Recently, I read an important article in The Washington Post. The title reveals the content: Americans Use Far More Opioids Than Anyone Else in the World.
The title describes accurately the premise of the article but the specifics tell the deeper story. Not only do Americans use more opioids than anyone else in the world, we are prescribed about six times as many of the pain-relieving drugs per capita as the citizens of Portugal and France. And almost twice as many opioids as the second highest nation on the list.
Equally alarming, Americans consume more than 99 percent of the world’s supply of hydrocodone. More than 33,000 people died of opioid overdoses in the United States last year—more than gun homicides by an almost 3 to 1 margin.
This is, indeed, a significant problem.
But what was even more fascinating to me was the author’s identification of the reasons why the statistics are the way they are.
Keith Humphreys, the author of the piece in The Washington Post, is a professor of psychiatry at Stanford University. As part of the story, he sought to understand why America would lead the world in this troubling category. It’s not, as he begins, because we are aging. Other nations have older populations than the US. There must be other economic, political, and cultural factors at play.
This is where it gets really interesting.
One significant reason he identifies for America’s addiction to pain-relieving medication is “relative to Europeans, Americans have more faith that life is perfectible (e.g., all pain can be avoided).” He explains:
Consider, for example, a 55-year-old who feels acute back and leg pain after doing the workout that was easy when he was 25. A European in this situation might reflect sadly that aging and physical decay must be accepted as part of life, but an achy American might demand that his doctor fix what he sees as an avoidable problem by prescribing him opioids.
In other words, our desire to eliminate all pain from life and experience perfection regardless of circumstance may be contributing to the level of opioid addiction and death in our nation. In this specific case, the need for perfection may be literally killing us. A sober thought.
Whether the doctor’s hypothesis is correct or not, the idea is important.
The constant need for perfection in life is a harmful way to live. (tweet)
Whether we are talking about the negative effects of pain-relieving medication or any number of other scenarios, the need for perfection often results in negative outcomes on our lives. Not only does it distract us from happiness, it routinely sends us down paths away from it.
The search for perfection in our work may send us jumping from one career to another constantly looking for that one job with no bad days. But that job does not exist—the most beautiful rose still has thorns.
The search for perfection in our relationships causes us to give up too quickly on other people. But there are no perfect people and relationships, at their core, require commitment. Without patience, grace, and faithfulness, there is no opportunity for love.
The search for perfection in our homes often results in the accumulation of unnecessary possessions. Marketers routinely promise comfort and better living in their newest offering. An unhealthy pursuit of perfection makes us more susceptible to their falsehoods. These excess possessions quickly begin to monopolize our time and energy and focus.
The search for perfection in our external image gives rise to unhealthy body image pursuits. Rather than seeing them as instruments through which we accomplish our life’s goals, we begin to see them as ornaments to impress others. Sometimes even, while we never experience perfection in our own minds, we seek to present that reality to the world around us.
The search for perfection in our actions often prevents us from trying new things or experimenting with new skills. By its very nature, the desire to commit no mistakes or ever having to admit failure keeps us from attempting new things in life. But every expert started as a beginner.
As noted in The Washington Post article above, the need for perfection may cause harmful addictions to take root in our life, resulting in ruined or destroyed lives.
But even before that most extreme consequence, the desire for perfection or the avoidance of pain can still be harmful. It causes us to lose opportunity to experience happiness in every circumstance.
Life is not perfect. It never has been and it never will be. But this can be good news. It means we can stop pursuing the mythical, perfect life. It means we can stop chasing perfect skin, the perfect job, the perfect house, or the perfect spouse. And it means we can find freedom to live victoriously even within our imperfections.
I don’t trust the Washington Post to give accurate information.
I don’t trust the Washington Post.
Great post! I am a physician that works with people struggling with addiction. I often use the concepts of “minimalism” to help direct my patients to evaluate their values and beliefs. Thank you for all you do.
A well-said thought. I agree, we all are lacking a bit of self-esteem in the run to be a perfectionist.
I’m going to address the second part of the post and play devil’s advocate. While obsessive perfection-seeking may lead to harmful results, the opposite can be just as, if not more harmful, to the individual as well as society at large. If we go down the road of acceptance (assuming this to be and opposite of perfection-seeking) we may reach a point of complacency. And here is the risk of negative or non-activity, doing nothing.
With the desire for perfection there is a continual forward motion, even if harmful to the self or others in closer relationships. But acceptance and potential lack of forward motion can also be harmful to the individual, possibly leading to depression, poverty, illness, disease, etc. Additionally, society (not just those in closer relationships) may be harmed by the individual now needing assistance and draining society rather than contributing in some way.
Acceptance is cool, as long as it is intended.
The flip side of the pain issue and the pursuit of perfection – http://thepainfultruthbook.com/2017/03/survey-says-cdc-guideline-need-honestly-assessed/
“Based on the results of the survey and hundreds of emails I have received; it may be appropriate for the CDC to invite the pain community to help revise the guideline to create a public heath policy that strikes a better balance of avoiding opioid-related problems while allowing opioids to be used in a responsible way. The proper use of opioids, under any public health policy, should be determined by clinicians who treat people in pain and informed by their patients’ individual needs.
Finally, any guideline that is proposed without acknowledging the needs of people in pain runs the risk of worsening the opioid problem and causing people who are in pain to suffer more than they must. It is time for the CDC to assess the impact the guideline has had for people in pain and to act on their findings.”
Thanks for the great article! I think you made a really good point. In so many aspects of our lives, we are convinced that things should be way better, but that leads to unrealistic expectations, and those expectations can be harmful.
This may be one of your very most imporatant articles. I see this on a daily basis when I am at work as a nurse, living as a Grandmother/mother/family member and as a member of the Body of Christ. There is no group of people this does not touch. Keep talking!
A very interesting read, and sobering! Thank You
Thanks for the article. Being a Brit who has lived and worked in US I have observed an aspect of US culture I have described as ‘Americans believe there is no problem that should be able to go unfixed’.
That shouldn’t be taken as a criticism as it has led to good things as well as bad. Pioneer optimism, entrepreneurial attitudes, medical advances and gadgets at Walmart for every conceivable need (bearing in mind where I’m posting you can take that last one with a pinch of salt! ;)
But it manifested itself in things I noticed that I would never see in the UK like adverts for someone to come clean out the fluff in your dryer (that’s a job?) or the fact I had to sit through an advert for cosmetic laser surgery when calling for a doctors appointment then be told by TV adverts in the surgery waiting room that if I didn’t already have arthritis, I was sure to get it soon so ask my doctor for product x now.
No one likes pain, and where there is chronic pain it can damage quality of life more than anyone who hasn’t experienced it can appreciate. But medication is only a part of a solution. If we want people to take a more holistic approach to recovery then we have to support them through what can be lengthy and difficult changes in lifestyles otherwise the quick fix is too tempting for many because they hurt ‘now’
There is something though about developing an inner resilience and confidence that allows a person to accept that not every thing needs fixing, not every passing ache needs medicating, not every minor activity needs a gadget to make it easier and not every minor grievance needs legal resolution that is becoming more difficult for some societies to grasp.
As many will recognise, it is largely a ‘first world problem’