Health and Treatment10 Steps to Identifying Signs of Addiction in Your Loved One

10 Steps to Identifying Signs of Addiction in Your Loved One

Addiction affects more than the person who are struggling with drug or alcohol dependence.

 

10 Steps to Identifying Signs of Addiction in Your Loved One

Addiction affects more than the person who are struggling with drug or alcohol dependence. Drug and alcohol are started being consumed by people for different reasons such as, to reduce their stress, anxiety, or depression which can have a negative impact on your loved ones.

Below is a list of the 10 common signs of addiction. When your loved one is struggling with addiction, these are the signs of addiction should you look out for.

1. Ignoring Responsibilities

When a person is a drug and alcohol addict, the brain receives an influx of dopamine which is a chemical found commonly in the human body, and eventually come to rely on this huge amount of dopamine to feel happy and relaxed on a common day.

When an individual experience this, they will go to great extents, even if it sometimes means losing much of what they love, to accomplish what their body “requires”. If the person in problem looks like missing a lot of work or school like flunking classes, skipping work, then he or she might have a drug or alcohol problem.

2. Substances and Drug Paraphernalia (Equipment)

If these things are found around the house, car, and office, it’s a clear sign that substance abuse is taking place. If your spouse is an addict, be aware of these items hiding around the place. Let us see what are items which an addict uses:

    • Rolling papers and cigars
    • Roach clips
    • Bongs and hookahs
    • Needles and small spoons
    • Straws, paper tubes
    • Small mirrors, razor blades or cards
    • Surgical/dust mask
    • Pipes
    • Tin foil
    • Lollipops and pacifiers
    • Aerosol containers, tubes of glue
    • Balloons, nozzles, or rags

3. Mood Swings

There are numerous people who are affected by drug and alcohol. When someone is using these drug and alcohol, his or her mood can change very fastly. People who are addicted to these substances very little will experience rest and relief of their self-consciousness. But, who consumes a heavy amount of substances which leads to an underlying issue of depression.

The process that drugs and alcohol affect the brain, the individual’s behavior may seem to be unnatural or out of character compared to before they began using. Some substances are stimulants while others are depressants which can also cause sudden shifts in mood.

4. Financial Problems

Most cravings have a serious impact on finances whereas it leads to an expensive habit such as alcohol dependence, drug addiction etc.. Additionally, people often need higher doses or more regular use to achieve the equivalent results.

In order to achieve their results, they may steal cash, alcohol, or prescription medication from others. Or, they may sell items to get money for them.

When people are addicted to these kinds of practice, they require finance, so it seems to be a continuous problem that they cannot seem to get control over.

5. Eating Disorder

Nearly 50 percent of people with an eating disorder are also drugs and alcohol addiction. After the deep investigation, that 25 percent of people entering therapy for drugs and alcohol addiction also meet criteria for eating disorders.

Substance abuse by people with eating disorders practices may encourage people to find a way to numb their problems, depression, and anxiety but, it comes at a huge cost.

Prolonged restriction of vital like eating disorders nutrients along with overeating in alcohol, may create irrevocable injury to essential organs… and, at times, even death.

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6. Unhealthy Friendships

“Friendships are relationships that connect two significant dimensions – interdependence and spontaneous participation.”

The best friends who love, care you and only think about your happiness. Even the best friends can fill you with tension and make you unhealthy. When you find your friend group to consist of heavy addicts, and if you find that you and your friends often get addicted to drug and alcohol whenever you meet up, this may be a problem. However, this is a different sort of sign altogether.

Friends will come and go in your life but, friendships get hands on over a lifetime, and the problem of circling yourself with the bad friendship can be a hazardous one. If you find that you join with people who are addicted to drug and alcohol often, take a timeout or correct the friendships. Later, you may have an issue with alcohol developing or waiting to happen.

7. An Addict will Shift the Blame

The power of craving is so powerful that it leads them back on the way they were on before. I think the word “healing” is a fallacy when it comes to addiction. Addicts don’t recover. Addiction is not curable. An addict in a recession will do anything to get more of the juice that pulses through their veins to get them high or achieve that peace. It doesn’t matter what the value is to his individual life, professional life, anyone else’s life, or his life, time.

Addicts are selfish because they don’t mind about the fact they have the responsibility of raising kids, managing a family, or in some cases earning an income, on someone else. They have extreme tunnel concept that revolves around their constant craving. This is selfish.

8. Addicts Lie Themselves

Addicts lie to their chiefs, their friends, their relationships and most of all to themselves. They lie to protect themselves from the painful fact that they’re into a drug and alcohol dependence is no longer under their control.

When people began to consume the substance frequently for a long period of time, it starts to create variations in the structure and function of brain. One of the areas of the brain significantly affected by substance use is the area that regulates impulse or compulsive behaviors.

That is, they may lie before they even think it through, telling a story in response to a question for a certain impression in a circumstance, even when the truth would be completely acceptable.

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9. Weight Loss

Drug and Alcohol addiction can affect a person to become inactive, as well as guide them to make bad food choices, and drug and alcohol may begin to replace meals.

Prodigal substance abuse can add both to weight increase and obesity. Conversely, it can also contribute to unhealthy weight loss and a wide range of digestive problems and hazards to the body and brain.

“After developing a dependency on Drug and Alcohol, substance withdrawal can also decrease hunger and cause stomach pain and illness, which can further contribute to weight loss.”

10. They Manipulate

Why do addicts manage the people around them? As a companion, spouse, sister or brother of an addict, it’s not always easy to know why a person would continuously manipulate the people who love him or her most.

Despite the complicated behaviors, there are some clear reasons why addicted people manipulate.

    • They crave to be in control.
    • Their intense cravings are justification for manipulative practices.
    • They have a decreased capacity for objective thought and decisions.
    • Depression takes over any sense of morality.
    • Their guilt is deadening.

When their one like family and close friends try to convince the addicted person to withdraw using these toxic substances, to go to drug and alcohol treatment centers.

But the answer is?

    • “I only use infrequently.”
    • “I just like the feel.”
    • “I’m still employed, so my drug use isn’t so wrong.”
    • “I’m not disturbing anyone.”

Bottom Line

The longer dependence extends, the more damage a person does to his brain and body. It can resemble like recovery is an impossible action. Let your loved one know that you’re there for him or her.

When your loved one is struggling with addiction, he or she will feel alone. It’s very supportive to them to have a care system, you should now have a good conclusion of what to look for as signs of drug and alcohol addiction.

If your loved one is experiencing the above signs, there are several addiction recovery blogs, do not hesitate to visit them.

 

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Yamini Ramesh
Yamini Rameshhttps://www.beaninspirer.com/
Yamini is a content strategist who researches the latest topics about what addiction industry speaks about and what kind of therapy’s treatment center offer. She loves to read a lot about the happenings, particularly in the addiction/recovery sector. She also shares her review of the recovery center of America. Specializes in handling blogs in potential means of marketing and circulating across social media and holds a master's degree in commerce.

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5 COMMENTS

  1. M very happy about u yamini nice message and explanation u hv given with regards to alcoholism…. Good job fr writing this article, m expecting more articles from u by the way wish u all the best fr further articles… ?

  2. Hai Yamini,
    You have written a wonderful article regarding “10 Steps to Identifying Signs of Addiction in Your Loved One”. It will help people Identify the Signs of their loved one whether he/she is addicted or going be an addict.

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