Alright, so now lets get down to the topic of this particular post. This post will be about the cravings we so often get when trying to quit opiates in addition to the triggers that can lead to these cravings and sometimes ultimately relapse. For those of you don't who know, cravings can best be described as sudden urges that make us want to use again or think about using again. Triggers, on the other hand, are what usually lead to cravings. Triggers are the people, places, sights, smells, feelings, and other things that can give us the urge to use again. A trigger could be seeing or hearing someone mention your drug of choice on television, driving by your dealer's house, hearing someone shake a bottle of pills, suffering physical or emotional trauma that can seem too overwhelming and difficult to deal with, and so on.
Like I have said so many times in the past, everyone is different. Thus, it is important to realize that everyone has different cravings and triggers. Some stronger than others. For instance, someone who is 6 months clean off of Oxycodone may be able to watch a documentary about opiate abuse and feel no urge to use. They may simply find the documentary interesting and may even feel less inclined to want to use again. This same documentary might make someone else watching it feel the strong urge to use again as it reminds them of something they once loved to do; get high. My point is, everyone and their situation is different.
Some Quick Information About Cravings & Triggers
An article found online on the website Everyday Health called Understanding Addiction Relapse discusses how identifying triggers and finding ways to prevent/manage them are critical in one's recovery. Dr. Stephen Gilman states how "a powerful need to stimulate reward centers within the brain can be the trigger point for an addict who is used to getting a certain drug. Both external and internal factors can create the urge to use drugs or alcohol again." This article provides some quick information about triggers and can be found by clicking on the link below.
http://www.everydayhealth.com/addiction/understanding-addiction-relapse.aspx
As many of you already know, getting off of opiates is quite a challenge. Staying off of opiates for good is even harder. The saying "Getting clean is easy. Staying clean is the hard part," couldn't be more true. One who quits opiates (or any drug for that matter) can most likely expect that they will experience cravings or triggers during at least some point in their recovery. In other words, it is normal for any addict to feel the urge to use again. Therefore, we must learn how to cope with these urges, cravings, and triggers. Learning coping mechanisms, talking with your support network, building sober support, and attending AA/NA are just a few ways to help combat these sudden urges.
It is also important to find ways to prevent and avoid these triggers. For example, if driving past your dealer's house/area brings upon an urge to use, try taking another route to get to where you need to go. Another example and one that is often very tough to overcome for addicts are the people you surround yourself around. Most of us addicts have friends or know people who also like to get high on our drug of choice. These people can simply be people you know or they can even be some of your best friends. It's very difficult avoiding or telling someone that you can no longer be around them if they are continuing to get high. Trust me, I know from experience. I handled this by being honest with my some of my best friends who used, telling them that being around the whole "getting high and using" scene will only make me want to use again. I was fortunate enough that they understood but will be honest with you guys, it was difficult. These are people who I grew up with for years that I rarely, if ever, see anymore since I got on Suboxone due to my addiction to Oxycodone. It was a tough and somewhat disheartening move, but you have to remember that at the end of the day, your health, reputation, and sobriety is what is most important. If these people are your true friends, they'll understand.
I want to stress this last part as it is not uncommon for people to get clean for awhile only to relapse because they started hanging out with the wrong crowd again. Being around people who use and your drug of choice makes it extremely difficult to remain clean. Some might be able to do it, but I'm guessing for most, it will be the ultimate challenge. I also want to stress that just because these people use, it doesn't make them bad people. After all, most of us were right there with them doing the same thing at some point. It's just that being around these people only makes things more difficult in your recovery and recovery is already hard enough!
How Cravings and Triggers Work
You'll have to excuse me on this section of the article as I will be giving you guys a quick and simple explanation as to how cravings and triggers work without sounding like a scientist or doctor. Triggers work by altering how one's mind thinks and reacts to what it sees, hears, smells, feels, and remembers. Everyone has an reward system in their brain which allows us to learn how to survive. For example, we know not to touch a hot stove as we will get burnt, thus injured. When we go to touch the hot stove, our hand is burned thus sending a signal to our brain telling us not to do this. Touching a hot stove results in a negative reward or consequence, giving us experience and knowledge that touching a hot stove will cause harm. A young child may not yet be aware of and know this, resulting in them touching the hot stove whereas an adult will know from experience, knowledge, and observation that touching a hot stove will only lead to pain and injury. This is simple example of how our reward system works and is just one of the many tools the mind has.
To give you guys another example, think about a dog learning a new trick. At first, a dog may not know how to sit on command. But when you practice enough with your dog and provide them with treats or encouragement for every time they are successful in sitting on command, they will eventually learn to sit every time they are instructed to do so. It is the reward system in the dog's brain telling them that if they sit, they will receive a positive reward or something they like. The dog will eventually learn that sitting on command will result in something positive for it.
This is basically how addiction works in our minds and bodies. Every time we put opiates in our bodies to achieve a high, our reward system in our brain is pleased. Over time, we begin to see opiates as something that will lead to pleasure and satisfaction. Once we stop using opiates, our brain and the reward system begins to wonder what happened and why it is no longer being rewarded. To make matters worse, opiates have a very powerful impact on our reward systems and our brain chemistry. Someone saying "good job" to us for some work we accomplished may be like our brain getting a pat on the back while putting opiates in our bodies is like being rewarded a $1,000 for our work. This is why quitting opiates can be so difficult as over time, our mind and body begins to crave, expect, and look for opiates due to their powerful effect on the mind and body.
