Death through drug overdoses

In the last 12 months I know two people who have OD’d and died, both had been through rehab and to a certain extent had a lot of support. Both were in their 30’s so not youngsters.

Just trying to get my head around it really, I don’t understand addiction I guess. I smoked a lot of dope and experimented a little in my youth but never tried “hard stuff” that most probably sounds a bit crap. I was aware of the damage it could do.

Just rambling now but trying to understand why after all the help people just can’t kick it.

I would guess that treating the addiction is relatively ‘easy’, but addressing the reasons why people become addicted and continue to be addicted is much more complex.

There is little point in cleaning someone up and then sending them back to exactly the same circumstances and expecting that they will be fine from then on.

It costs money that we, as a society, are unwilling to invest, although we quite happily pay for the cost of emergency medical intervention, crime and time in prison, all of which cost far more.

Its the terrible nature of addiction
SOme substances are just very addictive and harmful.
No individual has immunity from it and kicking an addiction, even the addict can see is harmful to the, is a very difficult task.

Its not really their fault, they are victims of the substance though they have , clearly, at some point, taken choices that led them to this inevitable state

Sorry for your loss
The Kids i grew up with who became smack heads did not make 20 😥

In the US, these are now being referred to as “Deaths of Despair”. There has been a massive increase in overdose-related deaths for white, non-hispanic working class men. No-one knows quite why, according to the Nobel prize-winning lecturer I listened to last week. It appears to be linked to feeling that everything is going to hell, especially for people like me & my kids.
The phenomenon is not so visible in Europe, but it’s there.

Has happened to two of my friends . Ketamine overdose in the bath led to drowning , heroin overdose. Both were very depressed . So awful and miss them both greatly .

Moses both these deaths have been in the States.

Awful illness drug and alcohol addiction, this little video might give you an insight.

so sorry to hear that OP.
Re ‘death of despair’ -changes in supply chain in herion is also a major factor in deaths or near misses in my professional experience: your supply is certainly cut/watered down to some degree, and you get used to your own tolerance of your regular supply (which is round about x% actual heroin: then one day the supply changes and ironically better ‘value for money’ (x=20% heroin) means your usual dose becomes a dangerous or even fatal one.

Of course wealthy people become addicts too but my experience is the huge link between childhood poverty/social problems and abuse: As a government not expecting to be in power in half a generation’s time, it must be really hard to justify spending investing money on social issues today knowing that the cost savings to the taxpayer will not be borne out until the other team are in charge.

Tough times OP.

Sadly I too know a number of people who have died through addictions. As above its the nature of addiction, many faceted – the drugs themselves, people’s suseptability physically and mentally, social groups, personal circumstances.

You’d be hard pressed to find someone not addicted to something, it’s human nature, currently the majority of the UK population are addicted to eating processed crap which is killing them, albeit slowly.

Many years ago I helped an old friend through detox from heroin. It was a very long 9 days cooped up with him in my flat with other friends keeping us fed and watered and giving me a break for a couple of hours.

I learnt a lot over those 9 days, what really stuck with me was that while he was addicted to the drug, it was the method of delivery, injection that he found the hardest to kick.

He told me “the heroin I can kick, the pin is a lot harder” he did shoot up random things , aspirin, speed, baking powder when he was through the 9 days, simply to fight that side of the addiction.

He dead now though, unfortunately he only stayed clean for a half a year or so.

There’s something that rarely gets mentioned.

Drugs are awesome.

Sure the aftermath and side effects can be brutal but the actual highs are amazing. Aside from the physical or mental addiction people enjoy and crave that feeling.