What Are the Treatments for an Opium Addiction?

Opium is a highly addictive narcotic derived from the seed pods of poppy flowers. It can be eaten, smoked or injected. Opium creates a tolerance in the user, meaning he must use increasingly more to get the same effect. Opium withdrawal is painful, and addicts often use more opium to avoid the pain. Compared to other opiates like heroin and codeine, opium is the crudest and least potent, but like other opiate addictions, opium addiction is extremely difficult to overcome and almost always requires professional intervention.

Detoxification

The first stage of overcoming opium addiction is detoxification, which means ridding the body of the drug and its physical dependence on the drug. Ideally, this is done as quickly as possible, though the process often lasts several days. The addict may experience chills, hallucinations, insomnia, diarrhea and vomiting, or muscle spasms and physical pain. Sometimes methadone is used to treat withdrawal systems, but methadone itself is highly addictive so it is only used in extreme cases.

Twelve-Step Programs

Even after the physical addiction has passed, a strong psychological dependence remains. Recovering opium addicts in treatment centers undergo intense counseling for up to three months. 12-Step programs are common, where addicts work together in a group setting to talk about overcoming their addictions and issues they're having dealing with their lives as sober people.

Therapy

Counseling might also involve some type of one-on-one therapy like cognitive behavioral education, where patients learn to change their addictive patterns. This type of therapy assumes that anti-social behavior is caused by the patient's thinking rather than his external circumstances. The therapist tries to teach the patient new ways to approach stress and old problems. Addicts set their future goals and therapists help them find ways to reach them.

Long-Term Support

Many opium addicts need extra help getting their lives back together. Some need more education or training and certification in a trade so they can find a job, while others might have legal problems they can't sort out on their own. Successful treatment of opium addiction means supporting long-term sobriety. The addict needs to feel in control of his life, not overwhelmed by things he can't do. 12-Step programs also offer long-term support to help the addict when he finds himself in environments similar to when he was using, or immediate intervention when he feels the urge to use again.

Drug Therapy

Some doctors prescribe medications such as naltrexone that are meant to reduce the patient's chances of having a relapse. This treatment is used more often with addicts who have relapsed in the past. Anti-depressants may also be used as part of long-term addiction treatment. For some patients, existing problems with depression may have caused them to develop the addiction in the first place, while other patients may need help overcoming the extreme anxiety of living drug-free for the first time.