To give you guys another comparison, think about how difficult starting and staying on a diet can be. Each of us has a food or beverage we love to have that is probably unhealthy to be having. For this example, I'll use regular (not diet) soda pop. If you were to be someone who drank a lot of soda and were to suddenly stop drinking it due to a new diet you went on, you'll most likely find that at some point later you will crave the soda. Now imagine that it was your daily routine and tradition to have a can of soda with your dinner while you watched your favorite television show. After a few days or weeks of being off the soda, you may one day sit down to eat your dinner while watching your favorite show on T.V.. This experience may make you suddenly begin craving the soda as drinking the soda was something you used to commonly do and enjoy. The time of day, the meal you are eating, and the television show you are watching all bring back memories, feelings, and emotions that you relate to the soda. This is an example of a trigger.
A real good video that explains triggers can be found below. The video is pretty short and to the point but is very informative. Check it out by clicking the link below.
The Difference Between Internal and External Triggers
Triggers are identified and spilt into two different types; Internal Triggers and External Triggers. Internal triggers are triggers that occur within our mind and body. These include emotions, thoughts, and feelings. Some examples of Internal triggers are boredom, depression, helplessness, and anger. Internal triggers can also include how one feels physically as well. For example, many of us often feel tired and overwhelmed after getting off of opiates making us believe that if we use again, we'll suddenly feel better or "normal". External triggers, on the other hand, are the people, places, things, and locations that can lead one to want to use or think about using. Some examples of external triggers are being around friends or family who use drugs, driving in a neighborhood known for drugs or that you used to get your drugs from, seeing someone taking drugs on television, seeing straws or dollar bills that remind you of snorting your drug of choice, and so on.
Below I have included a questionnaire that can help determine what triggers you are having and how likely they are to result in one using again. I think this questionnaire is more helpful for one finding which triggers they have and what kind of triggers these are than actually determining how likely we are to use again. Someone might have several triggers or get triggers often but know how to deal with them and remain sober while someone who has just one trigger may relapse. At the end of the day, it is you who decides whether or not you get or remain sober. The link to the questionnaire is below.
Some Good Articles About Cravings and Triggers
Like I do with most of my posts, I want to leave you guys with some helpful websites and articles that talk about cravings and triggers. The links to these sites are listed below.
http://www.rightstep.com/services/intensive-outpatient/class-5/addiction-triggers-for-drugs-and-alcohol/
http://www.everydayhealth.com/addiction/helping-loved-one-avoid-relapse.aspx
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/carole-bennett/the-road-to-addiction-14_b_221160.html
http://www.drchadcoren.com/drchadcoren/Dr._Chad_Corens_Blog__Bucks_County_Therapist,_Mental_Health_%26_Addiction/Entries/2010/6/23_Triggers_of_Addiction.html
http://www.spiritlodge.com/programs/living-in-balance/internal-addiction-triggers/
Conclusion
Cravings and triggers are a major part of recovery and are something we must all as addicts learn to understand, acknowledge, prepare for, and learn to cope with. These triggers and cravings can be easy and quick to pass while others may feel like they are there for an eternity and are difficult to overcome. It's part of addiction unfortunately. At the end of the day, we must remember that cravings and triggers are normal and are obstacles to overcome, not reasons or excuses to use again.
I have several reoccurring triggers myself that I have been able to identify, avoid/prevent, and learn to cope with. The most common ones are boredom, stress, having a bad day, seeing or having a lot of money on hand, and being around people who use. A few months ago I made the mistake of being around people who use and who were using in my presence. Well, to no surprise, I ended up relapsing and went on a binge for a few days. I managed to get back on the sober train but am upset with myself for putting in so much hard work, effort, and even pain to get clean only to screw up. The important thing is I learned from my mistake and got back to being sober pretty quickly. For others, a relapse after being clean for a long period of time can lead them to go straight back to their old ways and habits. It is important to remember that relapse is part of recovery but is not something that is necessary and that if you do relapse, to get back on the sober train as quickly as possible.
I have learned a few ways to deal with, avoid/prevent, or cope with these triggers and cravings as well. One of my triggers is having a lot of money on hand. It makes me think that because I have all this money that I have managed to save up from not using that I can cheat just one day and buy a lot of Oxycodone. To help prevent this, I have opened up a bank account where most of money goes too rather than keeping a bunch of money on hand or in my wallet. I try to stay busy to prevent boredom and have a few methods to keep myself and my mind occupied if I do experience a trigger or craving. For example, I'll throw on a movie, write on this blog, jump on the computer, play with my pets, or go for a run when I feel the urge to use. In other words, I keep myself distracted and my mind occupied.
I would like to hear from you guys about some of the triggers or cravings you may experience during your recovery and some of the things you do to combat these triggers or cravings. Feel free to comment in the comment section below about this topic or to ask any questions you may have about the topic or opiate addiction as a whole.
Thanks again as always for reading my blog and I hope this post, along with the others, is helpful, beneficial, and enjoyable for you guys to read. As always, remember to stay strong and keep seeing the light!
Take Care,
Seeingthelight
Today is my 7th day from 6 to 8 hydros a day for 3 years at first it was 1 to 2 then 3 to 4 and it kept more and more with the prayers of god í havent had no withdrawls take ny quil at night to sleep it works for me anti diarrhea pills to help with body aches but today has been hard on me but í feel better without them
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