Are You In Denial About Being Addicted To Pain Meds?

If you're human, you're familiar with the act of denial--though you may "deny" ever being in denial.

The seriousness of being in denial depends on what you're in denial about. In other words, denying that you're addicted to pain meds is deadly serious.

For example: All the signs in your marriage point to an affair. Your spouse is hardly ever home anymore, and when they are, they're constantly texting, with that sly, satisfied grin plastered across their lips.


Maybe the once modest, virtuous wife is now a Victoria-Secret vixen, who is all of a sudden sexy and desirable.

Or hard-working hubby is using his credit card for hotel rooms and Champaign that he didn't splurge on the wife. Nevertheless, she explains the charges on the bill by saying "it must have been for work."

You've managed to block out of your mind the fact that he hasn't touched you romantically or had sex with you in months, which is really all the proof you need. But...you're in denial.

Well, addiction follows the same premise. The signs are there, but instead of dealing with the reality of a serious problem, you "explain" it away by saying you have a prescription.

Doctors prescribe pain medication so you can bear the horrific pain from an illness or injury. However, after you heal and no longer need the medication, your body now craves the feeling of euphoria you experience when taking these pain meds. As a result, you find yourself lying about being in pain--just to get a prescription for more. 

In your mind, the manufactured pain is real. But the truth is--you're addicted to pain meds, you create fictitious symptoms to get legal access to your drug of choice and you're in denial of your problem.
And if you're not lying, your doctor is likely to think you are, especially if he's had patients in the past who were chronic liars to get pain killers.

Denial is an easy way to "keep up appearances", as well as continue to feed the habit. For some users, denial helps escape the guilt of letting others down who depend on us. Denying it's there makes it possible for the addict to cope, while continuing to indulge.

I'm not judging or criticizing you, it's just that being addicted to prescription meds is serious stuff. 44 people overdose on prescription painkillers a day. That's 16,060 victims a year. Let that sink in. Do yo want to be in that number?

Denial is the first step toward becoming an overdose statistic.

Face reality and GET HELP.