Detox from Opioids- You’re Not Alone

             It’s scary, we understand. A huge transition is happening for you.  Your body is experiencing opiate withdrawals. Your mental health has been on a journey. You now have decided to undergo detox for opioids. You now must say goodbye to drug abuse, to social media, to physical dependence, to your friends and your family, to muscle aches and drug addiction. You have decided to make a treatment plan and quit cold turkey and like we said, it’s scary.

       You’re going to feel like you’re hitting rock bottom because you probably never imagined you would end up in drug treatment. Drug treatment for opiates is very intimate. Most opiate addiction begins with trying something once or using it to recover from injury. We understand that you never meant for it to get this far. We want you to know that you’re not alone. Here are some things to remember as you go through addiction treatment for opioid drugs.

photo courtesy of (shutterstock.com)

The People At Your Treatment Center Want To HELP

We understand that you’ve had a lot of people in your treatment center talking at you. The first few days of treatment might seem really impersonal because you’re giving lots of people information. Your withdrawal symptoms will also make you really irritable. People will seem to be imposing their beliefs on you and you’re probably overwhelmed.  Whether your family staged an intervention, or you checked yourself into a rehab facility, remember that detox programs exist to help. Opioid drugs alter your dopamine levels to the point of emotional and physical dependence, and we know that it seems awful to have people take that away from you. These people, however, are saving your life. The staff at your treatment center are experts at rebuilding you into a better person. Some of them probably have gone through drug or alcohol addiction themselves. Your mental health is centered around a need for something that the treatment center cannot provide you. Your brain is telling you to shut them out, but please let them help you. Opioids alter the brain in huge ways. Your understanding of the help you’re getting is necessary.

The withdrawal timeline holds that you won’t be physically stable for the first few days. The health risks of withdrawal are painful without the help of medical professionals. Muscle aches are common, as well as nausea and anxiety.  Medical detox and behavioral therapy are your best friends. The treatment center will become a lifelong place of comfort. It is okay to let professional and caring people help you feel physically well so that your mental health can catch up.

You will notice through your medical detox process that you start to feel better. The mental side of it may still feel a bit strange. The people at your treatment center want to see you succeed, remember this as you start to mentally grasp the situation. Smart recovery comes from accepting these helping hands.

Talking About Your Drug Abuse Makes A Difference

You probably think your situation is one of a kind. While parts of it may be, your peers are going through similar things. Staying wrapped up in your thoughts and not talking about them can be really dangerous for your mental health. You are around people who are used to substance abuse, that have been going through opiate withdrawals and are now facing addiction treatment.  Some people might have no other choice but to be there, while some volunteered to go.

Talk to them about your drug use and health. Tell them what triggers your drug abuse.  Ask them their story. Is it similar to yours? What’s different? You’ll meet people who started with prescription painkillers, or maybe they started with gateway drugs and got mixed in with people who didn’t influence them well. How does that relate to your introduction to opioid drugs? You’ll meet people who are hitting rock bottom. Everyone will be moving at a different pace emotionally. It’s going to feel uncomfortable. You don’t have social media as a distraction during a group session, or a television to avert your attention. You’ll have to quit more than just drugs cold turkey. You’ll learn to say goodbye to anxiety and feeling alone too. You’ll have to quit bottling up your pain because there will be so much ability for you to let it out of your system.

 You might want to figure out how you feel about your drug addiction before actually talking about it. Many people often think it’s smart to do this because talking about it can get very emotional. But, the best way to sort out feelings is to talk about them. You’ve been sent on a downward spiral. It’s okay to not have the answers to all your questions stored up in your head. Why not use the support around you for stability?

Keep in mind that your peers will need you too. This will provide you a way to use your wisdom to help people, allowing you to realize your worth as a person. You’re not alone, but you’ll have so much empathy for your peers that you’ll want to make sure they don’t feel alone either.  See these new friendships as relapse prevention and above all, new support systems. Most people leave treatment programs with a new set of lifelong friends who promote good mental health and physical health. After treatment, these are the people who will live sober with you and keep you on the right track. Your friends that drink and casually use drugs are not going to understand as much as you want them to, but you should still open up to them in to influence good behavior.

