Heroin Addiction

Five Tips for Staying Away from Heroin

Heroin addiction can be one of the most damaging. Here are five tips for keeping your recovery plan alive:

 Develop a clear picture of recovery

 People new to recovery may not have a very clear picture of their new lifestyle. It can be very intimidating to initiate such a major lifestyle change. Addicts in recovery know they want to stay clean and sober but they may not know how to. What will they do, say and think differently? It is important to get the answers to these questions during your treatment program so you can bring your own picture of recovery from heroin addiction into clear focus.

 Be willing to change

 Addicts often keep lots of secrets. Secrets can be damaging. It all comes down to a few questions: what do I want? What price am I willing to pay for it? The key word here is willing. As the NA program points out, honestly, open mindedness and willingness are key for recovery from heroin addiction. Once the addict is willing, recovery will follow.

 Stay around positive people

 It is not possible to recover alone from drug addiction. A huge part of recovery means involving other people in your life in a positive way. Self help groups, close family members and non-using friends, sponsor, counsellors are all people involved in your recovery who will make a positive contribution. This is one of the most powerful things you can do, to seek help.

 Keep learning about recovery

 There is no point in addiction recovery where a person has “made it”. One needs to keep learning about their own recovery, reading the literature, talking to others, listening to others about their recovery. If you flood your mind with recovery thoughts then the recovery will expand.

 Keep doing what works

 In drug addiction recovery, the addict may experience highs and lows. It is important not to get bogged down by the lows or get too carried away by the highs. He may experience intense cravings for heroin drug even years into recovery. Going to meetings, keeping in touch with your sponsor or counselor, working on resentments and fears are some of the things that are advised to people in all stages of recovery. One needs to remember that “this too shall pass” applies for the bad times as well as the good times. So it is necessary to hold onto a stable working plan for recovery so that it remains unaffected by the life events out of one’s control. Small things make a big difference.

 These and such tips are learnt at a rehab. One of Asia’s leading rehabs – Hope Trust – has vast experience in helping heroin addicts reclaim their lives. A professional team of addiction therapists evolves individual treatment plans and identifies the unique relapse triggers. Relapse prevention tips are part of the treatment plan.

 If you or someone you love is struggling with drug addiction, contact Hope Trust and let them guide you through the process of recovery.