Opioid addiction is a serious problem in America, and around the world. Opioids are an umbrella term for anti-pain medications, as well as illegal substances such as heroin. They are most commonly prescribed as painkillers after an injury or surgery, but can also be used for a mental illness such as ADHD or bipolar disorder. Opioids work by stimulating the brain’s pleasure center and blocking pain signals. There are some important things you need to know about opioid addiction in order to better understand how it works and what you can do to get better.
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1. Withdrawal Symptoms
Opioid addiction is a physical and mental dependence on opioids. When you’re addicted to opioids, your body becomes accustomed to their effects. If you stop taking them abruptly or reduce the dosage too quickly, you will experience withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal symptoms can be very uncomfortable and include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle aches, and fever. The symptoms differ depending on which opioid was abused. If you are experiencing severe symptoms, it might be a good idea to go online and type – Suboxone doctors near me in your browser. Those meds can help alleviate physical symptoms without providing the high that can be experienced with opioids. In some cases, withdrawal can even be life-threatening. It’s important to seek professional help when detoxing from opioids.
2. Typical Behaviors
While every person is an individual with their own set of characteristics, addiction is an illness, and as such it does have typical symptoms. People addicted to opioids are likely to take them in large quantities or for longer than is necessary. Addiction also changes the way people think about their drug use so that it becomes a high priority. They may prioritize opioid abuse over work, relationships, family obligations, and other hobbies. The exhibited behaviors while under the influence may vary depending on certain factors, addicts tend to change their behavior even when they aren’t using at the moment.
With most addictions, it almost seems like the inflicted person has stopped their self-development process. If the addiction is going on for years, that might mean a twenty-something-year-old is still acting as if they were the same age as when the addiction first started. On the other hand, oftentimes there is a noticeable form of regression in their behavior as well. They tend to become less dependable, easily irritated, defensive – and start losing interest in things and people if they are unlikely to have an opportunity to get high while spending time on them. These behaviors can be hard on loved ones, however, it’s important to note that it has almost nothing to do with the addicted person, and everything to do with the illness itself.
3. Becoming Addicted
Many people hear about opioid addiction and think that could never happen to them. Unfortunately, there is still a stigma around addiction – people tend to think that addicts are people whose personality is lacking something, or perhaps they’re just mean people who do drugs, or even criminals. In reality, opioid addiction can happen to anyone – it’s just a matter of the right circumstances coming together. Opioid addiction occurs when someone takes opioids with a frequency and/or dosage that puts their body under stress for too long. As it was mentioned earlier, while heroin is an opioid, a lot of them are actually medications prescribed by a licensed doctor in order to treat a very real condition.
Once you consider that they stimulate the pleasure centers in your brain, it’s easy to see how one could become addicted. Depending on extenuating circumstances, sometimes trying an opioid just once can lead to addiction, while other times, it slowly developed over the course of the therapy you’re taking them for. However, it never has anything to do with someone being a bad person – just like someone that caught the flu isn’t a bad person either. No one chooses to be ill.
4. Mental Health Consequences
It’s very common for people suffering from opioid addiction, or any kind of addiction really, to also suffer from some sort of mental health issue. It’s important to understand that there can be a fine line between one and the other, making it difficult to establish what came first, but if you are suffering from either, it is highly advised to seek professional help. People who suffer from opioid addiction are more likely to suffer from depression, bipolar disorder, and anxiety disorders. On the other hand, people who suffer from mental health issues are also more likely to develop an addiction. It’s a very dangerous cycle that can be difficult to break free from on your own. The combination of the two conditions often makes it harder for people to ask for help early on. Depression can make you unable to do anything about it, and addiction makes you want to keep using and not do anything about it. That said, getting better is far from impossible.
5. Reaching Rock Bottom
Before things get better, they usually get a lot worse. For a lot of addicts, reaching rock bottom is the only thing that gets them to ask for help. The longer addiction goes on, the more severe consequences can get. People who suffer from opioid addiction might:
- Lose their job
- Miss important family and friend gatherings and events
- Forget important things they said they’d do or were supposed to do
- Hurt people they love because they can’t control their behavior
- Go on spending sprees
- Experience trauma
- Get physically and emotionally hut
- Get arrested or detained
- Lose their home, car, other possessions
Going through all of these consequences has a very real, negative impact on someone’s life. They are often said to be the result of “losing yourself” – and that’s exactly what it is. However, while hitting rock bottom is incredibly hard, it’s good to remember that there’s nowhere to go next but up.
6. Asking For Help And Getting Better
It can be incredibly hard to ask for help when it comes to addiction, but it’s one of the most important things you can do. Remember that addiction is a disease, and like any other disease, it can be treated. There are many different types of rehab programs, and finding the right one for you is essential in order to make a successful recovery. There are also many different types of support groups available, as well as individual counseling. You don’t have to do this on your own – there are plenty of people that want to help you get better.
Once you’ve completed a rehab program and/or been in a support group, it’s important to keep up with your recovery. This means continuing to go to counseling or therapy and avoiding people and places that might tempt you to use again. It’s also important to find healthy ways to cope with stress and other negative emotions. With time and effort, you can reclaim your life and start living the way you want to.