Talking means asking for help too. If you’re feeling withdrawal symptoms and cannot bear them, ask for a doctor. If you’re feeling anxious enough to panic, ask for a psychologist. Opiate addiction can be very severe, and it affects the brain on a level that takes a lot of adjusting to realign. Each treatment option is going to take some getting-used-to. Verbalizing your needs when you have an issue ensures that you have proper care.

You’re Searching For Balance In Your Mental Health

Relapse prevention comes in many forms, but the most important one is balancing your mind. During addiction treatment for opioid use, you may set an expectation that your mental health will be “fixed.” What does that mean though? There is no such thing as a perfect, happy person. We all have our flaws. Even the people taking you through therapy have their own bad days. While some people seem like they have everything figured out, they don’t. Each person struggles with balance in their life.

You may think that substance abuse is out of the question after treatment because you will be happy, and cured of all blues or physical dependence. While this is possible, remember to search for balance in your feelings before searching for absolute happiness. Hitting rock bottom, it may seem like you’re being forced to climb your way to the top. Don’t pressure yourself too much to climb too fast. Above all, don’t beat yourself up if you don’t feel like you’re at the peak of your life right after drug rehab. It’s going to take time to find what balances out your pain.

 Treat muscle aches with a hot bath or a nap. Find a heating pad and a good book and let your body relax. Treat lapses in mental health with a journal entry or a phone call to an old friend. The key to addiction treatment is to assist you in balancing your life so that you when you’re out, you avoid relapse. What hurts you that may cause you to use drugs again? What can you do to heal the emotional pain so you prevent future drug abuse?  What have you learned from your drug addiction? This knowledge will teach you things about yourself you never thought you’d know. You will be on the track to happiness when you search first for this balance. See this is a treatment plan for your mental stability and a way to appreciate both the positive and negative aspects of your addiction treatment.

A normal day will consist of something like this: you’ll wake up, participate in some kind of mind relaxing activity like a meal or exercise, and then you’ll attend various kinds of therapy. These things aren’t there to fix you, no one wants you to feel like you need to be fixed and rewired. They’re there to recenter the parts of your health that have been altered by drugs. They’re there to teach you how to be yourself without the need to harm your health.

Healing Is Not Linear, Neither Is Addiction Treatment

 The most important thing to remember is that healing is not linear. The withdrawal timeline is going to ebb and flow and you won’t always feel progressive.  Many people who have gone through alcohol and drug treatment have gone through it multiple times because their expectations are too high when they get out. Your life isn’t going to become a dream as soon as you get out, but it will be better than you thought it would be because your mind will be stronger.

 The effects of drugs on your mind and body have been severe and while you’re surrounded by people who get it, it’s not always going to feel clear. You will have amazing days and you will have days that make you want to fall right back into drug abuse. When you have those days, remember to balance them with the knowledge you’ve gained from drug rehab. There will be times that you feel accomplished and times you feel alone and like you have failed. Failure does not exist in the recovery world. If you made the choice to go through with drug rehab, you did the opposite of failure. Sometimes you will love the treatment options given to you, sometimes you’ll have a hard time knowing if these treatment options are actually helping. Your mental health is making a transformation away from being attached to a serious drug.  Quitting cold turkey is serious. Detox from opioids is serious. Smart recovery is knowing that recovery is not perfect. It is up to you to recognize what aspects of the detox program help you the most and utilize them as much as possible. It is also up to you to understand that healing takes time, and not every day will be an improvement upon the last.

This is the same when you’re out of drug rehab as well. Whether you’re in a sober living environment, or in outpatient treatment, your life has completely changed. When you have bad days, it is up to you to understand what methods you have to soothe your soul. It is also up to you to accept that those bad days will come and when they do, we know you’ll be ready if you follow these tips carefully.

 Remember these tidbits as you go through your journey towards a better, healthier life. Be proud of yourself for even taking the time to read through this advice. Some people find themselves in so much denial through their drug addiction that using is the only way out of pain. Pain is temporary, and your future is up to you to form. You’ve made the choice to see through this pain and conquer it. You’re around people who want to help you through opiate addiction.  Talking to your family and friends as well as the staff at your recovery center will improve your mental health. Healing is certainly not as linear as it may seem and balance is the key to your happiness. When you lose that balance, remember that you’re never alone in finding it again.