Why Is It So Tough To Kick Off Heroin Addiction?

With 25 to 30 million people in America today battling a drug or alcohol addiction, it's hard to believe that recovery can be possible, but it can be done. There's no doubt that beating an addiction is a hard process, one that requires work, motivation, focus, and strength, among other things. Kicking a heroin addiction is even more difficult. It's a challenge that has been known to break even the most resilient people out there. The withdrawal symptoms associated with addiction to heroin have become notorious for their severity and persistence. There are also potentially fatal diseases associated with heroin use to worry about.

It seems that heroin users have a lot to deal with in addition to being addicted to one of the most difficult drugs to kick. There are several reasons why kicking a heroin habit is so difficult. Being aware of these issues when beginning recovery may help you have a better understanding of your addiction and what to look for when it comes to treatment. Here are a few things to know about overcoming heroin addiction:

The issue of severe withdrawal symptoms alone is often enough to make someone attempting to kick a heroin habit return to the spiral of addiction. Heroin withdrawal symptoms include severe nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and stomach pain, deep muscle aches, chills, anxiety and restlessness, and most of all, an overwhelming physical craving for more of the drug.

Trying to quit heroin cold turkey makes these symptoms even more severe. Many will make numerous attempts to kick a heroin habit, only to not make it past a few hours or days of powerful symptoms.

It seems that the withdrawal phase is an impossible obstacle to defeat and only there to sabotage any chance you have at recovery. But with medical supervision during detox and the use of new treatment methods involving medication, detoxing from heroin can be done successfully.

Not understanding that recovery is a continual process. So many people make the mistake of thinking that a 30-day stay in rehab will cure them of addiction. These same people are also usually the ones who relapse as soon as they return home.

The truth is, a stay in rehab is only the first of many steps you must take toward achieving sobriety. Addiction is much stronger than you might think, and its effects are powerful. Rehab is a great foundation, but you must follow it up with continued visits to therapy, participation in a support group, and a commitment to doing whatever it takes to stay sober.

Thinking you can do it on your own. Another common mistake is assuming that sheer willpower is enough to beat an addiction. Willpower is an important part of recovery, but so is asking for help and accepting care and support from others.

Not allowing yourself to make mistakes. It's true that relapsing is incredibly discouraging, but that doesn't mean that you failed at recovery. It's all too common to see someone relapse and then completely give up their efforts at getting sober. The truth is relapsing is very common, especially with heroin addiction. Instead of seeing it as a sign that your efforts were wasted, think of it as an important lesson that needed to be learned and an opportunity to make needed adjustments to your recovery plan.

Not getting treatment for other issues. It's very common for a person to turn to drugs to help cope with emotional or mental problems. They may not even be aware of doing it. Mental disorders won't simply vanish until they get the right kind of treatment. A person can go through the detox process and be well into their recovery and still not even address any underlying mental issues. Those issues will remain and pose a threat to sobriety unless properly addressed and treated.

Returning to old friends and habits. Going back to the places and people that were a part of your life as an addict is enough to trigger a relapse. It's important to replace these places and people with ones who are supportive of your recovery.

13

https://irishealing.com/

How Can Writing Help You In Recovering From Addiction?

Many people from all walks of life derive benefits from regularly writing down their thoughts in a journal or diary. Day and night, thoughts are constantly running around in your head, so taking the time to write your thoughts and feeling down can be an important way to get past the "noise" and understand what's really going on internally. Journaling can be especially helpful in recovery from addiction. Cravings for a drug or behavior can be very anxiety-producing and create feelings of urgency. Your mind and body become obsessed with having a "fix" NOW, to the point that it gets hard to think about something else.

The best way to fight against this urgency and feeling of speeding up is to slow down. Stop moving, take a breath, and pause. Making journal writing a part of your daily routine is an excellent way to build habits of stopping and taking an introspective beat before acting.

By developing self-awareness and learning what your triggers, vulnerabilities, and ways of coping are, you can be better equipped to live the best life possible in your sobriety.

Often, in the heat of the moment, we may not be able to totally perceive all of what is going around us or the factors that cause us to act the way we do. Journaling allows us to revisit our experiences, thoughts, and feelings of the day, thinking about what happened to us.

Are you pleased with your actions, or is there a way you could have acted better? Is there any way you found yourself acting with character, courage, or joyfulness that you want to repeat? What happened in the day that was good or that you want to be grateful for?

Answers to these important questions can easily get lost if we simply go through life on autopilot. Taking the time to write them down brings them to our awareness so that they impact our behavior.

Getting Started:

Write only for yourself. It is nothing that will be read, critiqued, or graded by anyone else. Practice turning off the judgmental side of your brain and simply write what you feel. Nothing you think or feel is wrong because it comes from what you are thinking or feeling.

Addiction is rooted in self-deception, habits of suppressing, hiding, and denying your thoughts and feelings. For that reason, an important part of recovery is learning to embrace and understand your own inner thoughts.

Sometimes, the words may be hard to come by. You may struggle with having any idea what to say, or you may find yourself judging and second-guessing every word in your mind. If you find this to be the case, simply write without too much thought or judgment.

Your journal should be for you alone, simply an honest and direct snapshot of your inner dialogue at a particular moment. However, they can be kept and read at a future date. Reading your journals for months or years can help you appreciate the ways you are growing. Challenges that seem insurmountable one day get conquered, and reading back to realize that truth can empower you to face more challenges in your future.