Are We Growing Numb To The Opioid Epidemic?

By Lloyd I. Sederer, MD, author of The Addiction Solution: Treating Our Dependence on Opioids and Other Drugs (out now on Simon & Schuster) It’s clear to me, as a public health doctor and journalist, that there have been fewer news stories on the opioid epidemic in recent months, in print, online, and on the radio and TV. While I don’t have a major survey to point to, my work demands that I pay attention to this epidemic and the stories written about it — and that I encourage others to take it seriously as well. Have we grown numb to the people who are dying every day? To the families thrown into the pain addiction creates? To the hellish financial and social consequences in many communities, especially in epicenters of the epidemic? Cover of “The Addiction Solution” by Lloyd Sederer, MD (Courtesy of Simon & Schuster) Numbness is well known to happen in the face of persistent and horrific information, especially when no real hope is in sight. Numbness is a central symptom, an enveloping experience, for people who have been traumatized. I’m not arguing that the reading public suffers from collective PTSD – with its constellation of symptoms like nightmares, flashbacks, and being easily startled – but I fear that our numbness, nevertheless, may close us off from taking action as a country to rein in the deaths and destruction caused by disease. Numbness can be protective. It’s natural for us to want to defend ourselves from circumstances t...
Source: WBZ-TV - Breaking News, Weather and Sports for Boston, Worcester and New Hampshire - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Health opioid epidemic Simon & Schuster Source Type: news