The Opidemic

There is an opioid epidemic in the USA. These highly addictive synthetic opiates are being purchased on the street, in pill mills, or with legal prescriptions.

They were designed to alleviate pain but are causing disease.

This is not a new phenomenon but simply the latest version of a long history between opiates and big business.

​Did you know that Bayer released heroin as an over-the-counter cough suppressant in 1895? (In fact, “Heroin” was Bayer’s trademarked brand name for what is really called diacetylmorphine.)

Did you know that in the 1800s England fought – and defeated – China in two wars (called the Opium Wars) to “earn the right” to sell the Chinese people abundant amounts of opium and keep them addicted, contributing to China’s decline?

There’s money to be made in addictive substances since they create their own increased demand. There’s money to be made in pain relief since people want to feel good.

There is a legitimate role for effective physical pain relief in medicine. Having said that, much of the pain people who abuse opioids try to avoid is emotional pain. They may feel nervous, guilty, depressed, traumatized, bored, angry, indifferent, and so on. This is natural … a normal response to life stressors.

Their emotional pain is a signal from their mind-bodies telling them something is wrong and needs to be looked at and changed.

People are spending a lot of money, committing crimes, and abusing their minds and bodies to not have to feel some of their human emotions.

Ultimately, people who have opioid addictions may want to ask themselves: Could it simply be better to feel my emotions than be addicted to opioids?

To meditate instead of medicate?
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Something to ponder….