Continuing to Help Those With the Disease of Addiction

When it comes to drug overdoses, many people have a preconceived idea of who the typical overdose death victim is.

I strongly reject that stereotyping.

The faces of this crisis include a young adult who became addicted because he was injured while playing pickup basketball and was prescribed opioids to deal with the pain.

They include the grandmother who was prescribed opioids when she slipped and fell on ice and became addicted even before the prescription ran out.

They also include the once proud, strong man brought low by a disease, like diabetes, who needed something to help him deal with the excruciating pain.

We must eliminate the stigma that surrounds the substance use disorder crisis. People who have a substance use disorder have a health condition. Opioids and other addictive substances rewire the brain’s circuits to the extreme disadvantage of those affected.

Source: York Dispatch