Empathy, Compassion, and the Opioid Crisis: breakingbenzo.com

"Every day, more than 115 Americans die after overdosing on opioids. The misuse of and addiction to opioids—including prescription pain relievers, heroin, and synthetic opioids such as fentanyl—is a serious national crisis that affects public health as well as social and economic welfare."

When we read such staggering statistics and don't take into account the severity of this opioid and addition crisis, we turn a blind eye to one of the most deadly epidemics our world has seen.

Thankfully, the Department of Health and Human Services is taking this subject seriously. However, I am a firm proponent of leveraging technology and private services that speak to real problems while providing scalable solutions.

One of my close friend's wife is a cancer survivor. She didn't have any prior medical conditions, didn't have addictive tendencies prior, and as a part of her care, was placed on a benzodiazepine medication to help with her anxiety.

Once she defeated cancer, she found herself with an unexpected dilemma; she couldn't stop taking her benzo! She depended on it and felt like there was nobody there to help her get off it.

She felt ashamed. She should NOT have been ashamed one bit.

Part of the problem is that as physicians and the system we work within, are prescribing these medications without the bandwidth to safely and compassionately taper patients off. It is a constant and daily process, one that necessitates a lot of tenderness, empathy, and compassion.

After discussing this problem with many close confidantes within medicine and in the community, I wanted to help find a solution.

Please take a look at breakingbenzo.com. They are doing exceptional work in this space, mainly by focusing on the individual and their needs, providing 24/7 assistance with health coaches, providing network resources for psychiatry and chronic pain referrals as well.

We all know someone (if not ourselves) who struggle with addiction of some sort. We owe it to ourselves and our community to do our part. If you know someone who may need this kind of help, please reach out to me privately or directly at the website.

If you are a primary care physician, I'd love to chat and potentially collaborate on this.

We can make a difference with empathy and compassion as our foundation.

www.breakingbenzo.com