Mark had spent many years working as a traffic police officer. During this time, he had experienced countless tragic sights. His response to these had been to bottle up his feelings. This had led to him becoming desensitised and uncaring. Dedicated counselling had been required to help Mark remove the barriers that had prevented him from dealing with the pain that had built inside.

When experiencing inflammatory arthritis then, Mark became devastated when he realised that the same pattern of erected barriers had become repeated, this time via an addiction to opioids.

What had led Mark to walking down the very path he had been determined not to retread? And what could our health care system do differently to support people like Mark more effectively in the future?

Alex Melia, and the Stories of Men team are on a mission to uncover what it means to live an independent and meaningful life. We'll be sharing this knowledge with you every week.

We’d like to extend our appreciation to today’s guest, Mark. His frank and eye-opening reflections on the challenges he has faced are shared with both bravery and wisdom. They also provide a vital part of the puzzle as we try to piece together what it means to be a man in today’s world.

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