Quitting heroin is not like quitting booze, quitting cigarettes, it's not even like quitting cocaine. The physical and psychological halves of addiction are equally potent and equally difficult to negotiate. Heroin is the hardest drug to quit, and many addicts who've successfully negotiated their difficult physical withdrawal have ended up using again because they don't equally weigh the psychological withdrawal that will occur. Once you've made it through the initial weeks or months of kicking your habit, the work of life begins. If you're going to quit and stay quit, you've got to come clean and be honest with yourself: you're an addict. You may always be an addict. You've got to accept that this thing about you may never change--you may always want that shot or that line, your addiction may always be waiting out in the parking lot to beat you up, steal your wallet, and ruin your life. Quitting heroin means making a conscious choice to avoid that addiction, one day at a time.  It's hard to think of quitting when you think, "I can't ever do this again, for the rest of my life." Don't worry about the rest of your life. Worry about getting to 5 o'clock pm without using. Then start worrying about getting to next Monday without using. Very quickly you may start obsessing about how great another shot or line will be, letting the memory of all of the pain and problems that follow it recede into the background and only focusing on wanting to use again. You may even start to feel hints of the euphoria of making a buy and taking it back to your place, obsessing over and over about the process of scoring. Learn to manage these cravings and cut them off at the pass. After the initial period of two weeks or two months, you may reach a holding pattern where things can seem boring, lifeless, as if the world were a boring black and white movie you have to sit through at school. This time period is when most addicts relapse, often with disastrous results. Depression is a serious problem for recovering addicts, making it important to get busy and start living your sober life. Narcotics Anonymous meetings can be extremely helpful in giving addicts a structure and community of people who are feeling the same things. You're not alone in your struggle, and listening to other peoples' stories and having a venue in which to tell your own can be uplifting and freeing to many people. Find a local NA meeting by clicking here.  Alternatively, NA can really turn some addicts off. If the idea of spending several hours a week listening to other addicts talk endlessly about using drugs, or if you think that may drive you to use again, seek other social groups that can fulfill a similar hole. Check out bowling leagues, card groups, or any other kinds of sober social organizations that will give you people to talk to about a common subject or interest. Talking to a therapist can be restorative and instructive for many addicts. Deciding to confront your addiction means talking about it, coming clean with it, and being able to discuss it with someone who won't judge you or your life.
تفهّم أن تجاوز مرحلة الانسحاب لا يعني اكتمال الإقلاع. عبّر عن إدمانك العقلي. تعلم السيطرة على نوبات الانتشاء وتوقع حدوثها. كن مستعدًا لنوبات الإحباط. تحدث إلى الناس.