Drug rehabs battle the hell of heroin addiction

When the people imagine the stereotypical scene of a drug addict writhing in pain in a locked room during withdrawal from their substance, they are usually thinking of what it’s like to escape from heroin addiction.

This highly addictive drug is synthesized from morphine and is a derivative of the opium poppy plant. It is believed that 90 per cent of all heroin comes from Afghanistan. Heroin is an opiate, in the same category with prescription drugs like Oxycontin, methadone, and morphine.

Some addicts who have become addicted to opiates like Oxycontin will switch to heroin at some point because it is cheaper and more accessible.

The drug, along with other opioids, is one of the most difficult of all addictive substances to break free of. In addition to the psychological hold that most addictive drugs have, heroin also has a very real physical hold. It starts with physical dependence and often progress to a heroin addiction.

And once the user has a heroin addiction, they are likely to find that stopping is difficult and highly unpleasant. And there is a greater risk of death with heroin addiction than with most other addictive drugs.

Heroin can be administered in several ways: it can be injected (this produces the most rapid and intense effect); snorted in powder form; or smoked.

The reason why heroin addiction can develop so easily is related to how heroin affects the brain. The drug is converted to morphine in the body where it binds to opioid receptors. The drug affects the pain/reward centre of the brain.

Because the drug affects the part of the brain that regulates respiration, a heroin overdose often involves a dangerous suppression of the addict’s ability to breathe.

How can heroin addiction be treated?

Addicts will generally have to go to a drug detox facility before they are ready to enter drug treatment. In detox, the addict breaks their physical dependence on the drug to the point where they are more stable and prepared to begin the process of recovery.

Generally, the best success in treating heroin addiction comes when several approaches are combined. Addicts may be prescribed certain medications to help with the withdrawal process, but this is merely the first step.

This is followed up with in-patient or out-patient therapy, which can include behavioural therapy designed to help the addict to recognize patterns of thoughts and behaviours that have contributed to their heroin addiction.

By learning how they came to depend on drugs, the addict can begin to replace the drug with new methods of living and coping with fear, stress, anger, and other emotions.

Treatment centres often will combine a behavioural therapy approach to heroin addiction with an introduction to 12-step recovery programs like Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous.

Once the drug treatment has put the addict on the path to a new life beyond heroin addiction, the 12-step program of recovery can help maintain that positive new direction in the years to come.