Half of all opioid prescriptions
Would it shock you to learn that adults with mental illness receive more than half of the 115 million opioid prescriptions written in the US every year? People with mental health conditions represent only 16% of the population, but they get 50% of the opioids. People with psychiatric conditions are more likely than others to develop addictions because not only do the opioids relieve pain, they also relieve the mental health symptoms leading to long-term abuse. When doctors talk to patients about pain, it’s difficult to determine if the pain is coming from the mental illness or from physical problems. Since pain is an experience unique to the person, how do you know how much pain they’re in and where it’s coming from? There are no reliable methods for making this determination. What we’re sure of is that alternatives to opioids should be considered for those with mental illness.
