Week 1 On Pain Medicine

In the article "Pain Medicine Use Has Nearly Doubled" there is a list of reasons why the use of pain medication has increased so dramatically. While they include the issue that there is more need as the population gets older, I found it strange that there was no more discussion on the younger generations and why it is that they are so dependent on this medication in the first place. I recognize that there are certain circumstances where pain medication is incredibly helpful, such as with horrible accidents and intense surgeries, but it seems to me that the scale on which people are suffering and using these pills is very wide. Generally speaking, I think that the influence of tv, internet, video games, fast food and other modern conveniences has caused the U.S. lifestyle to become more lazy and indoor oriented. As a result, our minds and bodies are becoming weaker with not enough physical movement and perhaps too much useless mental input. This can spoil us and make us more susceptible to illness. If we experience even the slightest pain, we don't want to have to make an effort to help ourselves heal, we would rather pop a pill, even if we don't understand what it is really doing to our bodies. Pain and suffering are regarded as inconveniences that we want to cover up, and in our quick fix culture, drugs like Oxycodone seem like an easy solution for making it all go away. Clearly it is not quite doing the trick.