Heroin Addiction Hotline | 24/7 Toll-Free Help for Heroin Addiction

Everybody has a breaking point, especially when it comes to the effects of addiction. Whether you’re a loved one trying to hold things together or an individual caught up in heroin’s trap, there comes a point where enough is enough. Having someone who can support you and point you in the right direction can prove invaluable when that time comes. A heroin addiction hotline does just that.

Heroin abuse only gets worse with time. Before long the mental trappings of addiction will turn a loving, vibrant individual into a shell of a person. Considering what’s at stake, the sooner steps are taken to confront the damaging effects of substance use disorder the better. Keep reading to see how a heroin addiction recovery hotline can help you or a loved one get back on the right track.

The Devastating Effects of Heroin Addiction

Not too many drugs on the market can hijack the brain and body like heroin does. Heroin is an opiate-based substance, capable of interacting with the brain’s chemical system in harmful ways. As one of the strongest opiates available, individuals who fall prey to heroin’s addictive effects soon lose control over their choices and behaviors. Broken relationships, job loss, failing health and emotional despair are the results.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, heroin’s ability to interact with your brain chemistry stems from its chemical makeup, which shares strong similarities with the brain’s own neurotransmitter hormones, namely dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine. These neurotransmitter chemicals regulate emotions, thinking, pain sensations and pleasure sensations. Your brain produces these chemicals naturally on an as-needed basis.

Heroin’s effects force the brain to secrete massive amounts of these hormones, which accounts for the high that heroin creates. With continued use, the brain can no longer function normally without the drug. It’s at this point where heroin starts to take on top priority in an addict’s life, causing him to disregard anything and anyone that doesn’t support the addiction.

How a Heroin Addiction Hotline Can Help

If you’ve reached the point where you’re ready to call a heroin addiction treatment hotline, your daily life has likely become an emotional roller coaster. Daily crises brought on by the addiction, be it money problems, relationship conflicts or even violence, not only take a toll on the addict but also the addict’s loved ones. A heroin addiction hotline connects you with someone who can help you make sense out of the madness and develop a plan to get your life back.

Hotline counselors are there to listen and support your desire to confront addiction’s hold in your life. Along with helping you find treatment, counselors can also help you work through difficult emotions such as depression or suicidal feelings. Ultimately, a heroin addiction hotline is there to let you know that you’re not alone.

When to Get Help for Heroin Addiction

If you’re still not sure whether things have reached the point where it’s time to call a heroin addiction hotline, here are a few situations that warrant making the call:

• The effects of heroin addiction are tearing your family apart
• You can no longer function on the job or you’ve lost your job
• You or someone you know has overdosed on heroin one or more times
• You’re feeling helpless, desperate or thinking about suicide
• Money problems have gotten out of control
• The effects of addiction have driven family and friends away

Don’t Get Caught Up in the Addiction Cycle – Call Now

The most dangerous thing about addiction is the way it slowly changes how you think. Important things, such as loved ones, work, school, even personal hygiene fade into the background while getting and using heroin takes on top priority in your life. These changes develop as heroin’s effects start to take over the brain’s reward system functions.

The reward system determines your motivations, your values, your day-to-day choices and your behaviors. Once heroin addiction takes hold, it becomes increasingly difficult to do anything that goes against the addiction cycle. For this reason, it’s important to take action while you still have the presence of mind to make a change.

If you’re considering calling a heroin addiction hotline for yourself or a loved one, the time to act is now. The longer you wait the harder it is to break out of the addiction cycle. Likewise, if you’re watching a loved one’s life fall apart, the time to call a heroin addiction treatment hotline is now.

Sources:

• drugabuse.gov – National Institute on Drug Abuse, “What Effects Does Heroin Have on the Body
• health.ny.gov– New York State Department of Health, “Opioids: Recognizing the Signs”
• udel.edu – University of Delaware, “Treatment”