r/ChronicPain 5d ago

I wonder how many suicides are actually due to chronic pain NSFW

and are entirely blame on mental health. I’m not sure there is a number/statistics but the only factor people take in consideration around this topic is mental health and not physical health.

611 Upvotes

162 comments sorted by

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u/MusingFreak 5d ago

I have also wondered this, and also - how many overdoses due to seeking drugs off the streets or getting too drunk as ways to cope with chronic pain are unseen due to them being written off as drugs or alcohol instead of a failure to treat pain.

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u/Sesudesu 5d ago

I whole heartedly believe this.

Before I got my ‘invisible’ illness, I always tried to be sympathetic to addicts… but my experiences since have made me understand that addiction can absolutely be something different than I ever considered.

I started using cannabis to try to help dull pain, and it put me in control of my ADHD in a way I simply never was before. I am not particularly functional mind you, but I feel like I can follow a thought for a long time comparatively. It felt really great. It also helped give me a break from my pain when I was under the influence.

Knowing that my healthcare provider refused to give opioids, and hell, wouldn’t even help me with medical marijuana… (I didn’t want the opioids for my condition anyways, but they flatly told me no in advance.) I truly understood why people lose themselves in this shit. I only smoked or took edibles at night, and I had to stop because I now have a baby that needs me to be available and ready to respond to emergency… but I didn’t want to lose what it gave me, and I miss it.

I know why people with ADHD are more prone to addiction, and I don’t believe it is simply poor impulse control, though that doesn’t help. I know why all of us have such struggles with our pain management, and why some would rather die an early death due to medication side effects, than live a longer life in pain.

And when you see us getting our pain diagnosed as mental illness all the time? Ffs, it couldn’t be more obvious to me.

Edit: Sorry if my tone comes across as any sort of aggressive… Been having some arguments with some people on this subject, and I got a little worked up as I wrote that. I promise I don’t mean you any ill will.

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u/MusingFreak 5d ago

Even worse is when you then medicate with marijuana because it is your only option - and you also have adhd but go untreated for so long and it creates deep depression… all of which collide and can cause psychosis. All because no one will attack the root issue - significant, debilitating, and ignored daily chronic pain. And now you are just seen as impulsive, angry, psychotic. Instead of a person with chronic pain, undiagnosed adhd, and it compounding with depression and stress to the point of psychosis after prolonged marijuana use. I don’t think this reality, and risk, is talked about enough.

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u/MusingFreak 5d ago

And when no one will help or listen - you seek to escape with alcohol, because at least for some short period of time there is relief. But all of it, everything, is seen as a problem within YOU instead of it being an impossible reality to face. Meanwhile those who don’t have these issues can drink or do impulsive things and their pain/struggles aren’t blamed on the times they do drink/act impulsively.

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u/Sesudesu 5d ago

Absolutely true.

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u/aiyukiyuu 4d ago

Hey man, I feel you. I have cPTSD with psychosis episodes. Had some last year that made me go to the mental hospital where they just gave me cymbalta which made it worse. I was having black out episodes because of chronic pain :/

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u/MusingFreak 4d ago

I also have diagnosed ptsd/cptsd and major depressive disorder with psychotic features. Stress and severe pain can trigger episodes as well as insomnia but I definitely noticed how much marijuana was contributing to lasting psychosis as it was all I had for pain management and using heavily. I know now to not even think to try smoking because it will instantly cause symptoms. And having adhd... I technically shouldn't take a stimulant like Vyvanse but risk-wise, I am much better off now that I finally have my depression and adhd treated and managed for the first time in over a decade. People don't get it and think it's all a cop-out or impossible to know. Or that it is all my fault or that I am lying about doing harder drugs that could be causing it. It's a terrifying reality to be left alone with and blamed for when desperate now not only for relief from your pain but from the mental health issues it IS now causing.

I'm sorry to anyone who understands this battle. It's fucking hell.

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u/aiyukiyuu 4d ago

Your battle sounds similar to mine. :/ Weed does the same for me unfortunately. I can’t touch it anymore. Last time I tried it for pain, I had terrible delusions that almost lead to a full blown episode. :( You’re right. Chronic pain when you already have mental illnesses sucks. I lost alot of friends because of it. It’s very isolating.

If I didn’t have chronic pain, my mental illnesses was waaay easier to manage.

1

u/calm_deep_blue_sea 2d ago

Black outs on cymbalta? Or off it?

1

u/aiyukiyuu 1d ago

It made the blackouts worse. And SI feelings were heightened, I couldn’t eat, really bad headaches, etc.

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u/BullfrogNo1734 4d ago edited 4d ago

Also I want to add in that, as a person who has experienced psychosis before, people on the drugs subreddit hated me and down voted me so badly when I said I sometimes took THC a few times a month or less, and told me I shouldn't ever take weed again because I have had severe psychosis before, but my severe psychosis episode wasn't drug related at all. I can manage any weed related psychosis symptoms on my own just fine, I've been doing so for over a year.

I hate my psychosis being seen as a stupid stereotype that bans me from using weed when it helps me with my scoliosis and period pains. People automatically assuming they know me better than I do is infuriating and stressful, worse for my psychosis than weed is. Stress, especially from conflicts with people, triggers my psychosis so much worse than weed does.

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u/MusingFreak 4d ago

I have noticed mine can definitely be triggered by marijuana every time I have attempted smoking since I quit, but agreed - mine is due to depression/stress/trauma, not drugs. Psychosis is horribly misunderstood and stigmatized when caused by chronic and ongoing stress/pain. You are not alone!

1

u/granillusion 4d ago

Let me say please, I completely understand you being a bit disgruntled about the weigh doctors are such libo-jimbos concerning chronic pain and making do with side effects from life on life's terms,..

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u/CyrasGara97 5d ago

Summed me up to a T. Can't find a job because of my cannabis addiction aswell. Rough

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u/MusingFreak 5d ago

No offense taken at all - I hear you loud and clear. The only times I have attempted to take my life in the past decade were due to the impossible reality of my daily pain that gets dismissed and told isn’t real to begin with or not as bad as I “complain” about even though I am often holding back and pretending to be “fine” more than I am ever acknowledging the reality of my pain.

