Heroin is an extremely dangerous drug with a high potential for addiction. If you or a loved one is exhibiting signs of heroin addiction, delaying treatment can make symptoms become increasingly more severe, impacting multiple areas of your life. Therefore, it is essential for those suffering from heroin addiction to get the treatment they need at a heroin addiction treatment program in Murray, Utah.
Understanding Heroin Addiction
Addiction also causes significant changes to your brain chemistry, behavior, and emotions, which makes early treatment essential.
Heroin is a highly addictive and illegal opiate that has gained increased popularity, especially among young people, in the past 10 years. Heroin use among Americans between 18 and 25 increased by more than 8% between 2002 and 2016, demonstrating that young adults are especially at risk for using and becoming addicted to heroin. It’s important to notice signs of heroin addiction because heroin addiction is a chronic and progressive disease.
Signs of Heroin Addiction
When you use heroin, it forces your brain to release more dopamine than it should. This creates the pleasurable effects of intoxication. Heroin induces pleasurable and calming emotions, as it’s a potent central nervous system depressant. The effects of heroin typically begin within minutes of use and last for several hours. You can smoke, inhale, or inject heroin, with intravenous use a particularly dangerous route of administration that can put you at risk of acquiring infections.
While addiction starts with your first use, signs of heroin addiction can develop shortly after your first use. Early signs of heroin addiction can include:
- Needing to increase your use to experience the same pleasurable effects
- Spending the majority of your time or money using or acquiring heroin
- Feeling guilt, shame, or remorse about your heroin use
- Struggling to control or reduce your heroin use
- Neglecting responsibilities or obligations to use heroin
Regularly using and abusing heroin can lead to physical dependency. This means your body relies on heroin to function and feel normal. As a result, experiencing withdrawal symptoms and intense cravings when you stop using are two major signs of heroin addiction. Substance abuse treatment programs in Utah help ensure that you have the support and guidance necessary to recover from heroin addiction.
Heroin Addiction Treatment Programs
Heroin addiction treatment center programs offer comprehensive inpatient and outpatient dual diagnosis heroin addiction treatment. Upon your admission into a heroin addiction treatment center, the addiction treatment staff will conduct a mental assessment to compile a personalized heroin addiction treatment plan based on the unique co-occurring mental health disorders fueling your heroin addiction. Substance abuse treatment programs and addiction therapy programs utilized in heroin addiction treatment include:
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy
- Dialectical behavior therapy
- 12 step program
- Intensive outpatient treatment program
- Medication-assisted treatment program
For severe and lengthy addictions, inpatient programs are usually the best choice because they provide the highest level of care and support. Because heroin addiction causes withdrawal symptoms, many inpatient heroin addiction treatment programs also offer medically supervised detox services.
Inpatient programs usually last for 28 days, although long-term residential programs are also available. During treatment, staff will ask you questions about your medical, mental health, and substance abuse history to create a highly individualized treatment plan. Once withdrawal symptoms end, which usually occurs within 5-7 days of your last use, the focus of treatment centers on providing you with the skills, tools, and education you need to manage your recovery.
It can take time for your brain and body to fully heal from heroin addiction. This makes it important to understand how to identify and change negative thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Cravings can intensify during the early stages of recovery. This is why treatment programs teach you how to implement healthy coping strategies. Triggers, which can include people, places, and things that remind you of heroin, can magnify cravings. Although some triggers are avoidable, others, such as anxiety and stress, aren’t.
Overcome Heroin Addiction
If you’re showing signs of heroin addiction, you may feel isolated, frustrated, and alone. Although addiction can make you feel ambivalence, it’s never too late, or too early, to reach out for help. Treatment provides you with the resources and support you need to successfully recover.