A moral panic is happening in the United States right now, and it’s the so-called “opioid crisis” or “opioid epidemic” that pops up daily in the news. Reporters can be heard lamenting that the sky is falling and that anyone and everyone is addicted to prescription drugs. Of course, we know that isn’t true, but…Continue reading How opioid hysteria and moral panic worsened the opioid crisis
Tag: suicide
How the opioid crisis can lead those with chronic pain to suicide
1 out of 10 suicides is due to chronic pain, and yet the link between chronic pain and suicide is often ignored. Furthermore, no one connects the opioid crisis to chronic pain suicide even though they’re all related to each other. Society demands that pain be concealed I’ve long struggled with finding the words to…Continue reading How the opioid crisis can lead those with chronic pain to suicide
Why politicians are wrong about the opioid crisis
Dear politicians in Washington, The opioid crisis was not caused by chronic pain and yet you seek to punish people in pain anyway because we’re the convenient scapegoats. I’ve written dozens of articles about the opioid crisis previously, but it has clearly not reached you so I’m begging you to listen this time. What you…Continue reading Why politicians are wrong about the opioid crisis
The truth about chronic pain, depression, and suicide
A conversation on my Facebook page about the side effects of living with long term chronic pain reminded me that I needed to address this topic. I’ve avoided it because I don’t like getting too personal or emotional on my blog, and talking about depression and suicide gets really emotional. However, the more discussion I…Continue reading The truth about chronic pain, depression, and suicide
What the pain acceptance movement misses about chronic pain
Anyone who lives with chronic pain is aware of the backlash against opioids for chronic pain and the treatment of pain in general. This backlash has emerged because of the so-called “opioid crisis” which puts the blame on people in pain instead of the dangerous illegal drugs on the street. Some doctors are now taking patients…Continue reading What the pain acceptance movement misses about chronic pain
Invisible Illness and suicide
I read this article about an amazing women who committed suicide and it just broke my heart. She was dealing with POTS which is not a disease I know a lot about. I do know that POTS is invisible, can be related to Lyme, is often debilitating, and there isn’t a large body of research…Continue reading Invisible Illness and suicide