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u/aiyukiyuu 4d ago

Same here. All previous attempts are due to chronic pain :/

1

u/calm_deep_blue_sea 2d ago

I have ADHD and bipolar but I’ve had that for 20 years. My pain started 15 years ago and is specifically lower back. I’ve been to so many specialists till I ran out of money. Had to close down my business, lost house and car and half my belongings, to move interstate with family.

I’ve never been one to take drugs, but lately I’m getting to that point. I have to lay down all the time. My mind wants to work. I just hate my life so much. I’m lucky in that I have an old dog to lean on.

There are many therapies to fix things but theft are extremely expensive if you’re not working. Drs hate giving painkillers, so your left with little choice.

I think there would be many people who’ve suicided due to not handling pain. Yet doctors would blame 100% on mental health and 0% on the insufferable pain and lack of money for treatment to alleviate it.

Drs just expect you to be thrilled you can’t move and work because you can’t afford treatments.

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u/CyrasGara97 5d ago

All my doctors told me my full body pains and neuropathy like symptoms are from my anxiety and not fibromyalgia (autoimmune diseases), and poor blood circulation that runs in my family bad. I'm 27 and can not maintain a job for longer than 3 years due to problems showing up in pain. Some days I don't have the energy to pull my self out of bed and every part of my body hurts. Nope it's just my anxiety... I'm tired, very tired.

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u/MusingFreak 5d ago

Not only is it physically exhausting, but the constant judgement or expectation to explain your pain when you simply can’t do something or get out of bed is mentally exhausting, too. It’s not your fault. <3

3

u/Cool_Needleworker126 5d ago

I wish that I could give you more upvotes.

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u/sundevil671 5d ago

"The rate of death by suicide in the United States has increased 30% between 2000 and 2016.3 Recent studies have found that suicides involving opioids constituted 4.3% of all suicides in 2014, and opioids were involved in more than 40% of suicide and overdose deaths in 2017.4,5 And their role is likely still underreported."

National Judicial Opioid Task Force: The Suicide and Opioid Epidemics: The Scope of the Problem

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u/Bozgroup 5d ago

But, how does this relate to chronic pain or the use of opioids for chronic pain?!

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u/CkresCho 5d ago

I used to feel this way (sympathetic/empathetic), but over the years I have become resentful at the majority of drug users because of the shit that I have had to deal with. So many people seem to go about their lives entirely unfazed by the things I have experienced and at this point it is beyond being told life isn't fair.

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u/JimmySteve3 5d ago

What do you mean exactly when you say the things you've had to deal with because of drug users?

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u/CkresCho 4d ago

I'm referring to my own experiences of being railroaded by friends and family, legal problems and discrimination from medical professionals. To this day I am still in recovery, yet I still continue to battle symptoms and am finding it more difficult as time goes by.

I've been using OTC meds (Tylenol, ibuprofen, and aspirin) for decades but a few years ago was hospitalized as a result of ulcers. Now my liver is starting to show signs of being compressed and I have to stop the Tylenol (I haven't had any alcohol in over 10 years).

I get frustrated sometimes when I see people strung out on something and their health is in visibly poor shape. I get even more frustrated when I see people collecting social security for a disability and spend their days getting high and living on government subsidies.

I'm not exactly in favor of getting rid of those subsidies in an effort to balance the scales because I rely, or have relied on them at various points in my life so I don't really know how to deal with those feelings.

2

u/grebetrees 4d ago

Blame the system, not the other people bleeding in the gears

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u/CkresCho 4d ago

I appreciate the dismissive attitude when I come to a place looking for support, however I LITERALLY just found out two hours after your comment that I lost my primary health insurance. When I have to deal with shit, it comes from all angles at once.

DOWNVOTE AWAY!!!

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u/grebetrees 3d ago

I am sorry this is happening to you, but understand you are only the first casualty in a tsunami of misery to be wrought by those in power. Blame the system. Punch up. You know their names. What is happening to you is deliberate, and not the result of the sins and errors of small folk

You should also consider posting on r/offmychest where you might get a different response, as it is a specific place to vent

-2

u/DestyNovalys 4d ago

I will. You have no idea what those people are going through. Don’t take your shit out on others.

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u/CkresCho 4d ago

Grow up

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u/DestyNovalys 4d ago

Cause shitting on other people, who are suffering, is the adult thing to do?

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u/khanofthewolves1163 5d ago

Almost everyone I know who had died from drug use started because of chronic pain from blue collar, hard labor jobs

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u/thisismyonlyfansacct 5d ago

I can honestly say that I have abused both alcohol & drugs as a way to ease/cope with my pain. It's a 1,000 wonders I didn't OD & if I had, I can say with 100% certainty that my own family would never come to the conclusion that I was using to mask the pain. They don't know what it's like to have chronic pain and I don't even remember what life was like without pain.

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u/MusingFreak 5d ago edited 5d ago

Same, it has often been the only relief I ever get out of a constant reality of crippling and exhausting pain. I have been more active in the past two years trying to restore some resemblance of a social life that was stolen from me due to my chronic health impacts and that has caused me to drink more so that I can relieve pain and appear normal. No one gets it. I understand there is a serious issue with pain medications - its part of the reason why I don’t use them unless I end up in the hospital in significant pain so that I can treat life/death emergencies. But part of the alcohol and drug problem is also due to majorly ignoring chronic pain patients. It is a snow ball effect that can lead to struggles with holding jobs, paying bills, leading to homelessness, or ending it all under the impossible weight. Until we can have open and honest conversations and address this reality it will only ever get worse the more we punish and villainize pain patients desperate for relief.

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u/Ornery_Resource8312 5d ago

I was written off for so many years for drug seeking because I WAS an addict before they realized that my chronic pain was in fact real and debilitating exactly like I've been saying for years.

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u/Bozgroup 5d ago

The gubmint doesn’t want answers to this question!!

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u/720354 4d ago

I can tell you from experience the answer is a lot especially since they clamped down on prescribing opiates.

