Morphine belongs to the same class of drugs as opium, OxyContin, heroin and Demerol. As a powerful opiate medication, morphine works well as a treatment for moderate to severe pain conditions. Unfortunately, morphine carries a high risk for abuse and addiction even when its taken as prescribed, according to the National Highway Safety Administration.

Once a person becomes addicted to morphine, the body and mind have become dependent on the drug’s effects. Dependency in any form essentially traps users inside a cycle of ongoing drug use.

For many people, getting help for morphine addiction offers the only means for breaking the drug’s hold over their lives. Morphine addiction treatment programs specialize in helping addicts get passed the physical effects of morphine while equipping them with the tools and mindset needed to overcome their psychological “need” for the drug.

For anyone considering treatment, here are six benefits of getting help for morphine addiction.

1. Detox Treatment Help

The withdrawal effects experienced while using pale in comparison to the discomfort addicts experience when detoxing. After so many failed attempts at quitting, a person reaches the point where getting help for morphine addiction becomes the only viable option. Detox treatment programs specialize in helping addicts make it through this critical stage in the recovery process.

2. Residential Treatment Help

For long-term morphine users, detox only marks the beginning of the recovery process. Chronic morphine use can continue to impair a person’s cognitive processes and emotional stability long after he or she stops using. Residential treatment help for morphine addiction provides a structured treatment and living environment where recovering addicts can develop the type of healthy mindset needed to maintain ongoing abstinence.

3. Treatment for Underlying Problems

Addiction alters a person’s motivations and belief systems to the point where the drug is viewed as necessary for survival. While the physical aspect of addiction causes its own sets of problems, helping addicts overcome this psychological dependency becomes an essential part of the recovery process. Individual and group psychotherapy help for morphine addiction enables a person to work through the underlying issues driving addiction behaviors.

4. Medication Therapies

Months or years of morphine use diminish the brain’s functional capacity. Without some form of physical support, long-term addicts have a slim chance of maintaining abstinence for any length of time. Under these conditions, medications, such as buprenorphine and methadone offer the type of help for morphine addiction a person needs to stay in recovery.

5. Aftercare Supports

Opiate addictions in general carry a high risk for relapse even after a person goes through detox and residential treatment. Getting needed help for morphine addiction means doing whatever it takes to stay engaged in the recovery process for the long-term. Aftercare supports, such as 12-Step support groups and needed ongoing psychotherapy can help recovering addicts stay engaged and focused on recovery.

6. Creating a Drug-Free Lifestyle

Through the course of treatment, a person comes to understand what goes into living a drug-free lifestyle. From the first day addicts enter the recovery process, they’re developing the attitudes and mindsets needed to live drug-free on an ongoing basis. In effect, creating a drug-free lifestyle becomes the long-term goal when getting help for morphine addiction.