Heroin holds the complex reputation of being powerfully addictive and simultaneously potent in the high it’s reported to give. This particular narcotic has been glamorized beyond belief due to its mysterious addictive quality and intense euphoria it will induce in the user. However, what if it’s not as mysterious as it’s made out to be in pop culture? It is simply a matter of looking into the reality behind the veil of reputation and understanding addiction as a general thing. Treated physically, of course, there should be no reason why an ex addict would venture back into a road of heroin dependency which once ruined nearly every aspect of their life. The consequences of this drug have been reported to be nothing short of harmful as a litany of horror stories across the country, even world, would shock even the hardest drug addicts. Heroin addicts are said to be some of the roughest addicts. But the question still remains: once physical treatment is handled, wouldn’t avoiding a heroin-filled needle in your arm be the obvious and logical decision especially after having to have gone through one of the most vile withdrawal processes in current drug culture?

There seems to be a not so circumstantial relationship between relapse and a certain type of attitude commingled with environmental factors. The distinct attitude would be an ex addict who thinks the general notion of addiction is somehow beyond them. What it comes down to is when someone who had been previously addicted puts themselves into a situation or environment where easy access to heroin is likely and they have an idea that addiction is some vague and “uncontrollable disease” that can take hold of them at any waking moment this would be an inevitable combination for relapse. It seems as though the general public and even pop culture makes this particular drug out to be a substance that is all-consuming and out of control, impossible to stay away from. Despite the obvious cravings that are incidental to previous heroin use, it would seem like a disciplined type of mindset is required in order to quit any substance of the addictive variety including all narcotics everywhere as well as cigarettes and alcohol.

Having experienced a nasty withdrawal combined of cold sweats, fever, nausea, cramping in the limbs, severe muscle aches, extreme bone pain, diarrhea, insomnia and vomiting, you would think it’s merely common sense to avoid going down that awful road again. However, the ex addicts who don’t end up relapsing are simply riding off of discipline as well as reinventing themselves so to speak. The refreshing concept that someone could bear their cravings and, in spite of general temptations, get on with their life drug-free should be a more widely accepted and common method of avoiding relapse. Society has apparently blown addiction out of proportion and examples of this are all around us if we look for them. The Special Action Office of Drug Abuse Prevention revealed in 1971 that 15% of U.S. servicemen in Vietnam were actively addicted to heroin. When they appointed a psychiatric researcher to help with a study, it was found that a shocking 95% of the people addicted to heroin in Vietnam didn’t relapse when returned to the U.S. This only exemplifies the point further, that addiction is something which is not beyond the user’s control but instead cravings could be kept at bay solely with the right attitude.