Addiction Withdrawal

Addiction withdrawal is the term applied to the process of terminating or ceasing the use of the drug or alcohol causing the addiction. Withdrawal symptoms are those physical, mental, and emotional discomforts occurring as a result of this process. Some procedures attempt to ease withdrawal with the use of additional drugs or chemicals. This can and does complicate the process as now there are new substances that are creating dependencies along with the intense cravings for the original drug of addiction. In most cases withdrawal can be accomplished with adequate medical monitoring and proper nutrition. Drugs severely deplete vitamin and nutritional stores in the body and when properly addressed will reduce the severity of withdrawal symptoms without the dangers of using additional drugs.

Heroin is a highly addictive illegal drug. During the 1800’s opium addiction was a major problem in the U.S. Morphine was developed as supposedly a non-addictive substitute for opium but proved to be even more addictive. The same is true of Heroin which was a supposedly non addictive replacement for morphine, but again is actually more addictive than opium or morphine. In more modern times we know have methadone as a supposed ‘solution’ to heroin addiction. Methadone is even more addictive than heroin. If withdrawal from heroin can be gruesome and harrowing, then methadone is even worse and can be life- threatening if unsupervised.

Marijuana is to most commonly used illegal drug in the world. Marijuana contains more than 400 different toxins and cancer causing chemicals. During the 1970’s researched uncovered the fact that marijuana’s active ingredient ‘THC’ lodged in the fatty tissues of the body for months and years. This puts the person that smokes two or three joints a week constantly under the influence of the drug. Next to alcohol, marijuana is the second most frequently found substance in the bodies of drivers involved in fatal automobile accidents. With stronger and stronger strains of marijuana hitting the streets it is no wonder that more and more individuals are seeking treatment for marijuana addiction.

Effective drug or alcohol rehab starts with really understanding exactly what rehabilitation is. Rehabilitate in its broad sense means to restore to a previous condition. Any rehab to be effective needs to address the three factors which lead up to and cause addiction to continue. These are mental and physical cravings, quilt, and depression. Drug and alcohol abuse stems from mental or physical pain an individual does not wish to confront or deal with. The drugs or alcohol only appear to alleviate these conditions and after a time contribute to them as well as creating new sources in and endless cycle and trap known as addiction. Confronting and effectively handling the conditions brought about by cravings, quilt, and depression allows the addicted individual to truly ‘rehab’ him or herself and so be restored to a previous condition or at least as close as possible. Narconon Arrowhead is much more than a detox center where the individual simply quits using for a period. Narconon Arrowhead drug rehab methodologies fully handle the above factors allowing one to truly rehabilitate a previous condition and so remove the need for further drug or alcohol use as a false solution to living the life they want.

With regular heroin use, tolerance develops. This means the abuser must use more heroin to achieve the same intensity or effect. As higher doses are used over time, physical dependence and addiction develop. With physical dependence, the body has adapted to the presence of the drug and withdrawal symptoms may occur if use is reduced or stopped. Withdrawal, which in regular abusers may occur as early as a few hours after the last administration, produces drug craving, restlessness, muscle and bone pain, insomnia, diarrhea and vomiting, cold flashes with goose bumps (‘old turkey’), kicking movements (‘kicking the habit’), and other symptoms. Major withdrawal symptoms peak between 48 and 72 hours after the last dose and subside after about a week. Sudden withdrawal by heavily dependent users who are in poor health is occasionally fatal, although heroin withdrawal is considered much less dangerous than alcohol or barbiturate withdrawal.