Drug overdoses on the rise in the U.S. With a 20% rise in 2017, what is to be done? Dr. Bart Rossi, PhD., a career psychologist appears on Wink News to discuss it.
When you think of drug addicts most people envision bums on the street; people that don’t want to work; people who have given up on life. When it comes to opioid addiction this is certainly not the case. It has crossed economic, race and professions.
When people face crisis in their lives, like a horrible accident, or face trauma that causes mental pain — like depression — they turn to painkillers, like opiods, and getting hooked blindsides them.
According to Dr. Rossi, PhD., politicians on both sides of the aisle talk tough when it comes to drugs. But the war on drugs has mostly failed, and the opioid crisis is not people getting hooked on recreational drugs because they wanted a kick.
He notes that while he doesn’t believe that throwing money at a problem often is the not the best strategy, in the case of opioids there are proven methods that work in helping people kick their addiction. This includes medical treatment and cognitive behavior counseling.