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Published: 2013-11-14 20:01:31 +0000 UTC; Views: 13082; Favourites: 591; Downloads: 46
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I had actually repurposed this from a comic strip I did a few years ago. Throughout most of my adult life, I had a lingering fear of prescription drug addiction, as so many of my loved ones struggled with it. This only intensified after my spinal injury and when I began therapy for my depression and other issues. I've come to live with it even though I still refuse prescription painkillers for my back. This is a personal choice and I would not recommend it to anyone else who struggles with chronic pain.
But yeah, this colored version of that comic panel was an externalizing of that fear and I've been keeping it on the back burner for some time. Not sure why I decided to share it now.
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Comments: 59
I get extremely bad anxiety attacks. So much that I had to where a Holter Monitor for a month to determine whether my heart was defective.
I've never had anti-anxiety medication prescribed to me because I don't think the best way to solve something is numbness.
The point is a lot of people have anxiety problems, they just choose to deal with it.Β
Your free to take whatever drugs you want, but don't get on the internet and act like you "NEED" them.
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Reminds me of when I had a school therapist back in elementary that tried to diagnose my Asperger's syndrome as depression, and tried to get my parents to get a prescription medicine for it. Needless to say, when the REAL diagnosis from the doc they went to came out, the woman got fired. And replaced with a much more competent, non-sucky one!
Have to admit, looking at that now...it's rather unsettling a prospect to think of if people weren't being so savvy.
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Reminds me of the time my psychiatrist thought he can heal autism.
Actually, I don't remember it very well.
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I understand the need to avoid possible addiction. My fiance and I both have the same problems with addiction so we completely avoid alcohol and prescription painkillers. I understand your struggles. Good Job!
You can keep it up
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I have a back injury too. (Two bulging disks in my back, and something called spinal stenosis) Which I have been struggling with for over a year. I refused to take medications for my back too. What kind of injury do you have in your back?
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wow this is totally unlike anything Ive seen from you(its obvious it you and your style but this is serious). Thank you so much for sharing it.
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I understand that fear; I have similar issues with certain prescription drugs and hate being "bottled" up by them.
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it's an excellent drawing, independently of what it represents.
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Its a striking image though, I'm not sure why. Because it seems to be a child in a bottle? Or some people share the same feeling that the image portrays? Or maybe just that I can relate myself?. I'm not sure, but for a fairly simple image in comparison to the others that were on my screen, I was drawn in by this one. Good work, I wish I'd thought of it.
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I feel just like that!!Β [School is the one to blameΒ ]
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I don't know why, but I'm surprised you've been struggling with depression. It's nice to see how well you're doing, though, kinda makes me feel like I can overcome mine as well! Sorry about your back, though. *e-hugs*
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ive felt that way for years that fear of pills and addiction, now i just except the fact that i'm a person with mental illness that can effect me with chronic pain some days, it sucks living with illness i know and i wish you he best of health. and your picture as i think the phrase goes; you've struck a strong but sensitive heart string and i feel moved and not as alone<3
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I don't know if you're over it or not (a little slow on some things), but I'm glad to hear you're doing better towards your health and with your family and friends. What it is, is a bad habit you've just lost and made another one of you being more knowledgable of what the medicine does and it's side-effects (such as being addictive in getting pain loss). It really isn't my place to say but we all deal with different pains. And medicine doesn't make it go away but helps our bodies overcome it. I've always been careful about "everything" so I have little to no experience (except with coca-cola which by a lot of standards is way more harmful; I drink like at least 3 cans a day or more). I hope that this helps someone if needed.
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As someone with roughly 14 prescriptions, good lord can I relate to this picture, albeit in slightly a different way. I'm not addicted to my meds--and I deliberately kicked the only one I found myself chemically dependent on some years ago--but they're a pain nonetheless.
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Depression I get, since I have it.Β Addiction to painkillers, however, not so much; probably because it didn't hit me that much when I was recovering from my post-wisdom teeth extraction surgery, so I've no idea what true addiction to painkillers would feel like in contrast to my general addiction to french fries
Don't they make alternative painkillers with non-addicting properties these days?
