an elevated risk for suicide. Chronic pain affects more than 100 million adults in the United States and has been a significant contributor to the 21st-century opioid epidemic, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
In 2012, treatment for chronic pain cost the United States upwards of $635 billion, according to the U.S. Association for the Study of Pain.iStockBut new research shows that mindfulness practices can reduce both chronic pain and depression, making the practice a viable complement to clinical treatment and a possible alternative to prescription opioids for pain management.
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