People believe detox is the most painful part of kicking a bad habit such as substance or alcohol abuse. The truth is that the pain comes from the withdrawal symptoms that happen during the detoxification process.

This is why it is not uncommon for people to want to know about the detox duration before they commit to it. One of the first queries is usually “how long does it take to detox from heroin?” as one of the most common form issues relevant to substance abuse has to do with heroin.

The latest figures from the National Institute on Drug Abuse indicate that as of 2020, at least 0.3% of all American adults are heroin users. 2020 also saw one of the biggest heroin overdose-related deaths, with a number of 13,165.

Withdrawal is the body’s reaction to the sudden reduction or complete stoppage of substance or alcohol use. It comes in the form of physical and mental effects that could be anything from simply being immensely uncomfortable to life-threatening.

Just as chronic alcohol or drug use changes the body, the sudden decline and eventual elimination of these substances from the body also creates a massive change. On top of that, these massive changes also tend to be immensely stressful and, in some cases, require medical attention.

These symptoms, however, could be better managed if the person undergoes a detox program. Some people are more than willing to do whatever it takes to kick the habit but are under the misguided notion that they could do so by themselves. A detox program is designed so that all the necessary precautions are put in place during the detox process.

These precautions become a vital necessity should complications arise in the detox process. In many cases, the sudden loss of substances or alcohol in the body causes a shock to the system, leaving the person in either a coma or causing massive organ failure and death.

For those who happen to have a heroin substance abuse disorder, withdrawal symptoms could typically include:

The most important point is service setting. This feature of the program tends to be influenced by the following factors:

These symptoms could further be accompanied by the more general withdrawal symptoms experienced by most who go through detox, such as:

There are also a number of factors that affect the duration and severity of the withdrawal symptoms, including:

Outside of these factors, and within the confines of a detox facility, the physical symptoms could run from anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. The psychological symptoms, however, including depression, could last for far longer.

In some instances, the need for medication-assisted treatment is the only way to facilitate a successful detox, as the craving could be so intense that the person is in constant agony without taking whatever it is they have a dependency on.

Heroin is a substance that directly affects the central nervous system, often suppressing or causing irregularities in the proper functioning of some autonomic processes, such as blood pressure, breathing, heart rate, and even body temperature regulation.

With such wide-scale effect, it is no wonder that heroin abuse appears to be among those dependencies with the most withdrawal symptoms. In fact, heroin withdrawal symptoms could even be classified into three categories:

While these three levels do have a classification that is considered to be “severe,” most of these are not life-threatening at all. What makes heroin withdrawal particularly worrisome is that some people tend to have a serious adverse reaction by way of complications. As some of the more severe withdrawal symptoms include issues that involve the cardiovascular system, those with a particular susceptibility to heart disease could potentially be at great risk.

Heroin also affects the mental health of many who have developed a dependency on it. Depression is a common psychological issue that arises as a withdrawal symptom, and there are many cases of heroin withdrawal-induced depression lingering in the person for up to years at a time. Many of those who experienced depression as a symptom while in a detox program admitted to having suicidal thoughts at times.

Critical complications such as suicidal tendencies brought on by depression and impaired breathing stemming from heroin withdrawal are just a couple of reasons why detox should always be done in a clinical setting and not attempted at home.

The massive behavioral changes and alterations in normal thought patterns caused by heroin abuse require intensive and extensive psychotherapy to treat. This is why heroin addiction rehabilitation includes more psychotherapy than most other rehabilitation programs.

Examples of these psychotherapy approaches include:

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is an approach in psychotherapy that helps people manage problems by altering the way they think and behave. It is typically used to treat anxiety, depression, and other mental health problems.

This type of therapy works because it helps the person identify negative thoughts that could lead to self-harm, such as resorting to substances to deal with stress or problems.

Trauma is one of the most powerful influences on human behavior and thinking. Many people develop conditions and disorders due to unprocessed trauma. Somatic experiencing therapy works on the principle that trauma gets trapped in the body, leading to irrational fears and behavior, and also a warped way of thinking relevant to the trauma.

This approach has been used on people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and panic attacks. This method works on releasing this stress caused by the trauma from the body.

Motivational interviewing is a conversation-based therapy geared to learning about and strengthening an individual’s motivation for changing behavior. This approach basically emphasizes the “why” of therapy, removing the clutter and complexity of problem-solving and creating a simple direction to goal-achieving by simply pointing a straight path to the goal.

This approach establishes a person’s personal goal as the motivation for change. Different people could have different goals, which is why this approach is said to be highly personalized. Contact us today if you or a loved one is in need of help.

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