Functioning Heroin Addict and Why the Name Is Misleading

In 2021, roughly 42,000 Floridians took heroin. Most people think they know what it looks like when someone has a heroin use disorder. But people are not stereotypes, and life with a substance use disorder can look different depending on a lot of factors.

At Real Recovery, we understand that your experience with heroin use disorder is unique to you. That’s why we offer a variety of treatment options ranging from inpatient treatment to independent living.

Heroin use disorder is not always as apparent as you might think. Today, we’ll discuss what it looks like to be a functioning heroin addict and why that term might be misleading.

Defining a Functioning Heroin Addict

This term is used to refer to someone who has a heroin use disorder but is still able to go about life as “usual.” They can attend to work, personal relationships, and responsibilities at home without their heroin use getting in the way. Someone with a functional heroin use disorder does not show outward signs of the negative ways that heroin is impacting their physical or mental health.

However, the term “functional” can be misleading. Just because there are no obvious signs that someone is experiencing hardships due to heroin use doesn’t mean that everything is fine. Someone who appears to be functional is good at hiding their struggles.

Personality Affects How a Person Responds to Addiction

Everyone has a unique response to heroin use disorder. Part of what impacts your response to heroin use disorder is your personality. Many people who partake in heroin are doing so to relax and manage big feelings or trauma. In some cases, people who have always been able to complete responsibilities, even when they’re going through something difficult, will continue to do so while experiencing heroin use disorder.

It’s also more challenging to identify heroin use disorder in people with certain personality types. For example, one of the warning signs of heroin use disorder is typically changes in social behavior. People with heroin use disorder will often prioritize heroin use over spending time with friends and family, or they will start hanging out with other people who have access to heroin. However, you might continue to socialize as normal if you’re highly social.

Functional Heroin Users Don’t Resemble the Stereotype

People with heroin use disorder cannot be reduced to a single stereotype. If you function well, you likely don’t show typical warning signs.

For many people, heroin consumption leads to difficulties keeping a job, financial hardship, social dysfunction, and health problems. However, you don’t face all these consequences when you can compartmentalize effectively. While it is likely that your health will suffer, you won’t show signs at work or with your family.

Functioning Often Depends on the Loved Ones

The appearance of functionality is one of perception. If you appear to be functional while living with heroin use disorder, it’s because you are still able to fulfill the obligations that others expect of you. If you have loved ones who depend on you, you have more incentive to continue to manage your life while in the throes of heroin use disorder.

The Lifestyle of a Functioning Heroin Addict

The lifestyle of people with heroin use disorder varies. People who function well typically maintain a normal lifestyle. They go to work, spend time with their families, and hang out with friends.

However, as with anyone else with a heroin use disorder, heroin is something they need to keep functioning. If this applies to you, it means you’ll spend your free time in the evenings taking heroin or binge on the weekend.

Heroin use disorder occurs when someone has a physical and psychological dependence on the substance. So, you’ll begin to experience flu-like withdrawal symptoms within 8-24 hours after your last use. Often, people who function well will take just enough to avoid withdrawal symptoms between binges.

Recognizing the Signs of a Functioning Heroin Addict

If you’re concerned that you or your loved one has heroin use disorder, despite having the ability to maintain appearances, there are a few warning signs you should watch out for.

Frequent Lying About Heroin Use

As stated above, people typically believe you are functional because that’s how you appear to be. If you find yourself regularly lying to people about your heroin use, you could be living with heroin use disorder. Even if you’re not actively telling people in your life lies, you’ll find yourself omitting information or downplaying the severity of certain situations. If you have to constantly keep secrets because of your heroin use and trying to maintain appearances, you have a heroin use disorder.

Frequently Sick Because of Heroin Use

Even if you can keep most aspects of your life appearing fairly normal, you’re still more likely to get sick due to your heroin use. Frequent respiratory infections, sinus infections, and other health problems are common side effects of heroin use because of the negative impact the substance has on your immune system. A weakened immune system means it will also take your body longer than average to heal wounds.

Depending on the method you use to take heroin, you may experience other health problems as well. Injecting heroin results in abscesses, skin infections, and collapsed veins. Snorting heroin repeatedly over time leads to deterioration of the nasal cavity. Smoking heroin leads to infections in the mouth and gums.

Making Excuses for Your Actions Due to Heroin

When taking heroin does get in the way of your daily life, you brush it off and make excuses for your actions. While lying is usually an active attempt to deceive people, you may not even recognize your excuses. You tell yourself that things are okay; you’re still getting X, Y, and Z done, so you don’t need to worry about using heroin.

Making excuses is a way to cope with the ways that heroin is affecting your life. As long as you can come up with a reason that spending money on heroin or skipping one event was okay, things can’t be that bad. Making excuses is a way to convince yourself that heroin is not the problem.

Hanging Out With People Who Also Take Heroin

Another common sign of heroin use disorder is hanging out with other people who also take heroin. You might compare yourself with them, thinking, “Well, I’m doing better than my friend, so it can’t be that bad.” However, it’s more likely that you’re both responding to heroin use disorder differently.

If you’re spending a lot of time with other people who use heroin, you might not have a good baseline for what is and isn’t healthy behavior. Heroin use becomes normalized for you, and your symptoms won’t stand out to you or your friends.

Inability to Stop Using Heroin

The most significant sign of heroin use disorder is an inability to stop using heroin. You might believe that because you’re able to limit your heroin use to evenings and weekends, you’re okay. But have you ever actually tried stopping heroin? If you’re always looking forward to your next dose and can’t stop yourself from taking it, chances are that you have heroin use disorder. 

The Long-Term Consequences of Functional Heroin Use

Despite the appearance that everything is fine, taking heroin still has long-term consequences.

Common long-term consequences of heroin use include:

• Kidney or liver disease
• Constipation
• Infections in the heart
•  Insomnia
• Depression and anxiety
• Transfer of bloodborne pathogens from sharing tools
• Cognitive impairment leading to difficulty making decisions

The more often you take heroin, the more chances there are for you to experience a heroin overdose. An overdose happens any time you take more of a substance than your body can handle. Overdoses are especially common in people who return to use and go back to their regular dose. Common symptoms of an overdose include a slow pulse, slowed or stopped breathing, blue-tinted skin, and pinpoint pupils.

If you or someone you know is experiencing an overdose, you need medical attention immediately. Naloxone can reverse the effects of opioids, including heroin.

Help for Heroin Addiction in Tampa, Florida

If you or someone you know is trying to keep functioning through an opioid use disorder, it’s time to consider treatment for heroin addiction. Don’t wait until things get worse to seek help. You don’t have to manage everything by yourself. Finding a recovery program is the first step towards finding healthier coping mechanisms.

Real Recovery Solutions provides Florida’s largest sober living network, with countless alumni testimonials on how effective treatment is here. If you’re serious about recovery from heroin use disorder, we’re serious about doing everything we can to set you up for success on that journey. Call us at 813-373-6762 to learn more about how we can help today.

Real people. Real solutions. Real results.