Cravings from Drugs in Atlanta

Cravings from Drugs in Atlanta

Atlanta.  Home of the Atlanta Braves, is the biggest city in Georgia.  With around 500,000 people, it is the 38th most populated city in the United States.  But the city has not been spared in the opioid epidemic which has been infecting all of the United States in the past 20 years.

If you have been affected by the opioid epidemic and gained an opioid problem and subsequently gotten clean, congratulations.  It is not easy.  But you may find that even though you have gotten clean at an Atlanta detox, you still have cravings for drugs.  You may wonder what you can do when you crave drugs.  Read on to find out some tips to control these cravings and hopefully not pick up opioids or your drug of choice again.

What causes cravings for drugs?

Addiction is more than just a drug habit.  It physically changes circuitry within your brain.  It impacts your motivation center, meaning that drug use becomes more important to you than other, healthier choices. 

It also affects your reward center, which means that highs from drugs become connected with external cues which increase your urge to use.  Drug use also affects the control center of your brain, which means that your brain forgets the negative consequences you experience from your addiction.  This makes it more difficult to learn from past mistakes and to control your impulses.

The longer that you have been using drugs, the higher your tolerance for drugs is.  Once you have built up a tolerance, drug use starts to become less about seeking a high and more about avoiding withdrawal.  Cravings can result from your body’s desire to not experience withdrawal symptoms.

So, cravings happen because of changes that drug use has made to the functioning of your brain, and are not a sign of failure.

Combatting cravings in the short-term

There are a number of ways to deal with drug cravings during Atlanta detox.  These include:

  • Vivitrol.  This is a medication which uses Naltrexone to block the effects of opioids in the brain, and has been shown to reduce cravings for both opioids and alcohol.  Vivitrol is injected into the body once and month and does not have any addictive properties.
  • Entacapone.  This is a medication which is usually used in Parkinson’s Disease, but also works with dopamine receptors within the brain.
  • Baclofen.  This is a muscle relaxant, and can decrease cravings for cocaine when cocaine addicts are exposed to triggers.

While medications might be a decent short-term solution, recovery is a continual process.  Some addicts don’t want to stop taking drugs to then become reliant on other substances to help reduce cravings.

Long-term solutions to drug cravings

Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a great tool to reduce drug cravings.  Techniques include checking-in with the feelings in your body, practicing awareness while you are eating, focusing on your breath, doing yoga, and traditional sitting meditations.

Distractions

Distracting yourself with an activity like watching a movie, reading, exercising or cleaning can direct your attention from drugs and also increase your welfare.  Eating a meal can work, but there can be the risk of binging or emotional eating.  If eating works for you, practicing mindfulness while you are eating is a great way to keep from overeating.

Urge surging

Urge surging is focusing on the craving till it releases and can help If it is done properly.  It is a type of mindfulness which allows you to tune in with cravings so that you may recognize how they appear and how long it takes for them to dissipate.

Reach out to others

This is a great one.  Talking to your support system when cravings hit can be very helpful.  If you reach out to others, you are not alone, can continue practicing honesty within your relationships, and might be able to figure out what has triggered your cravings.

Remind yourself of the consequences of using

Writing down the negative consequences of your using and keeping them with you can be a good tool to reduce cravings and hopefully keep you from using and having to go back to Atlanta detox.  You can keep a series of notecards, which fit into your wallet of purse, and read them to remind yourself of the negative ramifications of drug use, and all the things that you do not want to experience again, that you will experience if you take drugs again.

Recovery can be tricky, but if you arm yourself with as many tools as possible, you stand a good chance of living a long and happy life.

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