Deaths related to opioid overdose have reached epidemic levels, and individuals with substance use disorders and chronic illness have been impacted at the highest rates. Due to opioids’ lethality and high potential for addiction, individuals with serious mental illness and chronic pain are seeking alternative forms to pain management. In this podcast created by the Program to Achieve Wellness, Linda Meyer and Jeanne Supin share a variety of whole-health approaches to chronic pain based on their own lived experiences. Ms. Supin is a behavioral health consultant with decades of experience in numerous alternative therapies. Ms. Meyer has lived experience of mental crisis and chronic pain; she now helps others on their journey to recovery, and she shares her insights regarding recovery in this podcast. For more context about the opioid epidemic, risk factors, and alternative forms of pain management, please listen to the first podcast.
During the podcast, Ms. Supin shares that, while she has never had a diagnosable mental health condition, chronic pain disrupted her life, making it difficult to sleep and perform basic life tasks. It began when she was in college, and conventional medical intervention failed to provide diagnosis or relief. Exercise and yoga have helped her manage her symptoms and pain, and following advances in medical technology, she was able to receive a diagnosis.
Ms. Meyer was experiencing challenges with depression and physical pain, which led to over 25 hospitalizations. These hospitalizations were often traumatic, as medical clinicians were unable to help her. She was often misdiagnosed and incorrectly medicated, resulting in exacerbated physical symptoms. After she became familiarized with the Wellness Action Recovery Plan model, she was then able to manage her conditions and recover.
Listen to the other two episodes in this series: Part 1 | Part 2
This resource was first shared in 2018.
(Podcast, YouTube)