What are the Facts About the Opioid Crisis?

Typical opioid prescriptions include hydrocodone and oxycodone-containing products. However, officials also count heroin among these drugs when discussing the opioid crisis. What is at the heart of this crisis? And if it affects you right now, what are your options?

The American Opioid Crisis by the Numbers

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services warns that about 12.5 million people abuse prescription opioids. Doctors give them to patients for pain management. At the same time, there are about 828,000 individuals using heroin. Combined mortality rates from both types of opioids affect about 33,091 people per year.

But some forms of prescription drug abuse don’t start with a doctor’s visit. Sometimes, individuals seek out these drugs simply to get high. They may steal them or get them from friends and family members. The demographic at the greatest risk of abusing prescription drugs is the 18 to 25-year-old group.

In addition, teens worsen the risk of adverse effects by mixing prescription medications with other drugs. Overdose deaths happen when opioids slow breathing to such an extent that gradual lack of oxygen shuts down life functions. Authorities believe that a cause for the opioid crisis is over-prescribing pain medications. Examples include offering too many automatic refills with an initial prescription.

Are You Caught up in the Drug Abuse with the Opioid Crisis?

Maybe the prescription painkillers hooked you when you were looking for a high. Perhaps you received an order for the pills, overcame your body’s tolerance with a higher dose, and now can’t quit. Then again, you may be among those who started with opioid prescriptions but graduated to heroin because of cost. No matter how you got into the vicious cycle of addiction, rehab offers a way out with treatments such as:

• One-on-one talk therapy that helps you pinpoint the reason for the addiction
• Group therapy for the development of a relapse prevention mindset
• Family therapy assists with rebuilding relationships and putting a support network in place
• Trauma therapy to handle underlying core issues many addicted to painkillers experience
• Experiential therapy approaches appeal to comprehensive healing of the mind, body, and spirit

The disease model of addiction teaches that substance dependence is a chronic brain disease. No matter why you ended up with the illness, you need professional help to overcome its symptoms. Like other chronic diseases, there’s no cure but only treatment and remission. Treatment allows you to return to living a normal life and remaining drug-free in the future.

Overcome Your Personal Opioid Crisis with Detox and Rehab

If you’re struggling with an addiction to painkillers or heroin right now, don’t continue to suffer in silence. The addiction experts at Beaches Recovery routinely work with people just like you who deal with an opioid addiction. They offer a real way out of substance abuse and provide hope for the future. Call 866.605.0532 today for immediate help.