How to Get the Most Out of Outpatient Heroin Drug Abuse Treatment
Outpatient heroin drug abuse treatment is one way to help you end your heroin addiction. During outpatient care you can stay at home, work, and take care of your family rather than being confined to a hospital. Unfortunately, it is not as effective as inpatient treatment. It is extremely important that you make the most out of your outpatient heroin addiction treatment.
Listen to Everyone you Can
Listening is an extremely important skill when you are in heroin drug abuse treatment. You can only learn, if you are listening. The people that you want to listen to most are:
• Your counselors or therapist
• Your doctor and psychiatrist
• Your addiction specialist and planning manager
• The others in your group sessions
Group therapy is a main component of outpatient heroin abuse treatment, according to the National
Institute on Drug Abuse. Listening to the stories of others will help you understand yourself.
Talk to Those Around you
When you are not listening, you should talk about what started your heroin addiction and your story. Talk in group sessions so you can receive the help of others.
It is also important to talk to your doctors. Any symptoms that you might have could be an important indication. It could be that you need your medication changed or it could show signs of something else going on.
Conquer your Cravings
One of the key drawbacks of outpatient treatment is that you will be exposed to your triggers. Triggers are people, places, and things that cause you to crave heroin. While you are in the outpatient center, learn your triggers and how to deal with them. This is the only way you will be able to conquer your cravings while at home.
When you are in heroin addiction rehab, it is important to make the very most out of your treatment. This is the only way to recovery.
How to Listen When Someone Says You Need Heroin Drug Abuse Treatment
Hearing that you need heroin drug abuse treatment is never an easy thing. If you are doing heroin on a regular basis, chances are they are right and you need help. When someone is trying to tell you that you need treatment for your heroin addiction there are a few things that you should do.
Listen to What they Have to Say
Listen to what they have to say patiently. Even if you think you do not need treatment, it is still important to take a second to make sure you are hearing them. They might use phrases like:
• You need help
• You are out of control
• The things that you are doing really bother me
• You are hurting your family
• You need rehab
Each of these phrases might make you angry but it is important to listen. Try to keep your anger in check.
They are not judging you. They are trying to help.
Run Through the Symptoms with Them
The first question you want to ask is, is your heroin use interfering with your life? Are you doing it even though it is having negative consequences? You might want to run through the classic symptoms of addiction with them. According to the Mayo Clinic, the symptoms of drug addiction are:
• Craving the drug
• Tolerance to the drug
• Doing thing that you would not ordinarily do to get the drug
• Taking risks that you should not be taking like driving or high risk sex while high
• Failing in attempts to quit using the drug
• Not meeting your obligations at school or work
Run through each of the symptoms with the person asking you to seek heroin drug abuse treatment. If the symptoms fit, chances are they are right. It is important to do this with someone because they can be more objective.
The Reward Circuit and Heroin Drug Abuse Treatment
Heroin addiction is a chronic relapsing disease of the brain. A pathway known as the reward circuit essentially controls it. When you use heroin it triggers what is known as the reward circuit. This becomes a never ending loop unless you seek heroin addictions treatment. You can read more about it here: http://addictions.com/
What is the Reward Circuit?
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the reward circuit controls your ability to feel pleasure and makes you repeat behaviors that you find pleasurable. Under normal circumstances, these behaviors are things like eating, sleeping, and being around people that you care about. In the case of drug abuse or addiction, it motivates you to seek out the drug.
In order to feel pleasure the body has to release a chemical called dopamine into the brain. This chemical is the primary chemical messenger for feeling good, falling in love, or experiencing any kind of enjoyment. The brains reward circuit is essentially a loop inside the brain. When you complete an action such as spending time with a loved one and the brain releases dopamine which in turn makes you want to spend more time with that person, which releases more dopamine.
What does the Reward Circuit have to do with Heroin Use?
Heroin is a chemical way to release dopamine into your brain. When you take heroin, it floods your brain with dopamine and trips the reward circuit loop. The heroin takes the place of things that you would normally find pleasure in. Therefore, instead of wanting to spend time with a loved one, your body begins to desire the heroin instead.
Since heroin floods your body with so much dopamine that it becomes tolerant to it you need more and more to achieve the same result. If you do not seek heroin drug abuse treatment, you can permanently damage the receptors in your brain responsible for feeling pleasure. This results in the inability to feel pleasure from anything.
