1. Overcoming Opiate Addiction & Opiate
Effects on the Body
April 15, 2013
| Last Updated on Thursday, 25 April, 2013 15:51
Opiate addiction is one of the hardest addictions to beat, but with a little knowledge you can prepare
yourself for the battle that lies ahead of you. If you are uninformed about the effects of opiate addiction
on the brain, it will be helpful for you to learn as much information as possible. The better educated
you are when it comes to opiate addiction, the better chance you have at success when it comes to
treating opiate dependence and starting a new life for yourself.
Dependence on opiate dependence has been defined as a serious, long term disease by the
World Health Organization and is something that an individual must tend to for the rest of
their lives if they plan on staying well.
In order to understand opiate dependence, it’s important to define the symptoms of an opiate addict.
The following are signs of opiate dependence if more than three of these behaviors are exhibited over a
twelve month period.
• More of the same drug is needed to feel the effect
• Taking other drugs to cancel out withdrawal symptoms, or experiencing
withdrawal symptoms in general
• Taking larger amounts than you intended to
• Trying to quit on your own, unsuccessfully
• Spending a significant amount of time obtaining, using and recovering from
opiates
• Missing work or other important functions
• Using opiates despite having suffered a negative consequence
• Isolating from friends and family who do not use opiates
Many people may exhibit one of these traits while using opiates but the real signifier of whether or not
you are addicted to opiates is if you are experiencing at least three of these symptoms. Once you can
say that you are an addict, it’s important to understand that there are complex, long term changes that
have taken place in your brain.
Opiate addiction changes brain chemistry significantly and alters the way in the brain reacts to certain
stimuli. Because of the harsh changes that take place in the brain, it’s important to understand that you
can still have cravings months and even years after you have stopped taking them, which is why
abstinence alone is not beneficial to treating opiate dependence.
Addiction occurs in the brain because opiates directly affect what is referred to as the “reward circuit”.
This area of the brain is signaled whenever opiates are taken and dopamine is released into the body
thereby rewarding the drug user for taking opiates. This negative behavior then becomes reinforced and
the mind incorrectly thinks that drug use is a good thing.
Taking things a step further, the brain eventually sees opiate use as something that needs to
be done in order to survive. This is what causes withdrawal and cravings.

2. An opiate addict is often motivated by stress, anxiety and psychical pain to get more opiates in order to
relieve those negative feelings. It is this behavior that baffles many people who do not understand
addiction or the scientific principles behind the way in which an addicts brain chemistry is altered.
Many people think that there is a choice involved when it comes to addiction, but it has been proven
time and time again the chronic drug users have brains that have been severely affected in certain areas,
namely the ones that control decision making, judgment and self-control.
This isn’t to say that if a person is willing to change that they can’t. The disease of addiction is highly
treatable and if the addict begins treatment and has an aftercare program to help them treat their
addiction they can overcome it. Addicts can have periods of time where they are symptom free, as well
as periods of time when they are symptomatic. It is important to understand that an addict has a very
low chance of taking care of themselves while they are showing symptoms of their disease and
therefore treatment is almost always necessary.
Much like heart disease and diabetes, there is no cure for opiate addiction, but with managed care it can
be successfully treated. Many people struggle to understand how one person may become addicted to
opiates while other do not. This is because most people who use opiates will not get addicted,
suggesting that there are a number of other factors involved when it comes to opiate addiction. For
instance, addiction runs in families and therefore has strong genetic roots.
Opiate addiction is also rooted in psychiatric dispositions such as anxiety, depression and
bipolar disorder. Intelligence, or having a risk taking personality, are other factors that
contribute to whether or not a person will become addicted to opiates.
Scientists have asserted that genetic factors account for nearly 60% of opiate dependence and therefore
it’s important to examine your family tree at a young age in order to determine whether or not you are
predisposed to opiate dependence. Scientists have also concluded that the biggest causes of relapse are
known as “triggers”. These include the people, places and things that the addict associated with the
deeply embedded notions of opiate use.In order to avoid relapse, it’s important to avoid any and all
triggers to the best of your ability.
The technical term for these thought processes is called “conditioned associations” wherein
the brain will euphorically recall and crave for opiate use if triggered by memories that are
selectively and randomly stored in the brain.
Oftentimes an addict has no control when it comes to their triggers, but the important thing is to come
up with a plan for avoiding obvious ones and reacting in a positive way that does not include drug use
to other ones. Relapse is common and does not mean that treatment has failed. It simple means that a
new course of action may be needed in order to treat the person in recovery. Whether a more intense
program is needed, or a different approach all together, your health care provider can help the opiate
addict to come up with a new course of action that will be more beneficial and decrease chances of
another relapse.