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I have a lot of hip cartilage issues due to a birth defect that causes the muscle tone in my lower abdomen to be weak. During my freshman year of college, it got to the point where I was in so much pain that I couldn't sleep. Thankfully, I realized that I was starting to have withdrawal symptoms if I went to long without a dose, and after a rough cold turkey period, I made it out. As for my anxiety medications, I'll probably wean myself off them after I finish school as it's the main source of my panic attacks. Either way, I hope you can find some alternative therapies that might help.Β
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Aww man! 
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This is the biggest issue with the American medical system, doctors prescribe drugs based on sales pitches from drug companies and not what is best for the patient.Β To hell with the potentially life destroying consequence of long term use, just get as much out of their Medical Insurance as you can as quickly as you can.
For me American doctors are just licensed drug dealers.Β
Sorry if that offends anyone, but having grown up in a country where medical treatments was largely free, doctors felt more inclined to give you impartial advice on all the medication available rather than just the drug of the month being promoted by GlaxoSmithKline or Pfizer.
I'd say to anyone prescribed any powerful drug, do some research and if possible, get a second opinion.Β It isn't as though the information isn't available there are dozens of frank websites that list all the possible side effects.Β Ironically medication intended to treat depression has the possible side effect of causing depression.Β Medication to treat pain can in some cases cause migraines.Β People don't realise that pills are developed to treat the statistical majority, but there is always a minority, even if it is only a single person, who will have potentially life threatening reactions to that drug.
Take paracetamol, the most common pain killer, in large enough doses it can cause liver damage, kidney failure and hypertension.Β Yet I hear of people who take paracetamol daily?!
Take care Kev, perhaps it might be worth investigating alternative methods of pain relief.Β I've heard for some people acupuncture can be beneficial.Β Β
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I totally understand how you feel. My mother died from the meds she was on for chronic Rheumatiod Arthritis pain. She and my dad made a decision long before I was born that she would accept a shortened lifespan in exchange for relief from the horrible pain. I never knew about that situation, so when she died, and I was told that it was due to the auto-immune and pain drugs she was on, it came as a horrible shock that took me over 20 years to get over.
As time passed and I got older, I started seeing that the medications I need to take for my various conditions has added up to far too many pill bottles on top of my fridge. None of the meds that I take are habit-forming, and I do need those meds to treat a variety of illnesses, including chronic depression, hypertension and hyperglycemia, but still, I don't feel comfortable taking all those drugs because ever since I was a kid, I associated a lot of pills with my mother, and when she died, I associated them with a shortened lifespan, even though, logically, I know that the meds are to improve my lifespan, as well as my quality of life.
I'm just glad that I don't have to pay for all those medications. Long Live Socialized Medicine!
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I've some family who've had some issues with this. They were really dependent on them.. Mom still is. To the point they don't do anything for her anymore. And they all come from grandma. Who, she herself had to detox off of them once. If I complain of any pain, mom automatically offers me a Vicodin. Which I'll take only as a last resort. An then it's only a half.
I'm just glad they aren't to the point they need professional help. I've had problems being able to take pills my whole life, so I'm not worried about myself, but I can definitely sympathize with anyone having that fear. There should definitely be a healthy respect for that.
On another note, at first glance of this... It just made me think I need my daily fix of webcomics... >.>;
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It symbolizes his fear of medication addiction.
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really?
you don't say
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My mom is about to put me back on my adhd meds and this is pretty much a good visual representation of how I feel on them. Fuck me. XD nice art you got a fave.
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I have that same fear even though I'm relatively healthy so I don't need pills for anything. However I refuse to take any pills for minor things like cramps, headaches or colds. I'd rather 'take it like a man' and go through the pain than pussy out and relieve the pain with some medicine. I only very rarely take medicine when I can no longer function with whatever discomfort I'm experiencing.
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The doctors think I might have depression
Β
As part of my personality I also have little restraint, so knowing my luck I'm more prone to prescription drug addictions as well.
I feel your pain.
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Don't you just love how our government outlaws massively beneficial things with only slight side effects but PRESCRIBES shit that will kill you if you try to get off of it?
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I have a similar problem since I do, when I have them, abuse them...anything to make it stop hurting...especially when I had the morphine button after my surgery...I loved that thing...
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As someone with Scoliosis, I can understand the fear of pill addiction.
I'm on regular painkillers (well, 4 pills all in all) whenever my back acts up too much, but I'm afraid to ask the doctor for something stronger, and I only take when backpains are really bad.
