Heroin is a popular drug with millions of users across the country. It is also one of the most addictive drugs. Fortunately, there are effective treatments for heroin addiction, and long-term recovery is possible.
Here is a comprehensive guide on how to get long-term recovery from heroin in Orange County, CA.
Understanding Heroin
Heroin is an opioid that is synthesized from morphine. It induces pleasure in the cognitive part of the brain when ingested. It appears as a brown or white powder, depending on the quality and production process. It can be ingested in several ways, including snorting, smoking, and injecting it as a solution.
Heroin is highly addictive, and users become dependent on it after several uses. It is also difficult to quit, as it can cause unpleasant withdrawal effects. However, these withdrawal symptoms eventually end with proper treatment, as discussed below.
Effects of Heroin Use
Long-term heroin use causes disastrous effects on the mind and body. It also frays the addicts’ social and professional lives.
Heroin induces pleasure in the brain at the cost of the user’s physiological health. For starters, it affects the user’s decision-making and slows down their response times. Studies have also revealed that long-term use of heroin can reduce the user’s grey matter, causing irreversible damages.
Heroin use also lowers the user’s attention to their wellbeing. To this end, most heroin users are weak because they don’t eat well. Additionally, their diminished decision-making ability makes them prone to accidents that can cause a wide range of injuries.
Heroin users also engage in risky behavior such as unprotected sex and sharing needles, putting them at risk of getting infected with HIV and other communicable diseases. Sadly, heroin also fuels depression, and all the negative effects drive some users to suicide.
Heroin also interferes with the user’s professional life. Most addicts are unkempt, and many cannot hold a job. To this end, most users end up slipping into poverty, increasing the stressors that cause them to use heroin in the first place. Some users also engage in criminal behavior out of delusion and desperation, and some end up in jail or rack up bad records as a result.
Treating Heroin Addiction
Heroin is highly addictive, but addicts can overcome their dependence on the drug through treatment. Heroin treatment seeks to reduce the urge to use heroin and helps reduce the impact of withdrawal symptoms. There are several heroin treatment solutions, including:
Medication
Medication helps to ease the withdrawal effects of quitting heroin and suppress the urge to use it. It is especially useful during the first few weeks after quitting the drug, as this is when the withdrawal effects are most severe.
There are three categories of medicines used to treat addiction to heroin. The first category is agonists, which activate the opioid receptors that heroin impacts. The second category is partial agonists, which have a similar but lesser impact on agonists. The third category is antagonists, which block the opioid receptors and interfere with the drug’s effects on the brain.
There are several medications used to treat addiction to heroin. They include:
- Methadone (also called Dolophine or Methadose)
- Buprenorphine (also called Subutex)
- Naltrexone (also called Vivitrol)
These medicines have been tested and proven by the FDA. Some also require a combination of other medications to improve their efficacy. However, they should only be used with a doctor’s prescription. The therapist will prescribe the best drug for the addict for an average period of one week, but this may vary depending on the user’s recovery rate.
Behavioral Therapy
Stopping using heroin requires a willingness from the addict – enough will to overcome dependence on the drug. Cognitive-behavioral therapy helps to fortify this will. The therapist tries to understand the heroin user’s mind. The main goal is to understand what pushes the user to use the drug. The therapist then tries to change the user’s thinking so that they don’t have to be psychologically dependent.
Cognitive behavioral therapy can use a wide range of tactics. One popular approach involves rewarding recovering addicts for staying clean – the rewards usually involve things that can help the users live a healthier life, including food and fitness vouchers.
Behavioral therapy takes a standard period of three months to complete. However, recovering addicts are urged to continue getting support to avoid relapsing.
Long-Term Solutions to Avoid Relapsing
Medication and rehabilitation take about three months to get heroin addicts off the drug. However, full recovery takes much longer, and many recovering addicts even argue that it is a life-long process. It is easy to relapse, so the recovering users should seek long-term solutions that go beyond medication and rehabilitation.
Therapists recommend avoiding stressors that pushed you to start using heroin in the first place. This includes avoiding friends who use heroin and other drugs, as negative company is very influential. Staying off this destructive drug is worth changing your whole life.
Therapists also recommend adopting a positive outlook of life and working towards your all-round wellbeing. This includes eating better, repairing broken relationships, and furthering your career. The idea is the get something that is worth staying clean for – something that is too much to lose if you relapse.
Heroin Addiction Treatment in Orange County, CA
Recovering addicts need rehabilitation for about 90 days to get off heroin. There are lots of rehabilitation centers in Orange County, CA, and Covenant Hills Treatment is one of the best.
Covenant Hills Treatment is employs medication, therapy, and other techniques to get recovering addicts off heroin. The rehabilitation center also offers a Christian-based approach, but residents are free to take a non-religious approach. The rehabilitation center also employs some of the best therapists and doctors.
Help With Heroin Addiction
Heroin addiction is very destructive. It is bad for your health, and it can ruin precious relationships with your friends and family members. Fortunately, any heroin addict can recover with some help. This involves rehabilitation, therapy, and medication. Visit Covenant Hills Treatment to learn more about recovery from heroin addiction.