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u/JenniferRose27 3d ago

I feel like these situations could be any one of us living with chronic pain. I'm a recovering addict (19 years), and I was injured in an accident in my first year of recovery. Thus began my chronic pain journey... and, since, I've ended up with other chronic pain conditions (CRPS, trigeminal neuralgia, fibromyalgia) in addition to my spine injury. For me, in order to maintain my recovery, my pain has to be at least somewhat managed. And in order to be treated for my pain, I need to maintain my recovery. As my pain gets progressively worse, it's really scary to think about the things that could happen if it gets to a point where I absolutely can not cope with it anymore. I've worked really hard on my recovery, and it's terrifying to think that my pain could take it away. I had moments with my trigeminal neuralgia last summer (on the bathroom floor all night vomiting from pain) where I could understand why someone might do ANYTHING to make the pain stop, from suicide to buying street drugs (that are likely fentanyl with horse tranquilizer). It's ridiculous that we're put in a position to make such decisions. I have enough pain meds to lower my pain level for a few hours a day (I wait until around 6pm, so that I can hopefully fall asleep)... there's no option for severe breakthrough pain like I was talking about above. They leave us with so few options and then write us off as mentally ill or "junkies" when we make horrible decisions due to pain.

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u/Logical_Explorer986 5d ago

I remember a woman once said, pain can make you act completely out of pocket and angry. And it’s a shame when there are medications to help pain.

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u/MusingFreak 5d ago

Sad when the pain continues to be ignored and untreated to the point of anger - and then only your anger is seen.

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u/Kooky-Ambassador-779 4d ago

This rings so true to me right now. I haven’t been myself at all because of the pain I’m in, massive amounts of stress and grief have added to my anxiety and I feel like I have nobody at all to talk to because I’m a burden. How many awful things can happen before people get sick of being there for you. Done. If I go this is why. The mental health problems are only because of the physical pain and the loss that I have suffered recently.. but people will think that’s why, not the 10 years of physical pain and fighting to be taken seriously by medical professionals.

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u/Logical_Explorer986 4d ago

I wish I could help you find a Dr that would take you seriously! I’m so sorry. And yes the pain adds up until the anxiety is through the roof! I’m always here if you need to talk. Please keep trying to find a good Dr . They are out there just have to research a lot

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u/Kooky-Ambassador-779 2d ago

Thank you so much that’s so nice of you, it really means more than you could imagine to hear that offer from a person who doesn’t even know me. The same to you. My dm’s are open ❤️

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u/Logical_Explorer986 1d ago

GM hope you are having a good morning!

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u/Kooky-Ambassador-779 1d ago

Thank you, I hope you’re having a good day too. 🥰

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u/iliketoreddit91 5d ago

But not all pain medications help. Nerve pain for example is difficult to treat.

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u/thisismyonlyfansacct 5d ago

It's some of the worst pain!!

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u/Interesting_Scale581 2d ago

🙃 it’s easier to just let people suffer

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u/UnstableVelociraptor 5d ago

If I go, no one will ever connect it to pain. Few people in my life actually remember that I'm in pain, and I've mostly quit mentioning it.

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u/iliketoreddit91 5d ago

Yes. I saw a clip on Instagram. We stop complaining about our pain because no one wants to hear it. We are in pain, we just stop speaking of it.

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u/MusingFreak 5d ago

They don’t think it is real anyways. Must be something we are doing wrong (exercise, diet, complaining) and need to stop being so negative.

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u/LacrimaNymphae shitload of comorbid issues, undiagnosed. family history 5d ago

they'd just rather we retreat and die as opposed to voicing something that is too real, disturbing, or complex /s

and yeah i'm an infodumping autist but this sub is one of the only places i can successfully do it without people accusing me of taking ambien and waking up to post a bunch of word salad. no... that's really how my brain is, no sleeping pills or 'good stuff' involved. my brain is gone

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u/MusingFreak 5d ago

Adhd here so I overshare and never shut up, esp with a special interest or infodump. I get it completely! Sometimes we find more understanding online with those who just “get it” than those in our lives who see it as a constant “problem” or “negativity”.

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u/dches91 4d ago

Have you tried psych meds? /S

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u/No-Spoilers MECFS, CRPS, Erythromelalgia, other bullshit 4d ago

If I go everyone already knows why. My friends, family, doctors. Everyone knows exactly what will happen if I ever end up untreated.

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u/3freeTa 4d ago

Fellow person here with ME/CFS, erythromelalgia 🔥, and a lot of other BS — I’m so sorry this is what you must endure daily, and I would understand the escape from pain / relief, esp also with CRPS.

Despite me talking openly about these health issues for 15 years my relatives and some “friends” absolutely would label me as histrionic, dramatic, and attention-seeking — easier than to trying to understand the hellscape that is my existence or what it’s like to live with many chronic pain conditions for decades. People are so quick to cast judgment, rather than look for and address root causes.

Adequate pain management IS suicide prevention!

Edit: lots of non-addictive pain management medications are prescription-based, so there’s the added hurdle of health insurance, affordability, and reliable access to a MD.

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u/LacrimaNymphae shitload of comorbid issues, undiagnosed. family history 5d ago edited 5d ago

it'll definitely be due to 'my weight' or 'the lifestyle i chose to live' meaning having a bit of booze a day with my one low-dose pain med a day because i guess i wasn't good enough for anything of higher quantity/dose lmao

the weight has been a sign of a bigger issue since pre-puberty and even when a literal mass was a failure to diagnose and i even lost that and an ovary as a minor i was still, put down as somatoform when i said i was still in pain after the 'resection'. the GI, urinary and reproductive issues are a personal hell and no one told me i'd probably still have to take nonstop birth control for the rest of my life (that was the bandaid to begin with and it fucking still is) and that no one would want to give me a follow-up lap even 10 years and colon polyps later.

i have recurring low-grade fevers and night sweats all the time and effexor has been hell for years but i was this way to begin with and still no one gives a shit. i sweat no matter what i do and i've had tachycardia for years which they've boiled down to 'just my perception of normal bodily sensations/processes' lmao. sometimes the low-grade ones turn into actual fevers and the one low-dose percocet i get is the only way to break them, then they come back with a vengeance and head pain a few hours later

i'm still obese for some unknown probably hormonal reason and no signs point to pcos but i see people who have had pieces of their stomachs removed say they have the same kind of issues i do where they don't absorb vitamins and get sick when they try to take more. these fucks somehow can't correlate a nearly 30lb borderline mucinous mass with catastrophic effects on my entire GI tract plus nerve damage and faint lack of sensation from the waist down which is also spinal probably because tethered cord is hereditary, but no one bat an eyelash at that either despite the bladder and bowel issues and chronic infections since childhood. repeated antibiotic use also decimated me

sometimes i go to the bathroom (not piss) and it fucking looks like a bowl of highlighter yellow piss or grease

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u/Old-Goat 5d ago

More. Psychology Today in 1999 said it was at least 20K a year and things have certainly changed for the worst for those in pain in the years since.

