Let's face it though, no one wants to suffer through chronic pain or any type of pain. In this country we will do just about anything to avoid it. Painkillers often become the way we deal with life, medical conditions, chronic pain and other situations we find ourselves in every day.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, in 2010, enough prescription painkillers were prescribed to medicate every American adult every 4 hours for 1 month. (source: drugabuse.gov). We all have most likely read just how much painkillers are being abused and overused these days but that statistic is frightening. I have seen the recent news of Prince overdosing on Fentanyl (Fentanyl Deaths Soar) .
Pain medications among fastest rising additions...
Heroin and pain medications are the fastest rising addictions in the US according to www.addictions.com. As they discuss, there is great potential for addiction no matter what drug is used.
While painkillers seem to be America's best friend, they are dangerous and according to a new study by University of Colorado, could be more harmful than good. In the study, they reveal that opioids such as morphine actually increase chronic pain.
Not just long term painkillers...
We are not talking about a long term painkiller that is being used, but just a few days of treatment that ended up causing chronic pain for several months. In their study, the painkillers were triggering an immune response which caused the release of pain molecules. Once this happens, it increases the perception of pain in the brain.
I am saddened to see just how many painkillers are being used today and how many addictions result from this practice. It has been many years since I have taken any prescription medication whatsoever. I try hard to keep myself healthy or find effective alternatives if something is needed.
Self-Medicating is not helping our bodies...
We cannot keep self-medicating our bodies and expect us to be fully human. It is not helping us individually or our society, because rather than getting rid of the pain, we are just numbing ourselves to it. Numbing does nothing but take you further into the darkness of life while helping you believe that you're doing the right thing.
The more we go into the pain, the more aware we are of what is happening in our body. Yes, when the pain gets to great, then it is very difficult to manage and I do understand that. However, taking more painkillers is not the answer like this study suggests. Finding ways to connect with our body and come out of numbness will yield much better results over the long term.
If you want to learn more about how the placebo effect works, take a look at the following blog post on Placebo Effect And Medical Care .
Question Of The Day
What ways have you found to alleviate pain without using painkillers?Blog Post And Images (c) 2016 by Don Shetterly
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