Can You Help a Heroin Addict If He Doesn’t Want to Get Sober?

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Around 1.1 million Americans over the age of 12 have used heroin in the past year. Nearly all of those individuals (1 million) have a heroin use disorder.

Does this disease affect someone you love? If so, you might have run into some resistance in your quest to help them find the treatment they need. The idea of going through heroin withdrawals, fear of failure, or fear of long-term abstinence from the pleasurable effects they get from heroin can make it difficult to take the first step toward recovery.

We can help you find treatment for yourself or a loved one. Call 800-934-1582(Sponsored) toll free today.

Making Withdrawal from Heroin More Positive

Many avoid quitting heroin due to fear of withdrawal.

Heroin alters the reward pathways in the brain to reinforce continued use. This is why someone may become physically ill and experience intense cravings for more heroin when the levels in their system drop. The greater their dependence, the quicker and more severe these heroin withdrawal symptoms will be.

Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) during detox can help. This process uses FDA-approved medications to help reduce cravings, ease physical pain, and lower the risk of relapse. One medication commonly used during heroin MAT is methadone.

A single dose of this medication can relieve cravings and withdrawal symptoms for 24 hours or more, helping individuals reduce their dependency on heroin and improving their overall health and social functioning. Buprenorphine is another medication that might be used. It works similarly to methadone. Both are effective medications that have been made more available to the many people suffering from opioid addictions.

Overcoming Fear of Failure

While MAT can be an effective part of medical detox, treatment for heroin addiction must also include therapy and counseling to help individuals overcome the psychological effects of substance use disorder. During these sessions, individuals can explore the reasons behind their drug use as well as some of the factors that might be keeping them trapped in the cycle of heroin use. This includes a fear of failure, which therapists can help them address and work through. Skill-building workshops and relapse prevention training are two tools that can help.

Medication maintenance using buprenorphine has also had positive, proven results in keeping the person engaged in their recovery efforts while minimizing the distress, cravings, and abuse of heroin and other opioids.

To help a heroin addict who doesn’t want treatment, knowing these options and where to find them can be a helpful assurance that heroin recovery is possible.

Interventions

Sometimes, the most direct way to help someone with a heroin addiction is to hold an intervention. This is a gentle, supportive conversation in which loved ones of individuals with substance use disorder come together to face the person and address their condition. It should come from a place of love and concern instead of judgment or shame, with an emphasis on finding effective treatment options and ways forward.

While you can hold an intervention on your own, many rehab centers offer the support of trained interventionists to help the process go more smoothly. Interventionists can specialize in communicating the benefits of heroin treatment and the alternative consequences to help guide the family and the abuser through the process.

Heroin treatment is available in many forms, including inpatient and outpatient programs. Even if you’re experiencing some initial resistance from your loved one, it’s important to know which options exist and what they include. The more you understand about heroin addiction, the better you can support them on their road to recovery.

We can help you get the treatment your loved one needs. Call 800-934-1582(Sponsored) toll free for help today.

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