Clarity's Clinically Proven Heroin and Opioid Addiction Programme

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Heroin Addiction Treatment at Clarity Rehab
in Chiang Mai, Thailand

What is heroin addiction?

Heroin is a class A drug made from morphine, and is also part of the ‘opiate’ category of drugs which derives from poppies. While versions of the drug have been around for hundreds of years, and continue to treat people across the world for complaints of pain or sleeplessness, heroin is a much stronger iteration of morphine, otherwise known as ‘diamorphine’.

The highly addictive qualities of heroin result from repeated use in order to obtain the desired side effects of wellbeing and pleasure. While these effects can initially sound appealing, the stark reality is that taking heroin involves serious short and long-term risks to your physical and mental health, including poor mental functioning, uncontrollable urges to itch your skin, and health problems associated with dependency such as liver disease, seizures, heart problems and blood clots.

Free heroin addiction assessment with Clarity Rehab

If you are worried that you or a loved one may have a heroin addiction, Clarity’s free initial addiction assessment offers you an opportunity to discuss all of the options associated with your addiction. This assessment takes place with an experienced psychologist and is completely confidential. There are many symptoms associated with heroin use and a range of indicators that a person may be using it.

Treatment for heroin addiction

At Clarity, we are dedicated to providing expert heroin addiction treatment to all who entrust us with their care. We recognise that addiction does not define who you are, and we want to help you to put this behaviour behind you so that you can begin living the full and happy life that you deserve.

We understand that using heroin has likely caused immense distress throughout all aspects of your life, and it is our mission to help you to achieve recovery on all levels – mentally, physically, emotionally and socially.

It’s important to recognise the need to seek help. Heroin addiction will almost certainly require an inpatient programme to overcome.

Treatment for heroin addiction takes place as part of our addiction treatment programme, which involves intensive group and individual counselling in order to identify all of the associated issues and treat them holistically. Our consultant-led teams work to identify the patterns of destructive behaviour and social impact that the addiction has upon the individual’s life and the lives of people closest to them. Having the support of family and friends can be a significant advantage on the road to recovery, as they are able to offer a strong support network.

Methods of taking Heroin

Heroin is most commonly injected intravenously, although it can be snorted, smoked or inhaled. Dependence and subsequently addiction to the drug can occur rapidly, with your body developing a tolerance quickly, causing you to require more of the drug to appease your cravings, risking fatal overdose and many associated difficulties.

All four ways of taking heroin, deliver the drug to the brain rapidly. Once there, it is converted back into morphine and binds to opioid receptors, located in many areas of your brain, such as those involved with pain perception, reward, and other areas that are critical for life.

What is Heroin addiction?

Heroin is an illegal and highly addictive substance, and is the synthesised and more potent version of the powerful painkiller morphine. Despite the serious health risks involved with taking heroin, it remains a popular drug across the world, with an estimated 9 million people believed to be using. Heroin addiction is compounded by seeking out and using the drug despite being aware of negative side effects in your life, such as harming your mental and physical health, getting into financial difficulty, or struggling to maintain personal relationships.

The depressant properties of the drug mean that you experience a state of relaxation and euphoria as chemicals in your brain alter. As with other opiate drugs such as oxycodone and hydrocodone, use of heroin actually blocks your ability to feel pain. This ‘numbing’ effect can often mask underlying physical and mental health issues which are causing significant distress, and can be part of the reason why heroin use is rarely casual.

While you may initially be able to conceal signs and symptoms of heroin misuse, people closest to you such as colleagues, partners and family members may begin to notice behavioural signs and symptoms in time. Visible signs of heroin addiction include shortness of breath and constricted pupils, while possession of paraphernalia including burned silver spoons and repeated hostile or deceptive behaviours can indicate a heroin problem.

As you build a tolerance to heroin over time, it becomes increasingly difficult to stop using the drug. Increased frequency and amount of heroin being taken to achieve the same initial effects of wellbeing, euphoria and pain relief leaves you exposed to an increasing number of physical symptoms including weight loss, infections where injecting, loss of menstrual cycle in women, and increasingly visible cuts, bruises, scabs and needle marks on your arms.

The transition from dependence to addiction increases the dangerous cycle of requiring the drug in your body in order to function, and not being able to stop due to a fear of the withdrawal effects experienced should you decide not to use heroin. When heroin addiction has reached this point, it is imperative that you seek controlled medical treatment and embark on a detoxification process in order to avoid potentially fatal complications of withdrawal.

What causes heroin addiction?

While there is no specific cause leading to heroin dependency and addiction, studies into how or why someone may be more likely than others to develop an addiction have concluded that the following factors may be involved:

Genetics – having family members who are addicted to heroin or have a history of drug use can indicate that you are more pre-disposed to developing addictive tendencies than people with no family history of substance abuse.

Biological – an additional theory includes the possibility that people developing addictions to drugs such as heroin may have brains which don’t produce enough natural endorphins. Also known as the ‘feel-good’ chemicals when we exercise or listen to music we like, the lack of endorphins in the brain can contribute to feeling as though you have to balance your mood with the aid of heroin.      

Environmental – if addiction has been part of your life since your childhood or adolescent years, such as growing up in a home where addiction and substance misuse is normalised, then this can contribute to a view that drugs can be something to turn to when the stresses of life take hold.      

Psychological – co-existing mental health disorders such as bipolar disorder, anxiety and depression, can often be underlying when a person is addicted to heroin. Heroin may be used to ‘mask’ symptoms of such conditions, particularly if you have not yet been diagnosed with a mental health issue.  

