Addiction: Blind to Race, Religion, Income Bracket
The Washington Post reported that more than 115 people die every day from opioid-related use. Anyone who takes opioids is at risk of developing an addiction. Your personal history and the length of time you use opioids play a role, but it's impossible to predict who’s vulnerable to eventual dependence on and abuse of these drugs. Addiction is blind to race, religion, income bracket. It literally doesn’t care. Addiction has no boundaries of where it goes. It knows no limits.
Legal or illegal, stolen and shared, these drugs are responsible for the majority of overdose deaths in the United States today. According to the Mayo Clinic, addiction is a condition in which something that started as pleasurable now feels like something you can’t live without. Doctors define drug addiction as an irresistible craving for a drug, out of control and compulsive use of the drug and continued use of the drug despite repeated, harmful consequences. Opioids are highly addictive in large part because they activate powerful reward centers in your brain.
Prescribed opioids are safest when used for three or fewer days to manage acute pain, such as pain that follows surgery or a bone fracture.
Almost all patients who use an opioid pain medication like fentanyl, hydrocodone, morphine, oxycodone for more than a month will experience physical withdrawal symptoms when they stop taking the medication.
If you are living with chronic pain, opioids are not likely to be a safe and effective long term treatment option. Many other treatments are available, including less addictive pain medications and therapies. If you find yourself addicted to opioids or any other drugs or alcohol, Narconon Ojai is here to help.
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