There have been so many fatal addictions that began with chronic pain: innumerable athletes, Michael Jackson, Kurt Cobain, now (presumably) Prince.

I saw myself trending that direction once. Two ibuprofen worked wonders on my back pain, but but after a while it didn't work anymore so I took four. Four worked wonders for a while, but after a while it didn't work anymore so I took six…

I was fortunate enough to recognize the trend, and found alternative treatments that worked. I still need pain medication about once a week, but yoga and stretching keep the pain manageable (yet always present) the rest of the time.

I was lucky that a non-pharmaceutical solution worked for me, but what if it hadn't? Not to be overly dramatic, but when six pills stopped working and I was considering more, I was having thoughts that perhaps a life of constant pain wasn't worth living.

I could very well have been the one on the slab today, surrounded by people saying "tsk-tsk, such a waste…"