Overdose deaths in 2017

[dado potato]

71,568 Americans.
Opioid-related deaths have lowered the overall life expectancy in the U.S. for the second consecutive year.

[razz]

Addictions and opioid addictions in particular are real tragedies and a terrible waste of life. Most addictions appear to be experienced over a prolonged period of time but opioids have such an abrupt ending.

[Yppej]

One thing that has struck me in watching two different shows about addiction, Intervention and My 600 Pound Life, and in interactions with addicts I know, is that there is usually an underlying cause, it's not just that a person is prescribed a pain med for a legitimate injury and becomes dependent although that happens. So I think Trump's recent talk about cracking down on pharmaceutical companies may help but won't change the overall trend.

The causes are often sexual abuse of children, parental abandonment (in some cases not the parent's fault - e.g, could die in a car accident), and undiagnosed mental health problems for which the person self-medicates. PTSD not related to abuse is also a big factor for combat veterans.

I think the solution is to develop a robust, comprehensive program to address the root causes of addiction, to lessen the stigma of mental health diagnoses and provide comprehensive treatment on demand for them through a single payer healthcare system, and to build up the resiliency of trauma victims and let them know that they matter.

[Zoe Girl]

I have been going to a sitting meditation group at a residential treatment center, kinda to help and kinda because it is supportive of my bipolar brain and breakdown. It seems that everyone has a trauma or mental health condition. Most are in a worse position, being in patient, but still are working on it. One woman I know is trying to stay but there are no funds for her. That is the saddest, to have people who want help but are not able to access it.

[catherine]

One thing that has struck me in watching two different shows about addiction, Intervention and My 600 Pound Life, and in interactions with addicts I know, is that there is usually an underlying cause, it's not just that a person is prescribed a pain med for a legitimate injury and becomes dependent although that happens. So I think Trump's recent talk about cracking down on pharmaceutical companies may help but won't change the overall trend.

The causes are often sexual abuse of children, parental abandonment (in some cases not the parent's fault - e.g, could die in a car accident), and undiagnosed mental health problems for which the person self-medicates. PTSD not related to abuse is also a big factor for combat veterans.

I think the solution is to develop a robust, comprehensive program to address the root causes of addiction, to lessen the stigma of mental health diagnoses and provide comprehensive treatment on demand for them through a single payer healthcare system, and to build up the resiliency of trauma victims and let them know that they matter.

I have more alcoholics in my family tree than an apple tree has apples in October, and I have seen friends die of opioid addiction, so I've been able to observe and think about this question A LOT. And the answer for me is, the reasons for addiction and substance abuse are incredibly complex. Root causes can certainly be early trauma. But I always wonder why, for example, in my family, I have 3 siblings. We all were "abandoned" by our father to alcoholism, and only my youngest brother became alcoholic. And in fact, my middle brother had greater reason to become alcoholic if you go by the emotional trauma criterion because he was absolutely emotionally abandoned by my father from the time he was born, which was one of the main reasons my mother courageously divorced my father. But he has managed his wounds without resorting to alcohol or drugs.

The biological/brain chemistry thing is something worth considering. Gabor Mate has a fascinating hypothesis that when mothers are stressed during pregnancy, it messes with the chemistry of the cells in the fetus, and that "stress" can't be undone. So, if addiction is hard-wired in some poor souls, how does the medical community address that?

I am fascinated by the need for all of us to greater or lesser extent to alter our consciousness. Whether it's drugs, drink, pot, or even meditation. A lot of people don't drink for many reasons, or smoke pot, or do harder drugs, but throughout history, cultures have had their own escape valves from society or from themselves.

What is it about our society that people want to run from psychologically? What are the past wounds that people are trying to run from? And I'm not just talking about addiction that runs our lives or even kills us. I'm talking about the need for social lubrication at parties, or the popularity of happy hours, or the end of the day wind-down cocktail. "Addiction" is only a matter of scale in many cases.

I agree that the opioid thing extremely frightening, and to me it gives credence to the biological aspect of addiction. And, as razz suggests, it's an unforgiving addiction. You get hooked fast, and it's extremely hard to get un-hooked.

Some people talk about lack of connection as a reason for abuse. Then there's Rat Park--an experiment which seems to suggest that use of drugs is based on mere boredom or lack of any other fulfilling pursuits and can be chosen or abandoned at will or as circumstances change. But that has been disputed.

Addiction makes me so sad and angry. I think there is a limit to what we can do as loved ones or as society or as a medical community. Addiction is a thief in the night.

[JaneV2.0]

...

I am fascinated by the need for all of us to greater or lesser extent to alter our consciousness. Whether it's drugs, drink, pot, or even meditation. A lot of people don't drink for many reasons, or smoke pot, or do harder drugs, but throughout history, cultures have had their own escape valves from society or from themselves.

What is it about our society that people want to run from psychologically? What are the past wounds that people are trying to run from?

...

Using various substances/methods to alter consciousness is not always pathological, but pleasurable, like immersing yourself in a good book can be. I'm pretty sure the birds that get stoned on Madrona berries every year outside my window aren't trying to escape their wretched lives. Animals seek out chemical amusements just as we do--think catnip.

I worry about a friend who seems to be opioid-dependent due to legitimate health concerns; they're tapering off with the help of cannabis, but it makes me crazy that they ever got started on such dangerous stuff.

[Yppej]

Boredom could be genetic. I have heard speculation about a thrill seeking gene/personality.

Two sisters were subjected to the Allied bombing of Dresden and the loss of their father at a young age due to the war. My aunt abused substances, my mother avoided them and anything else risky and instead developed IBS from stress.

[catherine]

Using various substances/methods to alter consciousness is not always pathological, but pleasurable, like immersing yourself in a good book can be. I'm pretty sure the birds that get stoned on Madrona berries every year outside my window aren't trying to escape their wretched lives. Animals seek out chemical amusements just as we do--think catnip.

I agree it's not always pathological. Gabor Mate talks about his "addiction" to buying CDs. But I think the idea that our brains seek out "chemical amusements" (I like that term) is an interesting one. Biologically, why? How does the non-pathological pursuit of catnip, ethanol, cannibis, or magic mushrooms promote our survival?

[Ultralight]

71,568 Americans.
Opioid-related deaths have lowered the overall life expectancy in the U.S. for the second consecutive year.

I suspect a lot of these are actually suicides in slow motion.

[catherine]

Two sisters were subjected to the Allied bombing of Dresden and the loss of their father at a young age due to the war. My aunt abused substances, my mother avoided them and anything else risky and instead developed IBS from stress.

Interesting. I've heard that one of the reasons that moderate drinkers live longer than teetotalers is just for the reason you're saying--it helps relieve disease-promoting stress. I've known a couple of alcoholics who gave up drinking entirely and they lived short lives--not due to alcohol-related disease, but because they got cancer, which may have been due to past drinking, but it could also have been due to stress. Who knows?