Psychologial side effects of opiate withdrawal

[Anni412]

Apart from physical effects of opiate withdrawal, what are the psychological effects? Does anxiety occur? Panic attacks? Depression or suicidal thoughts? Those are things I'm most worried about. How bad is the sleep deprivation?

[Sarah11212]

For me, the physical side of the w/d's were a cake walk compared to the mental side.  All of it was hell, don't get me wrong but tomorrow will be day 30 for me and I'm still battling anxiety and depression.
Not as bad as the first 2 weeks but still bad enough to know that I don't like it.
You can do this.
I have never been one to follow through w/ anything in my life so if I can do this, anyone can!
Best of luck to you.

[mother_of_a_heroin_addict]

try suana too....sweat it out and lot's of water.  i'm told opiates stay in your fat cells.  best of luck, you're on the right road!

[NeverDreamed]

I think it will be different for everyone, so the many ppl that can respond to you the better...hopefully one of us helps you =)  
In my situation, the physical w/d was the worst for me.  I think I overanalyzed it (which I do normally with everything), and gave myself so much anxiety over the thought of w/d I never went for it.   Finally when I was out of money and pills, I knew I had to go through it.   Anxiety does start to creep up, but then I just busy myself.  I'm a total book worm, and read "Hunger Games" books 1, 2, & 3 in my first 5 days.  I got so lost in the books, I often forgot about the restless legs, the sweating, etc.  Sleeping for me is still a little off, and I know many ppl won't agree with this, but to help me sleep I took benadryl. (at least it wasn't a narcotic).  Try the Melatonin as it's a natural sleep aid, but it did not work for me.  I can tell you to excercise too, but haven't started that myself, I hear it helps.  =)  Good Luck to you.

[LostNoMore]

Welcome to the forum. The Withdrawal symptoms will vary depending on
how long you were using, how much, your age, your relative health, among other factors. We each have our own personal set of detox symptoms. However, you can get a good idea of some first-hand experiences by reading through posts and journals from members here. Just click on their name and it will take you to that person's home page. That's what I did. I found two or three people currently detoxing with a similar story to mine. Very helpful.
Be aware that no two detox experiences are the same. The point is, IT CAN
BE DONE. We are living proof. Oh, and by the way, IT'S SO WORTH DOING!

[Reign30]

i always thought the physical withdrawal is the easiest part of getting clean.  It's physical pain, so you can judge what's happening.  The mental aspect of this is what kicks my butt on a yearly basis.  The anxiety *****..feels like i'm gonna have a heart attach each day..but with breathing exercise and a lil walking...i managed to minimixe that.  The depression hits as soon as i get time to myself, so i try to stop that by keeping myself busy...not always in the mood to do things..but i kinda have to force myself.

Sleep was the last thing to ever come back...what i do is put on an audio book and give meself as much time as i can to unwind.  I will be lucky if i can sleep more than an hour at a time the first week..it's usually 5 sleep...2 hours awake for me.  by the second week..your body will so tired that you will finally get some sleep.  It may only last for a night, but at least you got in a good night's rest.
Don't psyche yourself out to much...in three weeks, if you able to fight off your demons...you will feel much better mentally....physically..you will hurt the first week...but like i said..that's measurable.