Sometimes, this disapproval of how you are managing your pain crosses over to disbelief that you are in as much pain as you say you are. They don’t believe that your pain is a legitimate enough reason to rest or nap or cry or take narcotic medications or not go to work or to go to the doctor. They might think that you are making too big of a deal out of it. They doubt the legitimacy of the pain itself.This kind of stigma is the source of the dreaded accusation that chronic pain is “all in your head.” It’s as if to say that you are making a mountain out of a molehill.

~ Murray J. Mcalister

Murray J. Mcalister Accusation All In Your Head Analogy Chronic Pain Chronic Pain Stigma Debelief Disbelief Invalidation It S All In Your Head Judgemental People Lack Of Compassion Marginalized Narcotics Opioid Use Opioids Pain Pain Killer Pills Pain Quotes Pain Relief Painkillers Physical Pain Questioning Your Reality Stigma Stigmatization Stigmatized

There are a lot of victims when it comes to addiction. I know there's an overdose epidemic. We see those faces. But then I see these other faces - the ones who commit suicide because they can't handle the pain. Those faces mean just as much to me.

~ Donna Marsh

Donna Marsh Addiction Chronic Pain Chronic Pain Stigma Opiates Opioid Use Opioids Pain Killer Pills Pain Management Painkillers Suicide Unbearable Pain

My doctors, who are not cavalier with prescriptions, give me this medication because I have earned their trust. And yet, with mounting government and public pressure, my doctors’ hands are becoming increasingly tied. They apologetically explain to me why they are required to make the medication even harder for me to get, against their own medical judgment. If the day ever comes when they aren’t allowed to prescribe Percocet to me at all, it may well be the end of the minimal quality of life I fight so hard to achieve.

~ Michael Bihovsky

Michael Bihovsky Addiction Chronic Pain Chronic Pain Stigma Medical Judgement Opiates Opioid Abuse Opioid Use Pain Reflief Perscriptions Public Pressure

We have a genuine and devastating epidemic of opiate abuse in this country, and it is of critical importance that this problem be addressed. But we must do so in a way that doesn’t cut off an effective (and often the only) treatment for the chronically ill, many of whom are able to function in this world at all only because of the small respite that responsible opiate use provides.

~ Michael Bihovsky

Michael Bihovsky Addiction Chronic Illness Chronic Pain Chronic Pain Stigma Chronically Ill Epidemic Medical Neglect Opiates Opioid Abuse Opioid Use Pain Management Pain Relief Stigma

Government agencies are trying to get doctors to cut back on prescribing opioids. I understand that they need to do something about the epidemic of overdoses. However, labeling everyone as addicts, including those who responsibly take opioids for chronic pain, is not the answer. If the proposed changes take effect, they would force physicians to neglect their patients. Moreover, legitimate pain patients, like myself, would be left in agony on a daily basis.

~ Alison Moore

Alison Moore Addiction Addicts Chronic Pain Chronic Pain Stigma Labelling Medical Neglect Opiates Opioid Abuse Opioid Use Opioids Pain Patients

The addiction crisis is terrifying, and many people don’t comprehend appropriate opioid use. When I first started taking pain medication, I remember a family member saying, “Dianne, you’re going to become an addict!”We need to help people understand that taking pain medicine to maximize one’s ability to be productive and to sustain enriching relationships is very different than the disease of addiction, which limits one’s ability to contribute to society and maintain healthy habits.

~ Dianne Bourque

Dianne Bourque Addiction Chronic Pain Chronic Pain Stigma Opiates Opioid Abuse Opioid Use Pain Relief Painkillers

Anyone who takes opioids on a regular basis will become dependent upon them, meaning they will have to taper off gradually to avoid withdrawal symptoms. But very few chronic pain patients exhibit the compulsive drug-seeking behaviors of someone who is addicted.

~ Karen Lee Richards

Karen Lee Richards Addiction Chronic Pain Chronic Pain Stigma Drug Abuse Drug Dependance Drug Seeking Myths Opioid Abuse Opioid Use Pain Management Pain Meds Substance Abuse

Several medical professional organizations acknowledge the utility of opioid therapy and many case series and large surveys report satisfactory reductions in pain, improvement in function and minimal risk of addiction.

~ Andrew Rosenblum

Andrew Rosenblum Addiction Chronic Pain Opiate Opiates Opioid Abuse Opioid Use

Despite what appears to be a low risk of addiction in naïve, chronic pain patients, it is reasonable to ask how much harm is actually done to patients with chronic pain by withholding opiate analgesics.

~ Howard L. Fields

Howard L. Fields Addiction Chronic Pain Chronic Pain Stigma Harm Opiate Opiates Opioid Abuse Opioid Use Opioids Pain Killer Kills Pain Relief Painkillers Withholding Care

I will be living with chronic pain for the rest of my life. I don’t have the mobility, energy or life options I used to have. I work hard to manage the pain, and I want the medical system to be a respectful and effective partner, not a jailer. The opioid crisis is not my doing.

~ Sonya Huber

Sonya Huber Addiction Chronic Illness Chronic Pain Chronic Pain Stigma Judgemental People Opioid Use Opioids Pain Killer Pills Pain Management Painkillers Stigmatization Stigmatized

There’s a saying that goes something like: ‘We are all one drink or pill away from addiction,’ and I know this is meant to destigmatize what addicts go through, but I feel like I’ve been seeing variations on this ‘common knowledge’ more and more lately being used (on social media) as a cudgel to remind patients to not overdo it,” Anna says, speaking to the dual-edged sword of awareness. A motto designed to humanize the experience of addiction has been turned into a weapon that targets people who rely on opioids for pain management, and that translates to real-world stigma.

~ S. E. Smith

S. E. Smith Addiction Anti Stigma Chronic Pain Chronic Pain Stigma Opiates Opioid Use Opioids Pain Killer Pills Pain Management Painkiller Stigmatization Stigmatized

I take opioids to treat chronic pain. Stigmatizing them will harm me.

~ Sonya Huber

Sonya Huber Addiction Chronic Pain Chronic Pain Stigma Drug Addiction Opiod Abuse Opioid Use Opioids Pain Killer Pills Pain Killers Stigmatization Substance Abuse