What Is Heroin Rehab?
If you or your loved one suffers from heroin addiction, you must get help as soon as possible. Heroin can be a difficult habit to kick if you don’t have the proper assistance. But with help, many heroin users can get and stay clean – and start living the life they want and deserve.
Treatment for heroin use and addiction is critical for a user to get on the path to long-term recovery. It can be challenging for someone abusing heroin, even for a relatively short time, to stop using and get clean by themselves.
Heroin is an opioid derived from the poppy plant and is known to be highly habit-forming. In addition to the rush of euphoria that comes with use, people on heroin may also experience dry mouth, nodding off (slipping in and out of consciousness), itching, a clouded mind, and sometimes nausea and vomiting.
When you stay on heroin for a longer time, you might find you’re subject to some other effects, such as the inability to sleep, infections of the heart’s lining and valves, liver and kidney disease, lung problems, depression, and negative sexual and menstrual effects. All these are dangerous complications, but getting clean through a heroin rehab will help you start healing from many of these problems.
On the other hand, if you OD on heroin, your breathing could slow down or even stop, which prevents oxygen from getting to your brain. That can lead to severe issues like permanent brain damage, coma, and death.
Heroin rehab gets you off the drug and helps you figure out why you started using it, so you never have to use it again. You can have a great life that you enjoy without heroin.
Why Does a Person Need to Go Through Heroin Rehab?
Because the drug is so addictive, many users face nasty consequences if they try to stop abruptly instead of gradually tapering off it. Many heroin users (possibly you too) keep using because the withdrawal symptoms seem too terrible to deal with on your own.
Attending a medical detox where you taper gradually off the drug with 24/7 supervision will make you more comfortable and can reduce the severity or even prevent some withdrawal effects. Having staff available will also provide help if your symptoms suddenly become severe.
Fortunately, the withdrawal effects don’t typically last long, being most severe in the hours or days after the last drug and becoming milder as time goes on. Detoxifying your body from the drug is a critical first step in getting clean. But even more important is discovering why you started using it in the first place and learning how to live a life free of heroin or other drugs.
Heroin Rehab Treatment Options
After detox, there’s inpatient or residential heroin rehab and outpatient care. Usually, when you get to rehab, the staff will assess your current condition, how long and how heavily you’ve been abusing heroin, and your medical history and status so that they can make a recommendation as to what level of care you need to start with.
Generally speaking, the longer and more heavily you’ve been using heroin, the more treatment you’ll need, so you’ll start at a higher level of care. Other factors, such as your physical and mental health, can affect what type of care you’ll need.
While you may or may not require medications to reduce cravings, you’ll receive behavioral therapy. It’s been shown to be very effective in helping anyone with a drug or alcohol addiction to address the root causes of substance use disorder. These therapies, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, help with relapse prevention and finding ways to live a life free of substances but still enjoyable.
Inpatient treatment
Residential facilities provide a very structured environment, anywhere from 30 to 90 days, depending on the recovery center and your personal needs. You’ll get individual and group counseling, and most treatment plans include life skills classes to learn to handle life on life’s terms.
In a residential setting, you can avoid many triggers that might otherwise tempt you in the outside world. If your life has previously revolved around getting heroin and using it, a place to live with a solid structure will help you avoid feeling too hungry, angry, lonely, tired, or bored.
While in care, you can learn new skills and set aside unhealthy habits for those supporting sobriety. Many people find that the more they can practice their unique skills and habits in a safe place away from triggers, the more likely they will be successful in recovery. That’s why a more extended treatment stay is better for some people.
Outpatient treatment
Once you’ve graduated from inpatient care, you’re ready to transition to outpatient. You’ll spend at least some of your time back in the “real world,” but you’ll still receive counseling and practice healthy skills.
Some people need an intensive outpatient program (IOP) with more hours of treatment. Afterward, they go to general outpatient care and continue planning how to manage sobriety.
After outpatient treatment, you might consider aftercare or sober living to help support you on your recovery path.
If you have a dual diagnosis, you’ll often start treating heroin use first. The recovery center can’t treat any underlying disorders until you stop using the drug. While you may not know that you have any mental health issues, they can crop up during treatment.
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Finding the Right Heroin Treatment Center
You must find a heroin rehab that will treat the whole person and not treat you like just another number or a case. Caring staff that will allow you to keep your dignity as you go through the process will make you feel more comfortable and allow you to focus on your own sobriety.
You also want a recovery center that uses scientific principles and evidence-based treatment to help you get well. Consider recovery programs that have a customized approach to helping substance abusers get clean because not everyone responds the same way to a cookie-cutter treatment plan.
Finding a rehab that treats co-occurring disorders is critical, even if you haven’t been diagnosed. You may not have a dual diagnosis, but if you do, you want a facility that can help you with that too. You’ll also want to check and see if it takes your insurance so you don’t have to worry about financial stress while trying to get well.
Although it’s not always necessary, you might consider a rehab with a sober living component. Once you graduate from the program, the people and places you associate with using could tempt you again. Sober living allows you to continue your journey in a place where you have accountability and support.
Start Your Addiction Treatment with Muse Treatment Center
If you are looking for an evidence-based, holistic approach to treating the whole person, look no further than Muse Treatment Center. We specialize in helping people get well in body, mind, and soul, and we believe in support and a high level of care for anyone who chooses to come through our doors.
Getting sober is sometimes easier than staying sober, and we do all we can to support you on your journey to clean and enjoyable living. We have relapse prevention advocates available 24/7 and provide you with stress reduction programs as well. In addition to detox, inpatient, outpatient, and sober living environments, we have a neural rehab that helps your whole brain recover from the effects of heroin use by learning how to be calm and relaxed.
Don’t wait any longer to start the life that you want and deserve. Get help for your heroin addiction today by calling Muse Addiction Treatment Center at (800) 426-1818.
