Summary Of Distinguishing Dependence From Addiction By Susan Peck

The article I have chosen to focus on is titled Distinguishing Dependence From Addiction by Susan Peck from the Clinician Reviews (Peck, 2017). Peck begins by divulging to the readers that she has cancer. Thus, she is able to provide first hand knowledge of the frustration one often encounters when trying to effectively manage one’s pain. Peck is an Advanced Certified Addiction Registered Nurse, having worked 15 years in a substance abuse clinic, substantiating the opinions, facts, and research presented by Peck as credible. Peck distinguishes the difference between addiction and dependence, explaining that dependence is different from addiction in that dependence results in physiological withdrawal symptoms, while addiction is strictly a mental

The behaviors of an addict and a person in pain are found to be generally the same, for instance a sense of urgency and anxiety about getting the medications which in turn helps explain the main problem Peck is addressessing in this article being that people who are in real pain aren’t getting the medications they need because of the stigma, prejudice, and ignorance surrounding painkillers. Additionally, Peck expands on this idea, encouraging the appropriate assessments to determine a patient's risk for addiction, followed by the treatment of legitimate pain, preceded by a follow up with the patient. By doing this it would greatly reduce costs associated with medical bills in patients with a low risk of addiction and likewise with patients battling addiction, this strategy would deter addicts experiencing pain, from seeking out an illicit drug instead, which could subsequently result in less fatal overdoses. Throughout the rest of the article Peck discusses alternative pain management solutions such as energy therapy, guided imagery, and

I was also interested in reading what Peck had to say in regard to her being a person dealing with pain management first hand. Based on the content presented, while I found it possible to understand why these arguments were being made the arguments themselves that Peck presented didn’t successfully persuade me and I still remain unconvinced. The claims and conclusions made by Peck don’t address or take into account the addictive potential of opioids and furthermore don’t address the bigger problem at hand, being that many people prescribed painkillers become addicted and eventually turn towards illicit drugs like heroin when they can no longer receive their legal prescriptions. I also found it odd that while Peck adamantly argues the prescription of opioids as necessary in the treatment of pain and encourages doctors to be more lenient in prescribing medication for pain. Peck then decides to insert how effective other natural therapies have shown to be. I feel that if one is going to argue that painkillers are necessary and people are being deprived then one shouldn’t additionally include a list of other natural therapies proven to manage pain just as