Many factors influence addictive behavior, such as the stress present in your life and the environment that you live in. Substance abuse may be used as a way to cope with uncertainty, anxiety, fears, grief, and countless other emotions. The signs of addiction in a loved one are not always obvious, so careful observation may be necessary to pick up on all of the red flags.
4 Signs of Addiction
1. Becoming Single Minded About the Substance
Does it seem like your loved one’s life revolves around using their substance of choice, ensuring a steady supply of it, and building up a social circle full of people who focus on the same activity? It’s hard to think about other things in their life when they are in the grip of a drug or alcohol addiction. This is particularly true if the substance is illegal or otherwise hard to source. They may take risky actions to acquire a supply. It’s possible that they’ll be arrested or become the victim of violence if something goes wrong with the deal.
Hobbies that they used to love and spend lots of time with are no longer present in their life. Their behavior may represent a major deviation from their normal activities and habits.
2. Hiding or Downplaying Usage
Someone who is suffering from the signs of addiction may keep their activity hidden away. They could go over to another person’s house or other location to use their substance. If they’re at home, they may lock their room at odd times or seek out unused and low-traffic parts of the home. In some cases, they may leave the house unexpectedly, not show up for work, or skip out on school because they’re abusing drugs or alcohol.
3. Showing Withdrawal Symptoms
During social events and activities that give your loved one little to no opportunity to take their substance of choice, do you find their mood shifting to irritability? Are they having a hard time focusing, balancing, or remembering important information? You might see them experiencing tremors or becoming jittery, with complaints about headaches, the noise level, or other aspects of the event. Someone who is highly addicted to a substance will have a hard time going without it. The withdrawal symptoms are a sign that should be a cause for concern.
4. Life Negatively Impacted with Signs of Addiction
The signs of addiction may surface in many aspects of their life. Look at your loved one’s interpersonal relationships. Are they having a hard time making or keeping friends? Is their boss complaining about no-calls, no-shows, lack of productivity, mistakes, or other performance issues? Have their grades slipped for no discernable reason? Is it common for them to fight with you or your family?
Treating the Signs of Addiction
Addiction is not a simple matter to fix. There are many interconnected factors that lead someone to addiction, and resolving all of these threads is a necessary part of fully recovering. Having the right support for this journey is essential to avoiding relapses and other roadblocks on the way to wellness. Addiction treatment plans offer an excellent way to bring your loved one into a supportive environment where they won’t have access to the substances that are causing the issue.
The root causes of addiction are addressed through a holistic approach at Midwest Recovery Center that includes:
- Individual, family, and group therapy programs
- Healthy activities
- One-on-one support
- Intensive outpatient program (IOP)
Outpatient treatment programs for the signs of addiction are another way for people to find the help that they need, without uprooting their entire life to do so. It’s a way to balance work, home, school, and treatment at the same time. Contact Midwest Recovery Center online or by calling 833.627.0039 to help your loved one get on the right track.
