How does heroin addiction occur?

Heroin is probably the drug with the greatest addictive potential, and the second most dangerous considering the damage it causes both to the user and to their social environment.

It is therefore not surprising that it falls under the category of hard drugs and that many efforts are made each year to both help people who want to "disengage" from this substance as well as those who want to continue consuming it without exposing themselves to all the health risks associated with this practice: transmission of diseases by sharing needles, STDs due to imprudent sexual behavior, etc

All this has to do with the powerful effects of heroin, capable of generating a strong dependency in a relatively short period of time. even by hard drug standards, leading users to lose control of their lives almost without realizing it account. In this article we will see how heroin addiction develops and what elements participate in it.

• Related article: "Types of drugs: know their characteristics and effects"

What is heroin?

First of all, let's start with the most important thing: what is heroin? This substance, also known as diamorphine or diacetylmorphine is an opioid-type drug derived from morphine and first synthesized in 1874 by English chemist Charles Romley Alder Wright. Injected into a vein, heroin is characterized by producing a state of euphoria and well-being that is followed by a wide variety of very harmful and potentially fatal side effects.

All of them have to do with the depressant effects of this drug on the nervous system, that is, the decreased activity in areas related to consciousness and executive functions that reaches considered sedation. Among these side effects and complications from overdose are decreased breathing, digestive problems, heart disease, or directly cardiac arrest and death.

Initially, this substance was marketed as a substitute pain reliever for morphine, since it was mistakenly believed to be less addictive than the latter. Today its commercialization and use beyond the medical prescription or its use in research is illegal.

Elements that cause and maintain heroin addiction

These are the elements that make heroin addiction one of the most powerful and dangerous.

1. chemical addiction in the brain

Heroin crosses the blood-brain barrier, which acts as a filter between the circulatory system and the central nervous system, and comes into contact with nerve cells in the brain. Once there, it interacts with a series of neurotransmitter receptors, which are parts of the neurons attached to their membrane (their outer and most superficial layer) and whose function is to capture specific molecules that neurons exchange with each other to communicate with each other and trigger certain mechanisms both in each other and in other parts of the brain. body.

In this way, the drug acts by substituting specific neurotransmitters that are usually naturally available in the central nervous system, attaching to neurotransmitter receptors prepared to "capture" the latter, and at that moment a chain reaction occurs that gives way to altered brain functioning: the neurons activated by heroin send abnormal firing patterns to other nerve cells, which in turn do the same, and ultimately the entire functioning of the organism is "unbalanced", since the nervous activity also influences the endocrine system, responsible for the management and hormone production.

Specifically, heroin seems to potentiate the activity of mu opioid receptors especially, whose role in the nervous system is associated with analgesia and decreased levels of anxiety.

As the immediate effects of heroin are usually pleasant, little by little the person gets used to consuming it, and at the same time your brain is being modified to prioritize these types of rewarding experiences.

The chemical action of heroin on the networks of neurons in the brain causes them to change so much in its chemical functioning as well as in its way of establishing connections with the rest of the parts of the brain; that is, the nervous system changes both chemically and physically. The reward system of the brain, in charge of guiding our actions towards goals and incentives that motivate us, is transformed so that more and more, the heroin becomes the absolute priority.

• You may be interested in: "Reward system of the brain: what is it and how does it work?"

2. The weakening of social and long-term incentives

As we have seen, in a relatively short time, heroin causes our brain to become a set of organs whose function is to allow us to find and consume more heroin. This means that over time the drug eclipses the rest of the sources of motivation of the day to day., passing over hygiene, personal health and personal relationships.

In turn, the latter encourages heroin users to isolate themselves more and more, weakening their affective ties with friends and relatives, and their social circle is reduced to other people with addictions, since in such an environment it is easier to have immediate access to the drug. Thus, while heroin is gaining importance as an incentive, what is around the addicted person is losing its capacity to offer other stimulating and exciting experiences.

3. The pressure of the context

In the previous paragraphs we saw that the context plays an important role in the consolidation and maintenance of the addiction, given that if there are no sources of motivation capable of In order to compete with drug use, the person becomes more and more enclosed in environments and lifestyles in which the only option left is to continue using these substances.

But at the same time, many times it is the people of this new social circle who exert pressure (even involuntarily) so that each of your individuals continues to use drugs and finds it very difficult to disengage. For example, offering needles, staying in places that everyone associates with sitting down and consuming heroin or any other drug, keeping secrets related to the sale of the substance, etc.

4. health problems

Heroin has very harmful effects both physically and psychologically, so that those who have already developed an addiction find themselves in the need to face many forms of discomfort: infections, accelerated aging, pain, anxiety when several hours go without consume etc If you don't have professional help, all this predisposes people to try to block that discomfort in the only way they know how: by distracting themselves with drugs.

Looking for help with addictions?

If you are suffering from addiction or dual pathology problems, contact us. In APPOINTMENT CLINICS we specialize in the treatment of addictions with and without drugs, both from psychotherapy and from medical and psychiatric intervention, and We offer punctual therapy sessions, support in ambulatory assistance and also income in our fully equipped residential module and located in the heart of nature. You will find us in the area of ​​Mataró and Barcelona; To see our contact information, go to this page.

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