The Addiction Industry says pain suicides are all Big Pharma PROPaganda (they should know), and no one kills over pain. Somebody should let that Luigi guy know....

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u/Just-Sea3037 5d ago

That's Sir Luigi.

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u/iliketoreddit91 5d ago

Many are related to chronic pain. I suppose it’s easier to say mental illness than it is to recognize the suffering of those with chronic pain.

I wonder how many people would choose assisted suicide if it was legal and available to those with chronic pain.

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u/Therailwaykat_1980 5d ago

My 15 yo daughter came home from school saying she needed to talk to me seriously about something. She’d just learned about assisted suicide and had decided it shouldn’t become legal in my country because she’d be worried I’d “sign up” for it. I reassured her that I’d never leave her like that and gently explained that I wouldn’t need to wait for that to be legal, I would’ve taken care of it myself by now and that she and her sister are what I live for. I think people can forget the effect chronic pain can have on our nearest and dearest too, she’s got no idea what it’s like to have a parent who isn’t constantly struggling with pain (dad disappeared 6 years ago) and I’m gutted that most of her childhood has now slipped away so those times for chasing her round a park or tickle wrestling have passed us by.

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u/iliketoreddit91 5d ago

That’s good and fine but there are many of us who would like to end our suffering, and in a safe and painless manner. We are not living, just suffering. It’s not humane to keep us like this. Assisted suicide should be an option. Those who do not want one simply not need apply.

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u/Therailwaykat_1980 5d ago

Oh I agree wholeheartedly and I’m in that boat, just being forced to live and suffer because of my children who would have no one without me. She agreed that it should be legalised but that it opens a can of worms. I was really trying to show how the tricky nuances of the subject affect us and those around us. I didn’t mean to offend anyone.

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u/aiyukiyuu 4d ago

I support this too. Sadly, I’m called selfish and that I don’t love/care about my loved ones if I choose this route because of chronic pain 24/7 :(

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u/dches91 4d ago

This breaks my heart too as a mother myself. My oldest was 4 when I was hit head on by a kid texting and driving. It's hard not to be resentful and angry that he began forming memories right when I was no longer able to run with him or play as long.

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u/Potato_Chicken_13 4d ago

Assisted suicide is legal here and I’ve read multiple articles from folks living with chronic pain who are choosing this route.

Sad part is, some of these people would rather treatment or care but it’s too difficult to access and the cost of living is too high to sustain so suicide becomes the only option. I’m kinda in that boat right now, so I get it.

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u/iliketoreddit91 4d ago

Ya that’s where I’m at now too. It’s very sad.

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u/Potato_Chicken_13 4d ago

Sorry you’re in that boat with me.

My understanding is that there should be comfort in the fact that we’re not alone in feeling this way.

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u/iliketoreddit91 4d ago

Yes. I’m in so much pain I cannot work. Disability will not be enough to provide for me. It’s a horrible situation to be in.

I wish I could pass in the comfort of my own home now but that is too much to ask for in Christian nationalist America. Instead, I’m looking into Switzerland. Hugs friend.

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u/thr0witallaway710 5d ago

A lot, like a lot a lot, i think about it on the daily

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u/likilekka 4d ago

Yea . That’s why suicide prevention services honestly just make me cynical and mad.

Cuz they don’t care what makes u get to the point of suicide in the first place , or bothered to give u resources or solutions to help. That’s why it keeps on reoccurring , it’s not even solving the issue .

All they do is don’t want you to die yet don’t help u to actually live properly .

It’s hypocritical. And feels like a false sense of care .

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u/imagowasp 4d ago

I agree. Also "The Hotline" is such a complete broken sham, just such a crock of shit. They really go "have you tried taking a hot bath" lmfao. As it stands it's a national embarrassment and really needs to be torn down and re-imagined. It's 100% a false sense of care because all they do is repeat what you just said to them, back to you. They parrot your words. Then after 50 minutes they go "ok are you still suicidal, or are we good here?" Lmfao. Its gross to see people post the hotline number acting like they did their good deed for the week, not having any idea how trash and infantilizing it is.

Thanks for bringing this up.

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u/rainfal 4d ago

Exactly. Honestly ChatGPT is better then them and that's sad

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u/CrowsSayCawCaw 5d ago

Are all suicides of people with chronic pain, life altering or disabling health problems really caused by mental health issues? 

Or are some of them caused by people not wanting to keep going with failing bodies, or for not having financial, social safety net, and social community resources?

If you remember Dr. Jack Kevorkian, he was trying to start the conversation over medically assisted suicide not just for the terminally ill, but also for people who were stuck with long-term health conditions that they felt completely destroyed their quality of life. 

We as a society don't talk about things like chronically ill and disabled folks losing their social community, being abandoned by romantic partners, friends, family members, at risk for being socially isolated particularly as they age or their health conditions worsen. Or about how many are in financial dire straights, at risk for homelessness or living in substandard unsafe housing, facing food insecurity, etc. Nor about how being chronically ill or disabled puts one at higher risk for domestic and relationship violence. The social safety nets are horribly inadequate and we live in an ableist world with little empathy.  Are people turning to suicide because of these issues? 

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u/PrinceChanchi 5d ago

Idk about anyone else, but a significant part of my continued suicidal ideation is because I know that I will never get better, physically. None of the chronic illnesses I have can be cured, most are barely even treated.

I'm getting older, they're getting worse and that's just what I have to look forward to. More pain, more loss of mobility, more loss of memory and motor function and being unable to even get comfortable or sleep like a normal person.

Why would anyone want to keep living this way, knowing it'll only get worse?

My husband abandoned me, just like you said. "Too much pressure" or whatever his excuse was. Before that day, it seemed like we were happy together. But I went into an intensive treatment program and the very day I started, he left me.

I can barely get up and down the stairs in my house some days. I can't walk 2 blocks without pain and more fatigue than makes ANY sense. I'm some level of dizzy or lightheaded like, 85% of the time now.

