According to the National Institute on Drug addiction, addiction is a brain disease that affects your body and mind. This disease goes beyond self-control; it affects how you act, think, and feel. But if left untreated, addiction can cause serious physical consequences and destroy your relationships with your family, friends, and co-workers.
There have been countless research studies that explain the physical, behavioral, and psychological changes once the substance of abuse takes over your existence. Having an insight into these changes can help you identify when your occasional use has turned into a problem. The following signs can identify addiction:
Table of Contents
Here Are 9 Signs Of Drug Addiction:
1. Severe withdrawal symptoms
Withdrawal symptoms occur when your body doesn’t receive the chemicals it’s used to getting from substances like alcohol and drugs. People dependent on alcohol or prescription painkillers may experience withdrawal symptoms when they stop taking them. These symptoms can range from tremors, nausea, and vomiting to seizures and even death if they’re severe enough.
If your cravings return when you try to stop drinking or doing drugs, know that this is a sign of addiction, and you should seek professional help.
2. Increased Tolerance
Have you noticed that you need to consume more of the same drug to feel the same effect? Drug tolerance occurs when your body gets used to a certain amount of a drug and needs more to get high. It means you’ll have to up your dosage to feel the results. That is why detoxification is extremely important during recovery.
Many well-known rehabilitation centers like the Delphi health group offer medical detox to help addicts decrease the levels of intoxicants in their system. Increased tolerance means more severe withdrawal symptoms. That makes quitting even harder for addicts and hence the frequent relapses.
3. Behavioral changes
Inability to control behavior and emotions is one of the most common signs of addiction. Psychologists believe that anger and addiction go hand-in-hand. People who do not know how to express their emotions healthily tend to resort to drugs and alcohol to suppress them.
It, in turn, fuels their anger furthermore. You may see changes in your behavior, including violence, aggression, paranoia, and mood swings.
4. Your drug of use is always on your mind
You need to ask yourself; are you constantly thinking about your intoxicant and what you wish to consume right away?
It is all a mind’s game! Withdrawal symptoms and cravings trick your body into believing that you want more. That means you’ll experience more cravings even when no external cues or triggers are present.
It is evidence that your brain has become dependent on drugs as a source of pleasure or relief from stressors in life (self-medication theory). This dependency makes you think of your drug all day long!
5. Changes in Social Dynamics
If you’re addicted to drugs, you’ll likely hang out with other addicts. You may even choose friends who use the same drugs as you do. On the other hand, you may have noticed an increased sense of loneliness and isolation. It is because addicts often distance themselves from their loved ones. After all, they don’t want to be confronted about their drug use or have others question their lifestyle choices.
6. Your interests don’t excite you anymore
Drug use can have an impact on an individual’s interests and hobbies. You may have noticed that you do not care about anything other than your intoxicant when you’re high. Those football matches are just plain boring, or you do not have the patience to paint anymore.
7. Financial Troubles
Addiction often leads people into financial trouble because they need more money for their habits than they can afford on their wages alone. Your addiction has reached dangerous levels if you’re constantly out of money and borrow it to satisfy your cravings. Sometimes, the behavioral changes associated with addiction tend to make people irresponsible. Joblessness is extremely common in an addict that adds to the financial misery.
8. Physical changes
Physical changes become apparent almost instantly. Drugs and alcohol contain substances that harm key organs such as the brain, heart, lungs, kidneys, and liver. When you stop using drugs, your body tries to repair itself, but it can’t always heal the damage done by addiction.
Short-term health problems include drowsiness, confusion, tremors, and loss of consciousness can lead to long-term health problems ranging from mild to severe. You must have also noticed a change in your eyes, skin, and weight.
Liver damage is extremely common in alcoholics, whereas drugs cause heart diseases, stroke, cancer, especially the lungs, and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases. If you notice that your health problems increase daily, you should seek professional help for your addiction.
9. You fail to quit every time
A common misconception about addiction is that it’s a choice. The truth is, it isn’t! You fail to quit every time despite vowing not to use it again. Because drug use changes your brain chemistry over time, making it increasingly difficult for you to resist using drugs when tempted by them.
You may have tried many times to stop using drugs but found yourself repeatedly returning to them no matter the consequences (such as losing a job or relationship). It is a sign that drug addiction has taken hold of your life, and you need professional help ASAP!
Conclusion:
You may have a drug addiction problem if you exhibit two or more of the signs listed here. If you want to get sober, reach out for help now. It’s not tough to kick your drug habits, but it does require a strong desire to change and fully commit to sobriety.
The longer you wait, the tougher it will be. Drug abuse can lead to devastating and potentially fatal health problems, so it’s better to be safe than sorry. So take that first step and reach out for help. That way, you can create a sober and better future for yourself and your loved ones!
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