So today I found out that my soon to be step brother is addicted to pills and heroin. his mom is trying to get him into a free rehab thats about an hour away, but really, I'm just not sure how to help, I mean, from what I understand heroin is the most addictive drug with the highest risk, but thats about it, I don't even know how he has been taking it, I think he should go to the rehab, then come here to stay with us, but idk, what should I know about rehab and heroin addiction in general???
i personally have 2 cousins with a herion addiction that have been in and out of rehad all there adult lives. One thing I have noticed is that when a person goes to rehab that is close to home they tend to make "friends" instead of using the help they are given. If and only if he is willing I would say a rehab much further away from home, away from his comfort zone, is a better option. You must remember, a lot of addicts don't want treatment or feel that it is of no help. Have patience and hopefully it will all work out.
Treatment for heroin (and oxycontin, and, to a lesser extent, vicodin/lortab/etc) addiction has about a 90% relapse rate according to the last stats I read. One of the biggest issues that seems to correlate with long-term success in addiction treatment is therapy. Many addictions arise from self-medicating for low self esteem, depression, or other psychological issues. And, as TheWanderer said, no one can do anything for any addict unless s/he is genuinely interested in quitting and in changing their life, and in doing the difficult work to confront the issues that underly the addiction in the first place. Additionally, a real commitment to quitting means dumping all of one's old friends, since it is nearly impossible to quit if the circle of people you are in continue to use. How old is your stepbrother? Age at first treatment appears to be a factor in long-term success, and there's also the issue that it's easier to compel treatment if someone is under 18.
hes 26 now, and thats really sad, i hope he really does want the help then, i mean, he reached out to his mom right? idk, this just worries me more >.<
My sister is going through the same thing, only just pills. All you can do is make sure they know its NOT ok for them to be doing drugs, users make excuses for what they do and the worst thing you can do is buy in it, because it just enables them.
Addiction is usually a family issue. And usually the whole family has to be involved in treatment to stop the cycle of addiction and enabling that goes on. You might read some of the Nar-Anon information on their website.
thanks guys, I'm gonna show this to my stepmom too, hopefully we can come together and get him through this...
I have not done heroin, but i have had large doses of opium before, which have essentially the same effect, so i can speak a little from experience... Heroin makes everything okay. Better than okay, absolutely fantastic. It makes your worries float away, it makes your body feel fantastic and warm, it makes your brain feel like it's floating in a warm blanket of pure comfort and contentedness. For lack of a better word, it makes you feel like you're in heaven. The problem is that withdrawals from it make you feel just the opposite; like you are in hell. I have never been addicted, so i don't know quite what the withdrawals feel like, but we've all seen depictions in films before; people rolling around in abject agony, screaming and writhing. It is not a pretty picture. People lose control over themselves when affected by such withdrawals. What many end up needing is to basically surrender control over their lives to others for a long enough period of time for their brains to return back to normal (days, weeks, months), constantly craving another hit to get back to heaven, 'just for a little while'. It becomes a compulsion impossible to resist. Fighting it is hard, regardless of whether you are the addict or the supporter. It may require somewhat cruel treatment... but in this case, you have to be hard and cruel to be kind. I wish your future step brother all the very best =D
This is an old post, but I am curious about what happened. I personally have been there too unfortunately. Please let me know what is going on now, I might be able to help. Justin
