Heroin use has been on the rise for some years now, and if you have been ensnared in its grasp, you need to know that it is possible to escape and to live a drug-free life. To do this, you should become aware of what is holding you back, and find the motivation to make changes. For most people, in-patient rehab is a necessary first step.

Uncovering the Motivations behind Your Addiction

When you first enter rehab, you will receive support to detox which may include medical treatment to handle the symptoms, but that in itself is not going to cure you, as many who have been in and out of various facilities can attest.

You will be receiving therapy which will include one-to-one time with a therapist, group therapy, and classes. You should use this time to figure out what led you to your addiction, because that is one of the keys to solving it.

Some people turn to heroin because they got hooked on prescription pain-killers but could no longer get them, others were curious or thought it was hip, and some are self-medicating due to emotional pain or mental illness. Underneath all those initial motivations is an emptiness or a vacancy that aches to be filled. You have to acknowledge this to be able to heal it.

Recognizing Triggers, Habits, and Cues in Your Environment

In the early 1970s during the Vietnam War, 20% of the US soldiers there admitted they were addicted to heroin. This is no doubt due to the stress, the loneliness, and other factors they lived with, being there in a war zone. These soldiers received treatment and were eventually sent home. The recidivism rate for this group of people was an astonishingly low number: only 5%.

Researchers attribute it to the setting that the soldiers acquired their habit in, which was quite different to the world they returned home to. They left behind the people they did drugs with, the situations where they used the drugs, and also the cues and triggers that would cause them to indulge in the habit.

This is an important finding, but you may wonder how this applies to you, because when you leave rehab, you know you probably aren't leaving the country. This would be a good time to consider relocating to another area if possible, but if not, you can still learn to cope effectively with your environment.

It is vitally important that you take time to figure out what your triggers and cues are, and how to react differently to situations you will encounter. Cues are messages that you are used to picking up on, and you have become accustomed to performing certain actions in a particular sequence when you see or hear them.

Triggers are anything that set off a series of thoughts, feelings, actions, and consequences to follow. These things may be so engrained in you that you were barely aware of them. They can be sights, actions of other people, smells, and other sensory perceptions, places, and much more.

Identifying them and planning how to respond differently will take some thought. A part of your therapy may be to create a wellness notebook with a section on triggers. When you write this out, you will also be instructed to note a better way of coping with each one you have identified. You will be encouraged to review this plan often, and carry it around with you, if needed. You want the better responses to become as much a part of you, as the drug habits were in the past.

Preparing To Make Changes When You Leave Rehab

To be successful, you also have to be prepared to make meaning in your life, because this just doesn't fall down from the sky. Be sure to use whatever resources you can find that speak to you.  For some, it is a return to a religious faith, for others it is following a creative calling, or going back to school to learn a new skill or occupation. Many people find satisfaction in helping others in various ways, including being a sponsor for a 12 step group. The main thing is to fill that void with positive things.

Finding Long-term Support

To reduce temptation to return to a heroin addiction, consider changing your environment as much as possible. Learn to recognize cues and triggers, and plan to handle them in healthy ways. Fill any spiritual or emotional void you have with spirituality, new interests, and caring for others.

Finally, if you have a mental health condition, continue to receive psychiatric therapy and medical treatment by a professional. There are mental health organizations available in your area to give you continuing support.