Opioid Addiction: What You Like, What You Don’t and What You Should Fear

The 2015 World Drug Report assembled by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, estimates 16.5 million opiate users worldwide, or .7 percent of the world’s population. All of these people wouldn’t be using the drugs if there wasn’t, at some point, a beneficial effect of using them.

At first, users definitely feel a euphoria that keeps them using, but as dependence and addiction set-in, the positive effects recede and some really negative ones set-in. Sadly, these effects only become worse with time and the end results are damaging and life-threatening.

What You Like

Ask any opioid user what the best part of their drug use is and they will, without doubt, identify the actual drug high. Because of the affect opioids have on the brain, they are able to create a euphoria unmatched by any natural trigger. In the beginning, the drugs wear off and you feel normal again. You return to your previous self and it feels good to chase the euphoria recreationally.

Opioid addicts should keep in mind that their addiction can lead to overdose and death.

Unfortunately, the brain quickly becomes dependent upon the opioids to provide the “high” and tolerance sets in. It takes more and more of the drug to create the euphoria. Although the drugs feel great, the opioids can’t continue to produce the high and let you return to normal. That stage of use ends fairly quickly.

If you really break it down and examine the situation fully, the only positive aspect of opioid use is that it can be treated by structured rehabilitation. In 2012, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reported 1,375,146 people sought drug treatment in the United States. Of these individuals, 42.6 percent were opioid users. Opioid users are out in the world fighting for their recovery and you can be one of them.

Your success lies in finding great resources, getting answers to your questions, and connecting with a treatment center that will work for you. All of these things are just a phone call away at 800-256-3490. Call to get started on your recovery.

What You Dislike

On one hand, treatment is great and you should like that you have it available as an option. What you won’t like is that treatment isn’t easy. According to the UNODC, only 22 percent of North Americans in treatment are first time patients. The rest have made multiple attempts to quit. Of the total number of North Americans entering treatment for opioid addiction, only 22 percent were first time entrants.

You may feel discouraged by the numbers but you have to remember that drug use is a chronic disease and like any other chronic disease, there will be relapses. People with heart disease or diabetes don’t get diagnosed and move onto perfect health. They work on it and they face set-backs. It is within your control to succeed. If you relapse, it’s just a sign that you need to adjust your treatment or recommit to it.

Treatment, detox, and withdrawal all pose a variety or discomforts (some very debilitating), so why aren’t they in the fear section? The truth is that detox and related withdrawal only lasts about a week. You can make it through that without putting your life in danger.

This is Why You Need Help Detoxing from Oxycodone

What You Should Fear

The reality is that chronic, extended opioid use will lead to more and more dangerous outcomes. This is due to the fact that opioid use is an activity that brings with it a number of negative and possibly deadly effect and that reality won’t change.

As people become more educated about opioid use, they become less likely to use the drugs, but that doesn’t mean that educated users are less likely to die. Education isn’t having an effect on that. The number of opiate users has remained stable for the last few years and has not gotten larger, which is great news. But, the number of deaths from opioids has increased. In the case of heroin, the 2015 World Drug Report finds rates of death have approximately tripled from 1.0 to 2.7 heroin overdose deaths per 100,000 of the population between 2010 and 2013. There has been a surge in the number of heroin-related deaths, rising from 3,036 to 8,527.

Treatment is hard, but you should be fearing death.

There are things about opioid use to dislike and things to fear, but the thing to like is that you can get help. For assistance finding a treatment center that can help you transition into recovery call 800-256-3490 and get started today.