You may know that you or someone you love has a problem with heroin. Being addicted to heroin, or well on your way to addiction, means it is time to turn your life around. The one thing holding you back may be fear of heroin withdrawal. But heroin withdrawal symptoms can be managed to help you safely get through detox and into the rehab program you need.
Don’t Let Fear of Withdrawal Stop You From Getting Clean
It is not uncommon to be fearful of heroin withdrawal. Heroin detox is an uncomfortable process, during which the body has to relearn how to work without the drugs it counted on for so long. What most heroin users seeking detox do not realize is that heroin withdrawal symptoms are most often only as strong as a bad flu virus. Properly managed in a quality detox, the symptoms are nothing you should fear.
Mental attitude plays a significant role in achieving sobriety. It is important to focus on being strong and convince yourself that you will make it through detox. It helps to keep yourself distracted. Before you know it, you will be clean and sober and on your way to the right rehab to make recovery last.
Movies and television programs have made you fearful. That is drama for entertainment. What those shows do not depict well enough is how great you will feel about your life, once the drugs are out of your system. Without heroin, in time, your life can be all you want it to be. The key is in finding a rehab program that will address all of your root issues and the trauma and pain that led you to heroin, in the first place.
What is heroin withdrawal?
Tolerance for heroin after using it for a long period changes how your body and brain function. Our bodies are miraculous. When you started abusing heroin, your brain reprogrammed itself to continue functioning, despite the presence of that harsh drug. Now that you want to stop using heroin, your brain must tap into its miraculous nature again. Your brain needs to readjust to working without heroin and heal itself.
All of this inner working of the brain and body is why you feel sick when quitting heroin. Heroin withdrawal symptoms are actually a positive sign, in that they show that your body is fighting its way back to better, normal health. Heroin withdrawal will make you sick. But this sickness does not last and life is better when it is over.
In addition to physical problems you will feel when quitting heroin, there are also mental heroin withdrawal symptoms. Signs of heroin detox in your mind include cravings for the drug and psychological discomfort. You will likely be emotional, or even aggressive at times during withdrawal. But in the right detox, you will be kept stable and comfortable so you can tackle all of heroin’s hold on your mind and emotions in rehab.
Physical and psychological heroin detox symptoms include:
- Nausea
- Abdominal cramping
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Cravings for the drug
- Sleeplessness
- Restless leg syndrome
- Muscle aches
- Body pain and discomfort
- Depression
- Goose bumps
- Agitation
- Anxiety
- Low energy
- Yawning
- Low motivation
- Runny nose
- Watery eyes
- Sweating
- No appetite
- Low blood pressure
- Irritability
The above symptoms can start within a few, or up to about eight, hours after quitting heroin. They will peak in between 48 and 72 hours. In about a week, the most acute symptoms will be gone and patients are able to start repairing residual effects of heroin and developing coping skills in rehab.
Getting Over the Mental Hurdles in Heroin Withdrawal
It is important that you maintain a positive attitude in detox and rehab for heroin addiction. By expecting the worst, you will be setting yourself up for a struggle or relapse. Having a positive mindset can actually make heroin detox symptoms easier to bear. Likewise, giving in to fear and despair can make symptoms worse.
It is also important to remain distracted and busy in detox and life beyond early sobriety. Being busy gives you little to no time to focus on using heroin or the symptoms you are experiencing due to withdrawal. Spend time doing things that engage your attention and pique your interests. By finding fun things to do in life, you will help yourself remain clean from heroin.
Some ideas for distracting yourself in detox include:
- Talk to other people and get to know them.
- Watch favorite comedy movies or TV shows.
- Read a book.
- Pursue a creative interest like drawing or music.
- Walk around the outdoor spaces and enjoy the sunlight.
- Listen to music that does not remind you of using heroin.
Other great ideas for distracting yourself from withdrawal symptoms include:
- Write yourself a letter that tells you why you are quitting heroin and lists hopes for the future.
- Read magazines or books that you have never had time to read.
- Establish a sleeping pattern and stick with it.
- Try to make new friends in detox and rehab to develop a support system.
More than anything in detox, it is important to know that heroin withdrawal is the first step into sobriety. It is not the only step for recovery, with recovery being something you need to work on in rehab and beyond. If you want lasting sobriety, you have to get to know yourself better and identify the trauma and life issues that led you to heroin. Only after you put time and effort into recovery will that recovery be lasting.
Healing Springs Ranch Helps Patients Conquer Heroin Withdrawal Symptoms
Our treatment center is a unique place for patients who seek true and lasting recovery from heroin. Healing Springs Ranch addiction experts understand that you did not start using heroin because you wanted to spiral downward in your life. You started using heroin to fill a void within yourself that may have been the result of some trauma.
At Healing Springs Ranch, patients are treated using a whole person approach. Without gaining wellness in all aspects of your being, the weak parts will just relapse back into the fog of heroin abuse. The ranch is a caring community where everyone understands that to end addiction, old problems must be fixed and coping and relapse prevention skills must be learned.
While at Healing Springs Ranch, you will be treated by clinicians from the Trauma Institute. These professionals care about getting to the root of your addiction and helping you gain the life you want in recovery. Using principles from 12 step programs and an integrated addiction model of treatment along with practices of functional medicine, you can find healing in Tioga.
If you are ready to stop fearing withdrawal from heroin and start rebuilding a better life, call Healing Springs Ranch now at 866-656-8384. On the ranch, your new life can begin.