Heroin users develop tolerance, withdrawal symptoms, dependency and a number of other negative consequences very rapidly. You do not start using heroin with the intention of becoming a victim of substance use disorder. Despite some biased lay opinions, the disorder is also not a sign of weakness of character or being willfully obstinate. It is the compound result of unique combinations of events, circumstances and sensitivities imposed on a person.

We can help heroin victims

Heroin usage disorder requires individualised, multi-faceted treatment techniques by experienced therapists supported by dynamic resources. We excel in these qualifications.

Not just heroin

Users should not focus on heroin as an isolated substance disorder. Though you have settled on heroin, you can fluctuate between different drugs. Even if you manage to stop using heroine on your own, you can easily switch to other drugs later. Treatment must focus on the root drivers to prevent not only heroine relapses, but also alternative escapism drugs and ways to achieve full quality of life without them.

Heroin readiness

The potential for drug use disorder is often established decades before it starts. Victims of a traumatic childhood and other traumas are often left with emotional scars and maladaptations that linger for a long time. It can create an array of problems that can trigger victims to start using heroin at any moment later in life, in attempts to stabilise their moods or reconcile their behaviours with what life demands.

Heroin ambush

Heroin breeds tolerancy, which is a need to take ever larger dosages to get the same reaction. If someone repeatedly uses heroin and then stops for a reasonable time, they can easily overdose if they relapse. This is because they had previously adjusted to higher tolerancy volumes and made it a habit, but their detoxified systems can not absorb the shock of the high volume if they resume with the same high dosage.

Heroin destroys heroes

Details about the effects and consequences of heroin are widely available. At first you use heroin to gain a semblance of control or courage, but after a while it ploughs through your health, relationships and other assets, disrupting it and turning you into an outcast.

Bad as it is, heroin is not the real problem; it is just the wrong solution for the real problem. The real problem is the struggle to manage your feelings. Heroin soothes your inner conflicts for a while. Sadly, it comes with additional designs that are catastrophic for you.

There are many reasons why we turn to drugs. It is not because of a weak character. It is often due to unresolved emotions carried over from childhood trauma, or even adult trauma. Many other stressors also chime in. Because the underpinnings are complex, we struggle to understand and cope with it, so we desperately reach for self-medication as a solution.

Very often the underlying reasons for heroin usage are obscured and we look for reasons in the wrong places, or we just accept that “this is the way I am” and resolve to live with it. Often we reason that we just need something like heroin to occasionally tide us over when we feel a need for its effects.

Some of us are predisposed to substance use disorder, just like some people develop other illnesses more easily than we do. Heroin has tolerance and dependency properties. You have to use more and more to get the same effect and you can easily become dependent on it.

We usually believe we will not succumb to substance use disorder, but it happens. If you survive it, you may find yourself in the fortunate position of discovering that there are better solutions to managing your conflicts and actually enjoying life without self-medication.

Phone us for heroin advice

If you, or someone you care about, are struggling with heroin doubts, self-help usually results in the situation becoming worse. If you are concerned or uncertain, be brave and phone the number on this page for a confidential discussion with an emphatic counsellor who deals with it daily, understands the challenges and can help you with sound advice.

Media publications about substance use disorders are for broad public information and it is imperative that you obtain personal advice for your specific circumstances from a suitably qualified professional.