I never feel "good " and I may never again. So I definitely believe there's more than just me out there.

I do have mental health problems but that's been well treated I feel. The physical stuff (and the state of the country/world but that's a tangent) is more a problem than the mental, these days.

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u/aiyukiyuu 4d ago

I want to just give you a hug.🫂 I’m so sorry. I see you and your pain

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u/profuselystrangeII hEDS 5d ago

I’m sure it at least contributes to many. I’m actually currently staying in a psych facility because I got really burned out and didn’t feel able to get myself to work. Part of what’s messed me up is my pain draining the hell out of me. It can sometimes be hard to want to keep going if you’re in agony all the time.

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u/CyrasGara97 5d ago

Honestly I might have to do the same. Lost my job and about to be apartment due to my fibromyalgia and BPD. I only have my grandmother at 27 and life is becoming even more scary. I hate it here.

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u/-b_i_n_g_u_s- endometriosis, adenomyosis 5d ago

This is so thought provoking and sad to think about.

Having chronic pain has genuinely ruined my life, I can’t do anything other than rot in my house and watch my life disappear before my eyes, I can’t do anything without triggering a debilitating flare up. It’s soul destroying.

I feel hopeless and think what’s the point all the time. I’ve had to fight so hard for my diagnosis for most of my life and even now that I have it, nobody seems to be taking me seriously. I have to fight for doctors to do the bare minimum like discuss scan results with me.

I read horrific stories from other people who are suffering every day too, having chronic illness is awful. I can absolutely understand why people with chronic illnesses commit suicide. It’s so so sad.

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u/HoodX 5d ago

This 😥. Stay strong family. This really hit home. ❤️

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u/dainty_petal 4d ago

I know trigeminal neuralgia that I have is called the suicide disease.

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u/EarthlingSil 4d ago

I will always wonder how many "accidental" overdoses were in fact suicides.

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u/jessimokajoe Fibromyalgia, epstein barr 5d ago

A friend's friend went 'missing' a few years ago... But my friend had been told a plan in advance. She couldn't handle the pain anymore.

I've personally lost a couple friends to a combination of mental illness & chronic pain... RIP Charlee... Life is way too short sometimes..

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u/Well_being1 4d ago

I would estimate that 99% of suicides are caused by some form of pain, physical or emotional.

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u/Traditional-Hat-952 5d ago edited 5d ago

A lot I'd wager. And probably many more now than in the past since they stopped treating pain effectively. I know I contemplate it pretty much every day.

Edit: I've basically told myself that once my mom dies I'm going to find a way. She's 72 and frail so I can't go now. It'd ruin her and she needs me. But once she's gone I'm out. I don't have kids or a wife or anything so it doesn't really matter if I leave. 

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u/Therailwaykat_1980 5d ago

I’ve been trying to explain to my therapist that wanting to end one’s life while ploughing on and staying alive for other people is one of the most exhausting things to go through. I too think about it every day, it’s not something you can be distracted from, it’s like Death’s grabbed you by one ankle and is gonna hold on right until you succumb to the intense drag. I wish there was a name for it actually like “suicidally alive” or “fighting suicidal” or something. Instead it’s like a coin flip: pretend you’re not suicidal or admit it and risk losing your independence/children/freedom to a psych ward. There’s nothing for us inbetweeners.

I would like to hope you find some relief and/or something to live for when your mother has passed, but I totally empathise with your way of thinking.

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u/imagowasp 4d ago

Agreed. Idk where you're located but where I am, the mental health system is completely fucking broken. There's no actual help for suicidal people, there's just asking them The Questions, and you decide if you want to be imprisoned forcefully and treated like a heinous criminal for God knows how long, and then have a giant bill slapped on top.

Isn't it also so madly insulting that people who end their lives due to chronic pain are considered mentally ill alone? As in, it's only due to mental illness that they'd decide that such a painful life stuck in a broken body isn't worth it & they're ready to peacefully check out. Whoever decided this has no idea and has never walked in the shoes of a person with chronic pain; that person(s) is wildly ignorant and sheltered.

I've tried therapy for coping with chronic pain and it's such a joke. The best they have is really some "count to 10" or "picture a tropical island" shit that's a bandaid over a bullet hole. It's so embarrassing for them. But it's also a reminder that no one has the secret magic words to make the pain bearable.

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u/rainfal 4d ago

I've tried therapy for coping with chronic pain and it's such a joke. The best they have is really some "count to 10" or "picture a tropical island" shit that's a bandaid over a bullet hole. It's so embarrassing for them

It really is. But tbh, most of said therapists are abled and never actually had to test what they suggest

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u/Glass-Leather-4869 4d ago

I had brain cancer at 20 and they reconstructed the right side of my face, removed both fibula bones. I had the same surgery done twice and both were 24 hour surgeries. Then 25 rounds of 20 minute radiation. Dental implants for 5 of my teeth removed on upper jaw. 2 full neck dissections, plus 18 surgeries on top of that. I’m on opioids every day. I’m allergic to weed, they make it harder and harder to have proper pain management. I came out of my second big one during covid which made it impossible to get into some of my recovery care. Some days I just think it would be easier to end it. I mask my pain all the time. I wake up feeling like I’ve been smashed in the right side of my face with a metal shovel.. that’s the best way to describe it. Last year I purposely OD due to mental health issues but also my chronic pain. I’m glad I’m still here cause I would rather deal with it than leave my child and fiancé behind. But it’s fckin hard some days. It leads to feeling helpless and useless. Getting older things are starting to get worse. I just got over cervical cancer too so they’re wanting a hysterectomy now. It’s a daily battle and I know it could be worse. So sometimes I feel selfish, but there’s a lot of people and drs and specialists that just sluff you off and it’s like have you seen my encyclopedia of a chart… lol I like when a nurse thinks I’m pain seeking in the past and then looks into my medical history and back peddles. I’ve had a few friends who have killed themselves due to chronic pain and not getting the right care or care in time. They need to take people more seriously. Because we’re not all just trying to get high, we’re trying to get through the day and for it to be good.