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I don't have much experience with any kind of chronic pain, but I can definitely agree with written-word that it would be a suitable substitute, but on the legal means, it would be an issue to obtain it without a license or in a state that is still rejecting the medical benefits of it and consequently making it illegal to even possess medical marijuana. As for the fear of drug addiction, only 9% of users become addicted according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, but still, it doesn't have any severe physical withdrawals along with psychological dependency that could lead to severe addiction on occasional use, and most addiction to cannabis typically comes from other individuals that are trying to curve other addictions.
Β But again, you obviously have a strong will if you can face that kind of pain without anything to ease it, and that you are still able to pump out drawings and continue on with life with that bitter ailment, which is truly inspirational. I've had to deal with depression for 5+ years that was being treated with a merry-go-round of medications, which constantly picked me apart with side-effects of migraines (which I get every week), panic attacks, and more intense bouts of depression. Managing to survive that long, and seeing the consequences of my medications conflicting with my education and sanity, I finally stopped treatment and visited a doctor that specializes in Thyroid disorders, and he practically saved me after running more tests and finding out that it was serious condition, and started treating me for hypothyroidism, which was the cause for my hair falling out, depression, mood swings, and intense drowsiness that made me unable to function normally for weeks. I still encounter these issues from time to time and it is even hard to construct a future due to the sporadic bouts of depression, but from where I was standing before, I'm in a much better spot and I'm striving to get better and live my life, irregardless of hard times that'll pass. It's wonderful to find artists that draw inspiration from pain and allow it to be a catalyst towards creation instead of self-destruction; you're an inspiration to people that are trying their best to come out of a rough spot unscathed.
Best of luck!
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sharing is an outlet to release some of that pain. ^_~. Β There are things you can take that are not addictive, and A535 arthritis & back pain cream works alright.Β
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I can relate to your fear; drugs of any kind terrify me. It doesn't even have to do with my family, either!
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I moonlight as aΒ tech for a non profit mental health hospital during the day... I have to say that this runs deepΒ for the fact that I see the effects of addictions, trauma, abuse,Β social background, etc. on a human's mind everyday... Drugs help in some cases, but mostly just "pacify" in others... I don't know... Things of this nature are "complicated" to say the least.Β
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I agree with the sentiment entirely. On a related note, not be offensice, but if you are still struggling with pain for your back, I would recommend cannabis as a painkiller. One of my closest friends was in a wicked car accident while we were in highschool (caused by a driver intoxicated on Xanax) and had to have 2 of the disks in his neck removed and replaced with some metal substitue. He has been struggling with the pains from that accident for many years now, and he claims his ownly relief from it, only painkiller for it is cannabis. Just a suggestion.
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This is a hard hitting one for many of us.Β
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That's a hard hitting one. Taking meds for a reason is okay, but it can be difficult to not let them define you.Β
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My fear is being defined by the pills and the illnesses that cause me to take them.Β I think I understand where you're coming from and I don't think your fear is unreasonable.
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Thanks for sharing this. I've struggled with depression for over ten years now, and the idea of going on medication really scares me for similar reasons; at the same time, my brother is medicated for multiple things, and it's helped him. Idk.Β
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Everyone has to do what's right for them. I take depression meds myself and they do help, despite my fears. Β Also, happy belated birthday. ^_^
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Yes, I agree. And I'm glad they help, that's good to know!
Β And thanks, dude! 
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Thanks for sharing.Β As someone who deals with depression myself, I can really empathize.Β (I was on prescription meds for a few years, along with therapy.Β It helped and I no longer need the meds.Β If I do again at some future point, so be it.Β It's way better then the alternative.)
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Another one of my favourite internet entertainers that suffers from depression.
I guess there is really something to the "crying clown".
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Man this is rather deep and heavy compared to most of your normal stuff. I really like it for that reason.
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I know the feeling as I have that same feeling too. My mother is (recovering addict) pill popper and sadly that it also affected my childhood too (sigh). Was on meds I should not even have been on. There are time I am afraid I may end up like that. But thankfully my husband won't let me end up like my mother. He said he loves me to much to see that happen to me.
This picture really made me think, I think this is a very wonderful upload that connects personally for me.
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