http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2016/december/just-say-no-to-shame.html

That’s when my doctor told me.

“Tim, you need to know you are addicted to pain medicine.”

I felt my stomach drop and defenses rise as he said these words. All the stereotypes of addicts I didn’t think I held crept into my mind. Because I was legitimately in pain, I thought I couldn’t be an addict.

My doctor continued, “That isn’t a judgment on you. I’m not saying you’ve done anything wrong or that you aren’t still in pain. But we’ve been giving you this pain medicine for so long, your body is now dependent on it. It has gone from helping you to hurting you.”

I relaxed. I let my defenses down and loosened my grip on my justifications.

“I’m not going to just take the pain medicine away from you when you need it. But if I make that commitment to you, I want you to make a commitment to me. Will you take less whenever you can? For a while you couldn’t have made it without the pain medicine. Now to fully heal, you need to eventually stop taking it.”

I took a deep breath of relief. I wasn’t “bad.” I hadn’t done anything “wrong.” I had a new disease, a complication from my medication, and I had a doctor who was there and ready to help.