Prescription drugs are no joke.

Not only are they not taken as prescribed in many cases, but they are also over-prescribed and cause a lot of issues, addiction being just one of them.

Every year, the number of those addicted to painkillers grows, and the number of people dying and visiting the ER for overdoses also increases.

In fact, about 46 people everyday, adding up at about 17,000 every year, die from prescription drug overdoses.

And contrary to popular belief, these deaths are not intentional, and they are not from people who “doctor-shop,” getting drugs from many different doctors. Instead, these deaths are attributed to people who are using the drugs as prescribed, and with doctor supervision. Scary stuff.

So what is happening here? Well, there is a lack of understanding in the medical community of what these drugs actually do. There is underreporting of addictive tendencies from patients, and it is possible that the doctors are not asking the right questions. For example, if someone were to be prescribed some opiates for chronic pain, the issue isn’t totally addressed (this class of drug not really help the issue), but they are very addictive and start a cycle of increased pain and subsequent pain management.

This infographic takes an in-depth look at this problem, but what are we to do?

Well, there are more mindful alternatives to painkillers, such as massage, Reiki, acupuncture and more.

Try to seek out alternative options first and use every method you can before going down the road of painkillers.

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Author: Andrew Spanswick

Editor: Emma Ruffin

Photo: Melanie Tata/Flickr, Author’s Own