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> because they are looking for a way to make their situation in life not hurt so much. It's what their friends/family do. This part still puzzles me, because t

> because they are looking for a way to make their situation in life not hurt so much. It's what their friends/family do. This part still puzzles me, because the opioid crisis is really well known about. How does "my life is shitty, I'll improve it by starting on the drugs that are famous for ruining lives" add up for anyone? Is "but cousin Bert does it and seems to be OK so far, so I can too" really that persuasive? Or maybe it's all ultimately down to prescription pills, except they might be somebody else's leftover ones, and starting there seems OK because it's medical and safe-looking.

dylan604 2y ago
From conversations I've had with users, when you have internal voice that you can't make stop without the use of drugs then you look for anything. My life is shitty has many meanings and might be difficult for someone to understand. If you have no personal experience, then I'd suggest using softer tone than trying to assume nobody else has problems because you can't empathize. Getting to the point of being comfortably numb so that you're not thinking about anything can be quite a relief
- meiraleal 2y ago
  > From conversations I've had with users, when you have internal voice that you can't make stop without the use of drugs then you look for anything. I present to you the definition of sane: 1. : proceeding from a sound mind : rational. 2. : mentally sound. especially : able to anticipate and appraise the effect of one's actions. Being over-dramatic about it doesn't change the fact that the person doing the self-harm is not in their best condition. Yes, I have been there with alcohol and drugs abuse, I have lost friends and family members too. Treating them as people capable of deciding with their best interest in mind definitely didn't help me help them.
- card_zero 2y ago
  Well, telling me I can't empathize is irritating, and isn't much of an explanation. But, I'm not sure what I was asking. Well OK, I think it's this: I don't believe that statistically, people saying "I think I'll try opioids because I feel terrible" can be a driver of the epidemic, because on aggregate people wouldn't. Sure, some people feel more terrible than others, and some are more persuaded by circumstantial effects than others (including somebody I know who picked up an addiction from her boyfriend despite being a super-rational psychology student who should have known better). But these things can't be the main cause, because people in general do know better than to begin, and to have an "internal voice that you can't make stop", prior to addiction, can't be very common. Statistically, it's got to be something else. I'll go with the medical pill-pushing theory for now.

dylan604 2y ago

From conversations I've had with users, when you have internal voice that you can't make stop without the use of drugs then you look for anything. My life is shitty has many meanings and might be difficult for someone to understand. If you have no personal experience, then I'd suggest using softer tone than trying to assume nobody else has problems because you can't empathize. Getting to the point of being comfortably numb so that you're not thinking about anything can be quite a relief

meiraleal 2y ago
> From conversations I've had with users, when you have internal voice that you can't make stop without the use of drugs then you look for anything. I present to you the definition of sane: 1. : proceeding from a sound mind : rational. 2. : mentally sound. especially : able to anticipate and appraise the effect of one's actions. Being over-dramatic about it doesn't change the fact that the person doing the self-harm is not in their best condition. Yes, I have been there with alcohol and drugs abuse, I have lost friends and family members too. Treating them as people capable of deciding with their best interest in mind definitely didn't help me help them.
card_zero 2y ago
Well, telling me I can't empathize is irritating, and isn't much of an explanation. But, I'm not sure what I was asking. Well OK, I think it's this: I don't believe that statistically, people saying "I think I'll try opioids because I feel terrible" can be a driver of the epidemic, because on aggregate people wouldn't. Sure, some people feel more terrible than others, and some are more persuaded by circumstantial effects than others (including somebody I know who picked up an addiction from her boyfriend despite being a super-rational psychology student who should have known better). But these things can't be the main cause, because people in general do know better than to begin, and to have an "internal voice that you can't make stop", prior to addiction, can't be very common. Statistically, it's got to be something else. I'll go with the medical pill-pushing theory for now.