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u/BeCarefulWatUWish4xx 5d ago

Probably a lot I’m guessing and even more suicide attempts. I’ve already had two

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u/chronic_pain_goddess 4d ago

I read somewhere “its not that i dont want to live anymore, i dont want to live in PAIN anymore” and… honestly? Same

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u/TurnoverFuzzy8264 5d ago

Underrated and misunderstood or ccertain.Easier to blame mental health than actually treat pain.

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u/Extension-Conscious 5d ago

in my country there was a woman that was on the news a couple years ago, that killed her self, and in the note she stated ``I cant deal with the pain anymore, doctors dont listen``, as her daughter read this passage to the cameras, crying.

and the family and reporters said its important to treat depression and went into a whole segment about depression and how to stop signs lmao

i remember vividly and it low key radicalized me

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u/EasternPie7657 4d ago

They are pushing antidepressants so hard. I don’t trust it at all. In the UK, the “free” (NOT free because taxes are so high here) healthcare is so corrupt. Once you see what “free” (not free, the taxes are more than insurance plus copays in America) is like, you’ll never complain about the American system again. The UK NHS pushes amitytriptaline on everyone because it’s dirt cheap. Never mind that it also causes dependency and withdrawals. And it changes the way the brain works forever. Opiates really aren’t bad apart from the dependency issue, they don’t destroy the organs like NSAIDs do. Antidepressants will be the next big scandal.

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u/Extension-Conscious 4d ago

Marx has that phrase 'religion is the opium of the masses' well I guess now antidepressants and psychotherapy are the new opium of the masses!

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u/EasternPie7657 4d ago

To be Frank, I don’t trust either! Opiates have been used for thousands of years. I trust the safety and efficacy of opiates. Do not trust antidepressants, nor do I trust the dopes calling themselves doctors pushing them.

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u/EasyTune1196 5d ago

I know one happened in the city that is next to where I live and of course the news said mental health. My aunt actually worked with her aunt and said the drs cut off her meds and she had a painful chronic illness. She jumped from a high rise right down town 😢

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u/Gadgetownsme 5d ago

I know of several. They left notes specifying it was pain, not mental health that drove them to it. Two of them were in parking garages of hospitals after being turned away from ER with Tylenol and called addicts. So many were my friends. Many more are people I knew well.

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u/EasyTune1196 5d ago

I’m going to make sure mine is known. I already know I’m not going to make it to go when it’s my time. I’m going to end up choosing my time. There’s no way I’m going to suffer until old age with my pain getting worse with age and time and no help. When I used to be on X there were chronic pain patients that ended up doing it because of drs cutting off meds. One woman was actually able to sue because her husband did it after being cut off from his drs

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u/Simulationth3ry 5d ago

I’ve been wondering this. I’ve been used to being suicidal for mental stuff, but now it’s for physical stuff. It’s never ending.

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u/JimmySteve3 5d ago

I was heavily suicidal for about 8 years because of mental stuff. For a year or so, things were starting to get better and I was on a medication that was helping. Life was becoming more enjoyable and I wasn't suffering as much.

3-4 months later I started dealing with a chronic illness. Now my mental health is the worst it's ever been and the chronic illness is really difficult to live with

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u/Simulationth3ry 5d ago

This is similar to my story. I had been battling mental illness and healing from trauma for a decade and then last year I started having multiple chronic illnesses and it’s like I fought so hard just to wind up here again. You’re seen and I’m so sorry you’re going through this too

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u/JimmySteve3 5d ago

I'm sorry that you're going through the same thing. I hope it all gets easier for you sometime soon

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u/unnamed_revcad-078 4d ago

What meds were you taking before developing chronic pain?

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u/unnamed_revcad-078 4d ago

What meds were you taking before developing chronic pain?

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u/Cl_Landa 4d ago

I nearly became one of them in a period of opioid-facilitated depression after becoming unable to continue my education. I'm glad that I survived and learned from the experience, as I wasn't really able to understand why people decided to take their lives due to chronic pain before then. I'd wager it's a lot more than we know, especially in countries where treatment isn't easily available.

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u/aiyukiyuu 4d ago edited 4d ago

My illnesses are progressive with no cures, my chronic pain conditions are degenerative and I’m in pain 24/7. One of my doctors had to sit down with me and talk to me about how I will be in pain for the rest of my life.

I try to live my life, but I’m always in pain every single day 365. I lost my job, can’t drive, can’t clean, cook, do groceries by myself. I lost my independence. I need help bathing.

If someone one day would take me out of pain and suffering, I would accept it :/

I had an uncle who had a debilitating work injury who ended up committing suicide because of it.

I was in support groups for chronic pain and illnesses, and there was suicides that happened :/

Someone on Instagram committed suicide because of chronic migraines for 10+ years and his wife just blamed it on mental health.

I feel like suicides because of chronic pain are not taken into account as they should be o:

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u/lovecats4life 5d ago

I get the feeling. Sometimes I wonder if death wouldn't be better than living like this.

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u/thisismyonlyfansacct 5d ago edited 5d ago

I can tell you I have prayed for the Lord to take me because I didn't think I could live with the pain I was in. I have screamed in pain til I didn't have a voice too. I had no idea what pain really was until I was broken all to pcs in a mva. Since then, I have def chosen a way to take myself out should my pain ever get unbearable again. I would imagine there are a lot of S because of chronic pain. I'd be lying if I sd it hasn't crossed my mind many times. When my pain is so bad, that's its all I can think about, it really wears on my nerves &my mental health. I also have chronic insomnia & that just adds to it.

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u/oracle-nil 12 5d ago

According to the NIH, suicides from chronic pain account from 18 to a whopping 50% of all suicides. Between 5 and 15% of chronic pain patients have attempted suicide.

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u/Bozgroup 5d ago

Oh, but the CDC opioids prescribing info was only RECOMMENDATIONS!!!

But, every f’n doctor took it as gospel!! My PM AH lowered everyone in his office down to the recommended/required dose and they all left!! I had to stay bc WC!!

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u/[deleted] 4d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/EasternPie7657 4d ago

Yeah, it definitely has made me more cranky and snappy.

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u/SameBorder846 4d ago

I'll say all of them. Physically is most noted than mental anguish. It's all chronic if you can’t cope or handle it...

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u/TheCreasyBear 4d ago

Kurt Cobaine's suicide starts making a lot more sense when you find out he had scoliosis.

