10 Ways to Recognize a Heroin Addiction

Heroin addiction is not something many people brag about, at least not to non-addicts. Addiction of any kind can be debilitating, especially when heroin is involved. Many addicts are not even aware of the problem and many may want to quit but can’t. Being able to recognize heroin addiction in a friend or loved may be the lifeline they need to turn their life around.

10 Ways to Recognize Heroin Addiction 

It may seem like heroin addicts choose to engage in drug-using behaviors so stopping is a choice too, right? Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. Addiction takes root inside the brain’s fundamental workings. It evolves over time and changes the brain’s physical structure and chemical makeup. This condition will continue to evolve until steps are taken to get treatment. For these reasons, helping a loved one confront heroin addiction may actually save his or her life.

1.Drug Paraphernalia

Someone who abuses heroin on a regular basis will likely have a stash of equipment or paraphernalia. Drug paraphernalia allows addicts to convert heroin from one form to another. For example, heroin has to be converted from a powder to a liquid form in order to inject it. Knowing what to look for can help you recognize a heroin addiction. Items to look for include:

• Needles
• Spoons
• Lighter pipes
• Rubber tubing or plastic band tourniquets

2.Physical Withdrawal Symptoms

For someone addicted to heroin, the discomfort brought on by physical withdrawal plays a central role in driving drug use. Withdrawal symptoms result when the effects of heroin wear off. In effect, heroin disrupts the brain’s chemical balance so when it wears off the brain struggles to maintain the body’s systems as normal.

Symptoms to watch for include:

• Body aches
• Restless behavior
• Problems sleeping
• Nausea
• Itching
• Flushed complexion
• Vomiting
• Cold sweats
• Diarrhea
• Runny nose
• Yawning

3.Physical Signs

After so many months or years of abusing heroin, the drug will do widespread damage to the body’s systems. These effects show up as various health issues that only get worse with time. Some are hard to miss, which can make it easier to recognize heroin addiction.

Since heroin can be used in different ways (snorting, injecting or smoking), the way it’s used may determine what types of health issues develop. Physical signs may take the form of:

• Damage to the nose lining
• Open, infected sores on the skin
• Bad teeth
• Collapsed veins
• Gum inflammation
• Problems breathing
• Weak muscles, sometimes to the point of paralysis

4. Behavioral Signs

Heroin addiction impacts a person’s thinking and behavior more than anything else. As “physical” as addiction may seem, it’s actually rooted in the mind or the way the brain thinks. These conditions will change how your loved one normally interacts with the world around them.

Signs to watch for include:

• Distracted by an obsession with getting and using heroin
• A diminishing concern with meeting daily obligations
• Secretive behaviors, such as mysterious phone calls and errands
• Continues to engage in destructive behaviors with no regard for the consequences

5. Social Effects

As substance use disorder takes on more importance in the addict’s life, things that were once important to him or her start to fall by the wayside. What’s worse is, your loved one likely has no idea that these changes are happening. Social effects may take the form of:

• Paying little to no attention to appearance and personal hygiene
• Missing days at work or school
• A decline in work performance or academic performance
• Problems with the law, such as incarceration or DUI

6.Changes in Personality

Much like the behavioral signs, the effects of heroin on the brain’s cognitive functions should make it easy to recognize heroin addiction. Many people are drawn to substance use disorder as a way to escape from difficult emotions and situations. This is especially true when other mental health problems, such as depression and anxiety disorders exist alongside drug use.

Once addiction takes hold, your loved one’s personality changes in fundamental ways due to how heroin changes the way the brain works. Personality changes may appear as:

• A significant loss of impulse control
• Inability to process or manage stressful situations
• Making choices and decisions he or she wouldn’t normally make
• Declines in intelligence, such as having difficulty learning new information

7. Emotional Signs of Heroin Addiction

As the effects of heroin addiction become more pronounced, the addict experiences increasing emotional instability, including:

• Extreme anxiety
• Feelings of despair
• Drastic mood swings
• Panic attacks
• Severe depression
• Suicidal thoughts or actions

8. Money Problems

While some forms of heroin can run as cheap as $10 for a few hits, this can add up quickly for someone with a chronic drug problem. The body develops an ongoing tolerance to the effects of heroin so increasingly larger doses are needed to produce the desired “high” effect. With chronic heroin addiction, the body may require 10 or more hits a day to keep withdrawal symptoms at bay. Money problems, such as not paying the mortgage, car payment, or utilities become inevitable at this point.

9.Relationship Problems

Friendships, work relationships, even marriages undergo considerable strain when heroin addiction takes hold of a loved one. The level of deception required to hide an addiction all but destroys trust in relationships. Also, as the addict’s emotions become more volatile, displays of anger and even abuse start to happen on a regular basis.

10.Denial

With heroin addiction, denial is a built-in mechanism that develops as the drug changes how the brain works. Heroin hijacks the area of the brain that regulates pleasure, joy, and contentment. By the time addiction sets in, the brain “needs” heroin to experience any sense of well-being or contentment. Within the addict’s mind, this need becomes just as important as food and water. In these respects, denial of the problem is a matter of survival.

A heroin addict can only hide for so long before obvious signs of the problem become painfully apparent. Once you recognize a heroin addiction in a loved one, try to help them see the problem then do what you can to get them into treatment. While you can’t force someone to enter treatment, confronting the problem is a necessary first step before any changes can be made.

Sources

•  newsinhealth.nih.gov – NIH News In Health, “Biology of Addiction”
• drugabuse.gov – National Institute on Drug Abuse, “What Are the Immediate (short-term) Effects of Heroin Use?”
• indiana.edu – Indiana University, “Addictive Behaviors and the Addictive Process”