What are the symptoms of heroin addiction?

Chronic heroin abuse can result in addiction and a variety of severe complications and illnesses. There is a risk of Hepatitis B or C, or HIV, often through the sharing of needles. If you have regularly used heroin for an extended period of time, you may suffer from collapsed veins, infection of the heart lining and valve, constipation, gastrointestinal issues, and liver or kidney disease.  

You may eat significantly less and begin to suffer from complications associated with malnutrition, combined with your drug abuse. If you smoke heroin, you will be at further risk of breathing problems, chest infections, and lung congestion.

You may continue to consume heroin because of its pain-relieving abilities or simply to stave off any withdrawal symptoms, finding yourself dragged into a vicious cycle. The longer this goes on, the greater the likelihood of serious illness related to the addiction. If you attempt to break this cycle, the withdrawal symptoms of heroin can begin as soon as a few hours after use, contributing to its addictiveness.

Heroin withdrawal symptoms may include:

  • Intense heroin cravings
  • Sickness and vomiting
  • Strong muscle and bone aches
  • Restlessness or tremors
  • Feeling of heaviness
  • Intense cramping in limbs
  • Insomnia
  • Cold sweats and/or chills, or a fever
  • Diarrhoea

These withdrawal symptoms can last for anything from a few days to several weeks, and heroin cravings may persist for months. In some cases, the complications related to heroin withdrawal can cause death, which is why Clarity’s medically-assisted withdrawal detoxification programme available at one of our specialist heroin treatment clinics manages the potential dangers within a controlled and understanding environment.

Signs of heroin addiction in a user

The clearest signs of heroin addiction in someone you care about include evidence of paraphernalia used when preparing, injecting, snorting or smoking heroin, and includes:

  • Lying about their whereabouts or reasons for borrowing money
  • Appear to sleep more than usual
  • Symptoms of depression including loss of motivation and ambition
  • Withdrawing from friends and family
  • Lack of interest in personal hygiene
  • Worsening performance at work or sudden loss of job
  • Stealing or borrowing money from loved ones
  • Reduced self-esteem
  • Wearing clothing which hides needle marks or skin irritation caused from scratching

Those with a heroin addiction may conceal their habit well and go to great lengths to ensure that the people closest to them don’t find out the extent of their drug use. If there are no obvious remnants of paraphernalia which may be used to consume heroin, then you can look for changes in behaviour which may indicate heroin abuse and addiction:

  • Lying about their whereabouts or reasons for borrowing money
  • Appear to sleep more than usual
  • Symptoms of depression including loss of motivation and ambition
  • Withdrawing from friends and family
  • Lack of interest in personal hygiene
  • Worsening performance at work or sudden loss of job
  • Stealing or borrowing money from loved ones
  • Reduced self-esteem
  • Wearing clothing which hides needle marks or skin irritation caused from scratching

Heroin detox programme at Clarity

The detoxification process can take between several days and a few weeks to complete, depending on how much of the drug a person was consuming. It requires close monitoring of the patient and will likely be medically-assisted to ensure that the detox process is as comfortable as possible.

Heroin rehab begins with a medically-assisted withdrawal detoxification at one of our specialist heroin treatment clinics. This has to be managed very carefully because of the dangers associated with withdrawal and going ‘cold turkey’.

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Co-existing mental health conditions

If you have a heroin addiction, it is likely that an underlying or co-existing psychiatric condition may also exist. In fact, it is the lack of diagnosis or treatment of a coinciding mental health condition that can make you feel the urge to take heroin on an increasingly more frequent and high dosage basis, in order to relieve problematic symptoms.

Mental health conditions that may co-occur alongside heroin addiction may include:

  • Depression
  • Bipolar disorder
  • Schizophrenia
  • Alcohol abuse
  • Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
  • Conduct disorder
  • Anxiety disorders
  • Anti-social personality disorder

When receiving treatment for heroin addiction at Clarity, treatment for any underlying mental health conditions will also need to be completed after detoxification from the drug has occurred. This will enable you to experience a reduction in symptoms of unaddressed psychiatric illness, and also reduce the likelihood of relapsing after your recovery.

Why choose Clarity for heroin addiction rehab in Thailand? 

At Clarity, we are dedicated to providing exceptional treatment to all who entrust us with their care. We recognise that addiction does not define who you are, and we want to help you to put this behaviour behind you so that you can begin living the full and happy life that you deserve.

We understand that using heroin has likely caused immense distress throughout all aspects of your life, and it is our mission to help you to achieve recovery on all levels – mentally, physically, emotionally and socially. In order to do so, we are pleased to offer the following:

Professional experience – the compassionate staff members that make up our treatment teams have extensive experience in helping individuals overcome their struggles with addiction to heroin. Their knowledge and expertise will allow you to receive the most clinically excellent treatment available.

Personalised care – we recognise that the specific ways in which the use of heroin has impacted you, may differ from the way that it has impacted others. As such, we are committed to creating an individualised treatment plan that is uniquely tailored to you.

Comprehensive care – we strive to make sure that you are able to achieve recovery in a truly holistic way. As such, we provide a wide range of services that can be implemented into your overall plan of care.

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Successful Treatment

Clarity offers an incredible healing experience for our clients and their families that is second to none. Our team is comprised of individuals with years of experience who are all here for one reason. To help you realise, achieve, and maintain permanent long term recovery.