You probably wouldn’t be reading this if you didn’t already know how great heroin can make you feel and how it can also destroy your life.
In fact, some 23 percent of people who use heroin end up addicted. By that point, heroin doesn’t make you feel good anymore; it just stops you from feeling awful—at least for a little while.
Everyone tells you life will be better if you stop and that’s true. But you may be surprised at some of the ways in which your life will change. Here are 10 of them.
1. You Won’t Be at Risk of Overdose
This is probably the most obvious reason to stop using, but it’s also the most important. Street drugs are never safe but, these days, they’re downright deadly. Every day, more than 115 people in the United States die after overdosing on opioids, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
2. Your Life Will Get Easier
Some people assume you’re using heroin because you’re lazy and unmotivated. They have no idea how hard your life actually is. Every single day you wake up and have to worry about getting heroin—or else you’ll get sick. And it never ends. You never get a break. Imagine waking up in the morning without that stress and just being able to enjoy life.
3. You Will Be Healthier
Heroin can damage your lungs, liver, stomach, intestines and heart. It also increases your risk of contracting an infectious disease.
4. You Will Be Happier
Drugs like heroin change the brain and suppress your own natural ability to feel motivated, happy and good. The good news is that your brain can heal and, within a few months, you’ll begin to feel good again. The hard part is making it through the first few weeks—which is why most people need the help of a good rehab to get better.
5. Your Relationships Will Improve
You’re not stupid. You know that your actions have hurt people you love. You didn’t mean to, but heroin was in the driver’s seat. You may feel like your relationships are ruined, but that’s usually not true. In fact, you’ll most likely find that your loved ones just want you to get better and that, once you make that effort, your bond will be stronger than ever.
6. You Will Have Hopes, Dreams and Goals Again
Remember those? Those are the things that get you out of bed in the morning and put a spring in your step. Heroin stomps them all out and replaces them with a single goal—getting more heroin.
7. You Will Appreciate the Little Things Again
Perhaps one of the saddest side effects of drug addiction is how it blinds you to the little pleasures in life—a walk through the woods on a crisp fall day, driving along a country road with the windows down, a good book and a cup of tea.
8. You May Feel Better Than You Ever Did Before
People tell you that, by giving up heroin, you can get your old life back. What if your old life wasn’t all that great? Many people who end up getting addicted to heroin do so, without knowing it, as a way to self-medicate conditions such as depression, anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder. At any good rehab, you’ll be screened for those conditions and treated for them, as well as your addiction. The result is that it’s quite possible you will leave rehab feeling better than you ever did before.
9. You Will See the World in a New Way
There will be something good to come from your experience. You’ll have an empathy for other people who are struggling. You’ll know hardship and suffering. And you’ll be a survivor. All of that will make you a stronger person.
10. You Really Can Do This
By now, you’ve probably met or heard of dozens of people who have tried to quit and failed. You can’t let that discourage you. The truth is that addiction changes the brain, which makes it very difficult to quit without help. At a good rehab, you’ll have the help of doctors and therapists to walk you through the hard part and get you to the good part.
Heroin Addiction Information and The Raleigh House
The Raleigh House is a residential treatment center located in Denver that believes addiction isn’t just a physical problem. Our master’s level trained therapists get to the root cause of addiction and will help you develop a strategy to manage and enjoy life without drugs or alcohol. Fill out our form or contact us today to learn more about our 90-day drug and alcohol addiction treatment programs.
