Hi, I was addicted to opiates for 10 years. I have been off of them for almost 4 yrs. The first year is tough, but I promise you it gets better and better. You just have to stick it out. Don't pick up, and don't hang out with anyone who uses. Keep busy, work, school, your family, what ever, and go to meetings. If you cant go out to a meeting sign on to SR and talk to people that understand what your going through. Every day is a milestone, and for me, I used chammomile tea to calm my anxiety. What kind of opiates were you using? Some are stronger than others. If I can do it, anybody can. You just have to really want it. Remember, relapse happens long before you put that drug in your mouth. You need to do the right things to stay clean. Learn your triggers, and stay away from old people, places, and things. Put the same effort you used in picking up drugs, into staying straight. Fight for your life and sobriety. Trust me, your life will get better beyond your wildest dreams. Relapse just prolongs the inevitable. Eventually you will have to suffer it out. Now is better than later. Anxiety comes and goes, and most of it is mental. If you stay busy, you wont think about using as much. Im almost 4 yrs clean and I still crave once in a while. But I know, I can't touch that stuff. I have struggled enough, and I don't want to go through it again. Now I am in control of my life. Not drugs. It's good to be free. There are alot of people on this site that can help you and give you advice. I also used prayer as a way to cope. People do recover from opiate addiction, but remember it has the highest relapse rate of all the drugs out there. So, don't think you can be around it and not use. I have been clean for 4 yrs, and I am amazed at how often they are offered to me now. When I was using, I could have been desperate for a pill, and nobody would have offered me anything. Go figure. After a year clean, I was looking for a book in my office and a bottle of 30 percocettes fell out of the book shelf. If that's not the devil himself, I don't know what it is. Right to the toilet bowl they went. Good Luck to you, and I wish you the best. If I can do it, you can too. Congratualtions on your clean time
God Bless You....Angel