What is heroin addiction?

This group of drugs is characterized by regular, daily intake, the growth of tolerance (i.e. The constant increase of the dose), a strong physical and psychological dependence. The need for the heroin addicts is similar to hunger and thirst, because without narcotics body experiences great stress, and the addict feels painful symptoms of physical and mental crisis. Because of the fact that the very dependency has its peculiarities, the process of treating heroin addiction is quite time-consuming and requires the participation of the patient.


There are many points of view on how to properly treat addiction to heroin


Some believe that the patient needs to be “broken” in order to suffer because of the removal of heroin and that when they remember their suffer, they will not want to take the drug again. Others suggest that regular use of heroin affects the brain so that the person is not more capable of being in a sober condition. The only way they see is the replacement of heroin by “benign” methadone and by the control of the intake of this substance. Someone advises to take blockers for drugs, someone was helped by the church, someone will try in desperation to treat heroin with alcohol, marijuana and pills to calm.


Indeed, there are many ways to cure drug addiction and each of them has a successful and unsuccessful examples


It’s applied a different therapy for each patient, for example, for someone detoxification process should be gradual, with no major medical burden; for another patient, this method will not respond, because taking 3-4 grams per day intravenously every two hours, will cause an addict feel so strong desire to take heroin again and not feel the severe symptoms of the crisis, it will be because of a desire for drug talk that he changed his mind and does not want to be treated. In this case, the treatment must be forced and strong, in order to fully control the physical and psychological changes in the body of the patient.


After completion of detoxification performs the most important moment in the treatment of heroin addiction


In this period, the desire for narcotics is stronger than ever and if the patient discontinues the treatment, then he/she will return to narcotics in a few days. This is a moment of psychological crisis, obsessive-compulsive desire for heroin. From early morning, the patient has bothering thoughts on how to find money for drugs, how to feel the effects of the substance, i.e. pleasant bliss. Treatment of desire for drugs or psycho-correction needs to break the stereotypes of the drug in the patient’s memory and to on the subconscious level delete attractiveness of narcotics. This cannot be achieved only through negotiations, the impact on the patient must be much more intense. Hypnosis, information therapy, the stimulation of natural endorphin system, audio-visual stimulation and correction of asymmetry between the hemispheres of the brain cause the patient notices his mood has stabilized, that his thoughts become more positive. At this stage may be conducted psychotherapy, and the patient action plans in the future to re-establish normal family relations can be discussed on a conscious level, and formed a new model of behavior.


After this it is often used pharmacological blockade, opioid antagonists are used. When a patient takes a blocker or where it is protected implants, drug use becomes  impossible/dangerous. Regular checks after leaving the hospital include respecting the recommendations of doctors, taking the therapy to maintain a stable state of the patient, refraining from taking other psychoactive substances, to avoid provoking the situation and the organization of free time completing the process of withdrawal from narcotics.