Heroin, an addictive opioid drug, is known by several names, including big H, smack, horse, or hell dust. People use heroin to make themselves feel better. Opioids act on your body as depressants. That’s to say, they slow your respiration, slow your reflexes, and make you feel cozily calm and relaxed. Many people self-medicate with heroin to help combat stress and anxiety. Others use it as a powerful painkiller to relieve chronic pain, such as that caused by cancers. As a result, they may become addicted to this powerful drug that has the power to destroy or even end their lives. Treatment for heroin addiction from a heroin addiction treatment program like Rockland Recovery is the answer.
What Causes Heroin Addiction?
Heroin addiction, like all addictions, is influenced by risk factors. Risk factors are situations and circumstances that increase your odds of developing a dependency on drugs or alcohol. It may not be surprising to learn that risk factors take on many forms. Some risk factors are environmental, while others are cultural or social. One risk factor that has gained prominence over the last few years are genetic predispositions. Often, risk factors can be identified and avoid, but sometimes there is nothing an individual can do to change a risk factor (such as genetics). The best thing an individual can do is learn to recognize risk factors and develop healthy coping mechanisms to avoid substance use disorder. If you are struggling with addiction, think about attending a sober living home. Risk factors for heroin addiction include:
- A previous addiction to prescription opioids
- Prior history of polysubstance abuse
- Frequent use of marijuana, alcohol, or cocaine
Heroin addiction plays a large role in America’s opioid crisis, mostly thanks to the easy availability of opioid prescriptions. For many, heroin addiction begins as an addiction to legitimate painkillers such as oxycodone. Taking drugs like these long term carries a high risk of addiction. Still, physicians continue to write prescriptions for these dangerous drugs.
If you’re struggling with an addiction to heroin or another opioid drug, call Rockland Recovery in Massachusetts today. We’ll help get you into a quality substance abuse treatment program for heroin addiction.
Dangers of Heroin
Heroin addiction holds many dangers. Chief among them is accidental overdose. When you use heroin and drugs like it regularly, your body builds up a tolerance to the chemicals. As a result, you’re forced to use more and more to reach that same cozy “buzz.” It’s easy to take too much heroin this way. And unlike other drugs, when you overdose on heroin, you simply go to sleep. While you’re sleeping, your heart ceases to beat, resulting in death.
Roughly 15,000 people died in 2018 of heroin-related causes, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In fact, of all opioid-related deaths that year in this country, heroin accounted for a whopping 33 percent.
But even if heroin addiction doesn’t kill you, it can still cause a host of other problems, including:
- Collapsed veins
- Blood infection
- HIV/AIDS
- Memory Loss
- Depression
- Respiratory distress
- Coma
If you’re currently struggling with heroin, reach out today to find treatment at a drug addiction treatment program for heroin addiction. The longer you use, the more devastating the damage to your mind and body. Make that phone call today to find relief.
Seek Treatment for Heroin Addiction
When you’re ready to ask for help, Rockland Recovery is ready and waiting. Our experienced addiction treatment staff and comfortable surroundings put clients instantly at ease. There’s no judgment here, just evidence-based therapies to help you break your addiction to opioid drugs.
Learn better, healthier ways to cope with anxiety and disappointment in life. Strengthen your mind and your body while rejuvenating your soul. You can recover from substance use disorder; our treatment for heroin addiction is a beautiful place to begin. Call us today at 855.732.4842 to learn more.
