Among all the opioids, heroin is easily the most addictive and the one with the most severe consequences for users and addicts. As it is derived from morphine, it has intense physical and mental effects, and the addiction is both in the mind and the body.
When trying to get off the heroin, a lot of people are able to overcome the mental addiction, but the body pains, cramps, and general discomfort associated are so intense that they often relapse into using heroin just to get rid of the physical withdrawal symptoms.
If you are considering getting treatment for heroin addiction, here are some important things to keep in mind.
Understand The Addiction
Heroin impacts different people in different ways. There are multiple physical and mental aspects to this particular brand of addiction and the important thing is to identify how severe these problems are in your case.
For instance, depression, anxiety, and aggression are common traits in heroin addicts. At the same time, they will suffer from constipation, lack of focus, and even poor memory. The treatment that you pursue should be catered towards treating your particular problems and eventually getting rid of heroin use altogether.
Detox
The first step, in any case, is to eliminate, or at least reduce, your consumption of heroin. This is often the most difficult task because addicts cannot mentally accept not using the drug. It starts to play a placebo effect on their mind.
Even though they are fine without the drug, and they aren’t experiencing any withdrawals, because of the very thought that they aren’t ‘allowed’ to use, they start to experience withdrawal problems. In any case, removing the drug from your system is the only solution, and the first 90 days are the hardest for every addict.
Changing Your Lifestyle
Different people get into drugs through different routes, but eventually, it starts to change their lifestyle. They start to spend more time with people who share this dependency as much as they do, which complicates matters even more and makes the addiction harder to deal with.
According to a lot of research conducted to understand the science of addiction, it is critical that any affected person change their entire lifestyle. You need to distance yourself from the objects, scenarios, or people who trigger your need for the addictive substance.
Get yourself out of that lifestyle, and it will make quitting much easier.
In-house Treatment
If you or a loved one has a severe addiction that has been going on for years, the best solution is a residential treatment program where you stay at the treatment facility.
This gives you the chance to get all the medical attention you need, and you also get a well-needed change of atmosphere. You are with people who are suffering from the same problem, and this gives a person that much more courage and motivation to stick to the program.
At-Home Treatment
Also known as outpatient rehab, these programs are less restrictive and only require the person to visit the clinic for a set number of hours per week. This can be for tests, consultation, diagnosis, or anything else.
Overall, the person lives their life just as they normally would and they just have to meet up with their doctor every now and then. While this seems easier, it is a lot more challenging to discipline yourself and effectively block out all the distractions.
Mental Recovery
Recovering from an addiction can take years, even decades. The mind always has the potential to relapse and revert to that same lifestyle. Often people think that they are fully recovered and they try it once more, and that is all it takes for them to regress into the addiction once more.
You need to spend a lot of time with the therapist and consultant to develop a healthier state of mind and get the addiction out of your cognition.
Nothing is impossible if you really put your mind to it and take the necessary steps to change your life. There have been countless examples of people that were struggling with heroin addiction and even multiple addictions simultaneously, but they were able to recover from it.
If you don’t get it right the first time, that’s alright. Just keep trying and don’t give up on yourself.
