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Why Does Opiate Withdrawal Make You Angry?

17 Nov 2023 · 1 min

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0:37

A short YouTube segment in which Amber Hollingsworth explains why opioid (opiate) withdrawal causes anger and irritability. She says withdrawal makes people physically very sick (pain, insomnia, restlessness), removes opioid-mediated anxiety suppression, and therefore greatly increases anxiety and irritability—producing significant emotional distress.

Chapters

I'd say people withdrawing from pretty much anything are really irritable. To answer your question specifically about opioids, people that are in withdrawal from opioids are really sick. Everything hurts, everything is difficult. They can't sleep, they just can't ever get comfortable. It's almost like walking around with no skin. And on top of that, one of the things that opiates does is it sort of blocks your anxiety. So when you are coming off of opioids, your anxiety goes through the roof. So you're sick, you're restless, you're anxious, you're irritable, you're basically just a mess.