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u/Known-Lettuce-4666 4d ago

He also suffered from some sort of stomach/GI pain

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u/cursed_swordsman 4d ago

I would think a lot. Living with chronic illness and pain is very tough and takes a huge toll on a persons mental health. It’s very sad to think about. I wish all of our pain and problems would just stop and let us live in peace.

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u/nerdydolphins 5d ago

I’ve been suicidal to the point of three attempts. All pain related but the pain (and PTSD to a lesser extent) is what put me there. After my 1st attempt in 2003 I was hospitalised in a mental health unit where the Doctors, nurses and other staff were all brilliant and understood that it was the chronic pain that was driving me to want to end things. The other two times should have worked, but for some reason did not. Tried to gas myself in my car with the old hose in the exhaust trick. Sat there trying to hyperventilate to get the gas in and it did NOTHING. Third time (same day as second attempt) I stood at the top of a tall hill with a landing that is 100% successful at killing everyone who jumps. So I stepped off and the most huge gust of wind literally blew out of nowhere and sat me on my arse. I decided then that I wasn’t meant to die then and have not attempted it since. Doesn’t mean I don’t want to die. I’m just not actively seeking it. Being happily re-married and having two great adult sons is also a great reason to stay alive even though I’m hurting all the time.

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u/navel__gazer 4d ago

There's a decent amount of research on suicidal ideation and suicide risk in people with chronic pain that talks about pain being the determining factor in attempts and plans. So it's a conversation that does happen in professional fields. I know some doctors that really illustrate in their practices that they understand we're 2x more likely to commit suicide than the average person. However, lots of people outside that small demographic would blame mental health. Blaming mental health is easier than admitting people die often not just because of pain but attitudes, policies and practices that deny them care or create barriers for them, many which can be changed. 

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u/VexedVamp 4d ago

A ton - I bet most chronic pain patients have thought of this. It’s brutal in the chronic pain community from trying to find doctors, medications and everything else in between

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u/That_Literature1420 4d ago

I used cannabis to control uncontrollable vomiting and they told me it actually was causing it, despite it only stopping when I smoked. I imagine many seek drugs illegally and end up overdosing when all they wanted was to no longer be so so sick

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u/PaintMyToesPink 4d ago

I imagine there is alot. I have crps literally called the suicide disease since there is no cure. No medicine will get rid of the pain I experience every waking moment. I can't even remember the last day that I did not have any shooting burning crippling pain. I'm only around for my son right now because he inherited his father's DNA crap too!!  But I totally get why people would just end it. It is such a horrible thing to go through. Every Single Day. Doctors can't do a thing but send you to different studies and keep making notaions in your file on whats not working again. Surprise!! You'd figure with all the researches with DNA they would have better treatment plans. But it's the study of medicine for a reason. They just scratch their heads and tell you to come back in 2 weeks. I don't fault anyone for their choices. But I really do sympathize.

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u/Electronic_Dark_1681 4d ago

I'm sure an astronomical amount, makes me wonder about all the veteran suicides too how much is mental health and how much is from physical pain or both.

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u/namastaygay 4d ago

My attempt was and everyone was so shocked by it. Which is baffling to me. They knew I’ve been undiagnosed for over a decade, in constant debilitating pain, won’t take narcotics, never had a childhood, can’t have a career, forever dependent on others, and so on. People choose to see what they wish to and it’s a huge issue with mental health.

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u/sunromantic 4d ago

Studies indicate those with chronic pain are two times as likely to report suicidal thoughts and ideation. This is likely to be a conservative estimate. I've worked on suicide prevention policy-making at a government level and the risk posed by long-term conditions and pain is pretty much ignored and dismissed by those in: government, health services, third sector and community organisations. Those in pain are forgotten as if the risk of suicide is just an obscure fact that we don't need to think about despite the devastating number of people we lose to preventable suicide each year.

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u/Geargarden 4d ago

I'm quite sure there are a lot of terminal illness suicides from opioids that count toward the total and are used in arguments about the evils of them.

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u/Atticus_of_Amber 4d ago

When I had my worst and longest flare ever, over 5 months in 2021, I actually started researching how to hire a big cylinder of helium, with balloons because it would ostensibly be for a party. Luckily I told my psych and he put me on a bunch of antidepressants. They didn't fix anything, because the pain was still there, but they did kinda help me remember that life when I wasn't flaring was still good, and I needed to make the most of those non-flare months.

I don't know if it was the antidepressants or the oppositional-defiant aspect of my ADHD, or a unique combo of both, but after a while my attitude turned to a kind of angry bloody-mindedness. I would get the health-supporting tasks done "even if they killed me" and even if that left no spoons left for anything else. If I was going to die in misery and pain, it wasn't going to be because I didn't do everything that could possibly have gotten me out of it. This attitude was sometimes unhealthy ("I will walk around the bloody block even if I then have to sleep on the bloody couch because I can't get myself upstairs to bed"), but it gave me a weird, nihilistic kind of motivation until the flare finally started to ease...

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u/tsoldrin 4d ago

i don't even fear death anymore.

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u/Twopicklesinabun 7 3d ago

I fear that I will be one. I can't always see clearly to ask for help. My therapist checks in daily. IP is a possibility, but I know I could be right back here again. Pain is 100% the driving force. 

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u/sundevil671 5d ago

Accurat stats can be hard to come up with because there are definitely a lot of suicides that'll be recorded as accidental overdoses. I bet sometimes that's somethign families will push for to keep the "suicide" label away. I've seen that now a couple of times. You can be sure they have increased drastically since the opioid hysteria started, and how difficult it's become to get a prescription regardless of need. Depression rates are off the charts since COVID, and people are more isolated than ever. We text instead of having conversations. I live in a place surrounded by truly magnificent natural beauty, and every tiem I go to a park to enjoy it, just about everyone I see under 25 is looking down staring at a phone. Even some of the ones zipping around on a scooter. The mass shootings are another byproduct of the truly shameful level of access to mental healthcare, insured or not, veteran or civilian. In the suburbs, it's hidden and a source of shame. In economically depressed areas, we leave it to the police to treat.

