Over the past decade, heroin abuse and addiction rates have skyrocketed. While the holidays can be difficult when dealing with addiction in any form, heroin addictions exert a tremendous toll on the person affected as well as his or her loved ones. With the holiday season here, individuals and families living with heroin addiction may have an especially difficult time dealing with the high expectations that come with this time of year.

Too often, people struggling with addiction must hit rock bottom before deciding to get needed treatment help. With the pressures that come with the holiday season, waiting until the beginning of the year carries a certain degree of risk considering how heroin attacks the brain and body. Understanding the risks involved may help in taking the necessary steps to get heroin addiction treatment now rather than later.

Heroin Addiction

The heroin epidemic of the 60s and 70s pales in comparison to today’s rates of heroin abuse. What was once confined to inner city regions has reached across socioeconomic lines to affect middle-class Americans as well.

By the time heroin addiction takes hold, a person requires the drug’s effects in order to feel normal, both physically and mentally, according to the National Drug Intelligence Center. The mental hold this drug takes lies at the root of heroin addiction.

Holiday Pressures

Whether a person starts using heroin for recreational purposes or as a means to escape, the damaging effects of the drug become a crutch that forces him or her to keep using in order to cope with daily life. If the stressors associated with daily life drive you to use heroin, the added pressures that come with the holiday season can easily kick drug-using behaviors into high gear.

Seasonal Effects

Many parts of the United States experience cold, harsh weather conditions for the duration of the holiday season. The effects of inclement weather can trigger feelings of sadness, anxiety and irritability much like the effects of excess heroin use does. If you’re someone who’s sensitive to the weather, the winter season may well aggravate drug-using urges all the more.

Why Consider Heroin Addiction Treatment Now?

Emotional Highs & Lows

Anyone who’s used heroin for any length of time well knows the emotional roller coaster that comes with frequent drug use. Add to this the pressure to meet friend and family expectations in terms of gift-giving and spending quality time together, and emotions fluctuate all the more. This makes for prime conditions for increased drug use, which only works to strengthen the hold heroin addiction has over your life, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Work Considerations

Getting heroin addiction treatment now rather than after the holidays not only keeps a bad situation from getting worse, but tends to fit in well with the average work and/or school schedule. Employers will likely be more agreeable to you taking time off from work during the winter months as this is typically a slow time of year for some businesses. Likewise, those with children can make arrangements for them to stay with relatives for the holidays.

A True Holiday Gift ….

When all is said and done, heroin addiction becomes its own lifestyle, replacing everything that makes a person an individual with an over-arching obsession for the drug. With continued drug use, users stand to lose all they hold dear, including friends, family, work as well as any sense of self they may have had. Getting heroin addiction treatment now can be “the” best gift you can give yourself and your loved ones.

If you or someone you know struggles with heroin addiction this holiday season, don’t wait to get needed treatment help. If you have any further questions about heroin addiction or need information on local drug treatment programs, please feel free to call our toll-free helpline at 800-934-1582(Who Answers?) .