Lethal drug overdoses in the year 2021 killed 100,000 people.

 

Lethal drug overdoses in the year in  2021 killed 100,000 people. After fentanyl, methamphetamine is the largest killer.

In my practice I know far more people who have died from drug overdoses than from Covid-19 and suicide.

 

The interesting observation is that people have much more control over lethal drug overdoses than they do of Covid-19 in the sense that the exposure to the agent of death is under the individual's control.

 

What are the factors that contribute to the high level of substance misuse in the United States?

What can we do as psychotherapists do to ameliorate the suffering that contributes to this phenomenon?