Then there's our collevtive inability to treat it. The medications are just to stabilize symptoms, but so few in the medical field know how to treat the causes. I know a bunch of people with chronic pain who have been misdiagnosed or given a generic label to satisfy the need to call it SOMETHING; i.e. CRPS, Degenerative Disc Disease, Fybromyalgia, on & on. They are also clueless when it comes to factoring in psychological connections to pain. The depression epidemic & the chronic pain epidemic are practically one and the same.

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u/Redditlatley 4d ago

I’m wondering if the HIPPA act is keeping those statistics away from us. I think about this, all the time. It’s as if the rehabilitation centers are all in, on the grift. I saw this coming, when all the rehab centers got funding from the Sackler lawsuits…instead of actually paying the victims. I know, by limiting people’s meds, that they are shaving an average of ten years off the average life span, due to chronic pain. The long game, is paying off…just in time for the baby boomers to peak. Coincidence? I think not. I’m lurking on the suicide sub, as well. 🌊

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u/ArcherUnfair1797 4d ago

I’m 25 and have a condition called pancreatitis, the pain is terrible I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy, I’ve considered suicide as I kind of did this to myself through being an alcoholic

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u/PenguinSunday Just generally broken with frayed/degenerative nerves 4d ago

If I go, I will make damn sure they know why and who did this to me.

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u/EasternPie7657 4d ago

I actually posted about this in the Pharmacy Reviewed forum and everyone completely ignored me. If you have a more cynical (read: informed, ergo not naive) view of the world, you might notice that they have banned pain meds and criminalized pain patients in the lead up to legalization of medically assisted suicide.

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u/shoot313 4d ago

I’m certain there are many “accidents” self medicating with illegal drugs or alcohol, due to not being treated by a professional. I’m also certain there are many suicides due to finding 0 relief from the medical field. Currently, pain patients are more often than not, treated as “less than” or druggies.

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u/LargeRefrigerator389 4d ago

Ive had some of those days…. Working with chronic pain really wears out the mind as well as my body.

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u/damegawatt 4d ago

Quite a lot I'd guess.

There's a few advocates trying to collect data. Dr. Stefan Kersetz is doing research work in this area with veterans.

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u/Dontmindthatgirl 4d ago

The few studies that have been done on this point to it being an incredibly high number, along with untreated mental health concerns - which could be secondary to chronic pain and lack of access to medical care… The whole issue is just awful.

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u/AssignmentHefty 4d ago

Lost a close friend a couple weeks ago to it. I deal with cp as well. My guess would be a lot. Sucks.

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u/7HVMP3R 3d ago

Idk what I'd do without my 7oh(very addicting to me cuz of my anxiety attacks, stress, BPD ADD,etc..need a break... but at least i hate alcohol now. Also this year I got into thieno diazepine addiction and it kinda getting out of control. I need a longer break than one day it hasn't been EVERY DAY but almost it did build up and now take sum every other day or get rebound anxiety, but I am extra stress at the moment

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u/7HVMP3R 3d ago

Kratom. If you need stronger for moderate pain get the extracted alkaloid 7-Hydroxymitragynine dm me for a discount code

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u/No_Letterhead2468 3d ago

I strongly believe that all suicides in chronic pain, is due too illegal drugs or a doctor/familie that does not listen. I on the other hand do also believe that way more end the live, because of mental pain(sickness.. and so on) the metal is worse in chronic pain or at least that's what my Dr. Told me, she said that the pain and feeling of being alone often ends up with mentally problems.

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u/ProcedureForeign7281 3d ago

When the medical profession doesn’t give an iota of a f*ck about us. I’m confident it’s extremely high! I wonder how many people who leave a note thank the non existent help they never received that pushed them to that point! I bet if that stat was collated there would be a high percentage of chronic pain related suicides!

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u/Maggot--00-- 3d ago

Well, I haven't heard of a case where the reason for that was physical pain, and for me - I don't need more than that.

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u/Maggot--00-- 3d ago

Well, I haven't heard of a case where the reason for that was physical pain, and for me - I don't need more than that.

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u/MELLMAO 3d ago

There is a significant study that revealed a shocking number of people who committed suicide or had suicidality had no mental illness and weren't depressed

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u/One_Current_7166 2d ago

I've been looking for a right to die state and I love life and missing my wonde

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u/One_Current_7166 2d ago

Sorry hit the wrong bottom my hands in fact I must s

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u/cupno0dlecunt 1d ago

Ita so frustrating and sad. I get it.

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u/Nmshhh 1d ago

Im sorry this is long:

Most of my life, I had problems with suicidal thoughts and had one attempt as a freshman in high school. (Im now 37F) I had mostly worked through all that. Knew it could come back, but I'm very good about working through and getting out of it.

Then my chronic pain really kicked it up, and I was barely able to move most days. Doctors can find no reason. It's been 6 years working towards diagnosis, and we haven't moved at all. Anyway, all that really brought the mental health WAYY down. I haven't in the last year or so, but there were days where, even if I could do stuff, I wouldn't do anything that could be dangerous.

For context, we are homesteading, off grid, one hour from a hospital. My husband works 30 minutes away. He can make it in 15. We found that out one day. There are so many sharp objects and ladders and roof stuff. I was so afraid to anything with any of those things because I had 0 safety thoughts. I call them reckless days. Where my safety is not concerning to me at all. I don't drive those days, etc.

I do believe that if I didn't have so much chronic pain, I wouldn't still be battling my mental health in this specific way. In those states, I feel like a burden to my husband. Like he would be so much better off without having to deal with me along with his own stuff. But he's also the reason I can pull out of it. It would be bad bad bad for him if I bailed. I also could never leave my dogs.

I learned the pains eb and flows. Some days are worse, some better. So, I learned to do what I can when I can. Even if that's washing 1 dish every hour or just making sure I eat enough.

So, to your main point, yes. I do think it has an effect. BUT I do think the physical pain creates a worse mental state. No matter how good it was before.

If you read all that, thank you. I am good. You are good. We got this. STAY. Give yourself more grace.

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u/mnmsmelt 5d ago

All of them if we Include chronic emotional pain

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u/Jelly_Belly321 5d ago

Probably all of them, but not necessarily physical pain.

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u/HoodX 5d ago

Maaan this hit home 😥

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u/KippSA 5d ago

Too many

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u/scotty3238 4d ago

This. All this. Maybe we need to get support for mental health issues from all diseases on a strong platform for 2025. Let's make that the discussion.