The Associated Press reports that Americans are in more pain than ever, probably due to the aging of the population, so pain killers are selling like crazy. The use of oxycodone, found in OxyContin and Percocet has increased 16 times in some areas.
According to Gregory Bunt, medical director at the Daytop Village treatment clinics in New York, as we are getting older, more of us are really experiencing pain. “Pain affects more Americans than diabetes, heart disease, and cancer combined.”
Some new formulations that are ready for release will have 10 times more hydrocodone as that found in Vicodin. Some of the increase use is due to many addicts switching to prescription meds for the great sense of well-being, but physicians are much more willing to alleviate pain for their patients than in the past. They definitely increase a suffer’s quality of life, so it’s very easy to develop a dependency quite innocently.
Fortunately, many individuals learn to use their own minds to block the pathway carrying pain messages from the site of injury to the brain, and even affect their brain chemistry, releasing endorphins and serotonin. This is one aspect of my hypnotherapy practice that is especially rewarding.
See also Pain Relief in Your Own Mind.