Infographics & Data Visualizations

Infographics & Data Visualizations

Posted on 11 June, 2013

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Popping Pills: A Prescription Drug Abuse Epidemic

It has long been evident that the United States of America is a country overtaken by medication. Our pill popping tendencies and medical shortcuts have led to a number of problems - over-medicated children and an antibiotic crisis - but they’ve also created a generation eager to use these small, colorful, loosely controlled pills to get their next fix. In 2010, enough painkillers were prescribed to medicate the entire working population every four hours for an entire month. With 5% of the world’s population, the United States consumes three-quarters of its drug supply.

In 2010, there were 7 million prescription medication abusers - which is bad enough - but now, just in the past month there have been 6.2 million users. Their abuse falls into three categories: painkillers, tranquilizers, and stimulants; over half of these users get their fix for free, from a friend or relative who usually got them from their doctor. Prescription medications are so easy to get ahold of that teenagers even cite this as their #1 reason for using - they’ve got a whole smorgasbord of drugs in their parents’ medicine cabinets.

Popping Pills: A Prescription Drug Abuse Epidemic [Infographic]
Infographic by 12 Palms Recovery Center

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Relapse: The Revolving Door

One of the hardest challenges for a recovering alcoholic or drug addict is the temptation to use again and risk of relapse. It’s so difficult that nearly half of all recovering addicts will relapse within one year, and 61% of those will relapse more than once, over and over. This is why relapse is often referred to as a revolving door: a neverending cycle of addiction, treatment, recovery, and relapse. But there is hope: relapse is not a failure; it is simply a setback. You can always pick yourself up and try again.

Although the 5-year relapse rates - never released together before in this format - can be a little scary, the overall relapse rate is comparable to other chronic illnesses such as asthma, type 1 diabetes, and hypertension. The infographic below lays out some of the common triggers and causes of relapse. Use these tools to resist your relapse.

Relapse: The Revolving Door Infographic
Infographic by Clarity Way