill?AHA News: How to Get the Most Out of Health AppsCoronavirus Conspiracy Theories Abound, and They Could Cause Real HarmAHA News: Health Emergency? Don't Hesitate to Get HelpAn Expert's Guide to Fact-Checking Coronavirus Info OnlineRacial, Ethnic Gaps in Insurance Put Moms, Babies at Risk: StudyCelebrity Suicides Spawn 'Copycat' Tragedies, Study Shows The Doctor Gap: In Areas of Greatest Need, Primary Care Is a Team Effort"> The Doctor Gap: In Areas of Greatest Need, Primary Care Is a Team EffortThe Doctor Gap: Where Are All the Mental Health Care Providers?New, Graphic Health Warnings Coming for U.S. Cigarette PacksWith New Boost From Medicare, 'Telemedicine' Steps Up to Fight CoronavirusThe Doctor Gap: In Rural America, It's All Hands on DeckThe Doctor Gap: A Training Program for Country-Doc WannabesDon't Believe All the 'Science' on CBD ProductsMany Car Crash Deaths Involve Alcohol Levels Below Legal Limit: StudyThe Doctor Gap: Does America Have a Physician Shortage?12 Weeks of Paid Maternity Leave Benefits Everyone: StudyVaping Videos Soaring on YouTubeU.S. Blood Donors Needed in Face of COVID-19 CrisisIt's Tough for Clinical Trial Participants to Learn ResultsBogus Coronavirus 'Meds' Targeted by FDAOnly 1 in 5 Have Fast Access to State-of-the-Art Stroke CareOne Key Way to Curb Coronavirus Spread: More Paid Sick LeaveU.S. Drug Prices Have Risen Three Times Faster Than InflationU.S. Announces More Travel Restrictions as First Coronavirus Death ReportedIt's Not Medical Outcomes That Drive Patients' Hospital ReviewsChicago's Short-Lived 'Soda Tax' Cut Consumption, Boosted Health Care FundsSocial Media Stokes Myths About VaccinesBrand-Name Rx Rise After Docs Get Drug Company Perks: StudyAs Prices Rise for Parkinson's, Alzheimer's Meds, Patients Go WithoutRoll Up Your Sleeve and Donate Blood for Cancer PatientsShotguns Often Play Tragic Role in Rural Teens' Suicides: StudyPrice Hikes Have Patients Turning to Craigslist for Insulin, Asthma InhalersConsumers Waste Twice as Much Food as Experts ThoughtStricter Clean Air Laws Could Save Thousands of Lives a Year: StudyCaregivers Give Short Shrift to Their Own HealthMedicare Could Save Billions If Allowed to Negotiate Insulin PricesDentists Among Top Prescribers of Opioids Links [15] Associations[1] Community[13] Government[35] Information[1] Journals[1] Training[3] Research[18] Videos

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Everyone is entitled to the same civil rights and equal treatment, including people with disabilities or distressing symptoms. This is a list of some of your personal rights. You have the right to:

• ask for what you want, to say yes or no, to change your mind and to make mistakes
• follow your own values, standards, and spiritual beliefs
• express all of your feelings, both positive or negative, in a responsible manner
• be afraid and uncertain, and to do what you want and need to do for yourself anyway
• have the friends and interests of your choice
• be uniquely yourself and to change and grow
• have your own personal space and time
• be safe
• be treated with dignity, compassion, and respect at all times

In addition you have, health care rights which will depend on Federal and State laws.

These health care rights much include:

• know the side-effects of recommended medications and treatments
• decide for yourself treatments that are acceptable to you and those that are not and to refuse medications and treatments that are unacceptable to you
• a second opinion without being penalized
• change health care providers - although this right may be limited by some health care plans
• have the person or people of your choice be with you when you are seeing your doctor or other health care worker

If you are in a hospital setting or residential treatment program, in addition to the rights listed above, you may have the right to:

• communicate in person, by sending and receiving mail, and by reasonable access to telephones, with the people of your choice
• wear your own clothing
• keep personal possessions, including toilet articles
• privacy to perform personal hygiene tasks
• a written treatment plan that you develop with input from your health care providers that is updated as your condition or treatment changes
• be represented by a lawyer whenever your rights may be affected (you may have to pay a fee to be represented, unless you find a lawyer who will not charge you.)
• the same civil rights, respect, dignity, and compassion, and in the same manner and with the same effects, as a person not in such a facility

The only time your rights may not be honored is if you are making unsafe requests or indicating in some other way that you may hurt yourself or someone else.

If you know that your rights are being violated, the first thing to do, if possible, is to ask the person, people, organization, agency, or institution that is violating your rights to stop doing that. If they don't stop, reach out for help. Depending upon the kind of violation, you could contact a counselor, mental health agency, law enforcement officials, or your local office of protection and advocacy. If you are unsure whether your rights have been violated, contact the agency of protection and advocacy in your location.

Sourced from Speaking Out For Yourself: A Self-Help Guide, SAMHSA booklet SMA-3719