Addiction often develops gradually and may not be apparent until it has consumed your life. This stems from the blurred line between what’s acceptable and what’s going too far. Here are the top ten warning signs of addiction you should learn to watch for in yourself and your loved ones.
- Hiding your substance use: Drinking secretively or lying about your drug use when confronted by a loved one indicates feelings of shame, which means it’s becoming a problem.
- Using substances as a coping mechanism: Many addictions begin with drinking alcohol or smoking a joint after a stressful day. If you feel like you can’t truly relax without taking a substance, you might be using alcohol or drugs as an emotional crutch.
- Failing to use in moderation: If you can’t open a bottle of wine without finishing it, or you regularly have so much to drink that you black out, this indicates that you may have an addiction.
- Continuing to use, despite the negative consequences: Your alcohol or drug use may be interfering with your work, causing trouble at home, or affecting your physical or mental health, yet you continue to use despite these problems.
- Experiencing withdrawal symptoms: If you feel shaky, sweaty, tired, nauseous, or depressed when not using, you are exhibiting physical withdrawal symptoms resulting from addiction.
- Needing more and more of a substance to get the desired effect: This is known as building a tolerance. It means your body is exposed to a harmful substance so regularly that it has adapted to cope with it better.
- Obsessing over your substance of choice: You might spend a lot of time thinking about how to get more of a drug, when you’ll use it, how good you’ll feel, or how bad you’ll feel afterward.
- Using at inappropriate times: This might mean drinking right before work or using cocaine before picking up your kids at school. These choices show that substance use is your highest priority.
- Losing interest in activities you once enjoyed: When all you want to do is drink or use drugs, life can become very one-dimensional. You may trade healthy pursuits you once enjoyed for the comfortable feeling of being drunk or high.
- Trying to quit without success: Perhaps you realize your substance abuse has become a problem, so you decide to quit. However, the drugs or alcohol have taken their hold, and attempting to quit alone is extremely difficult. You get down on yourself for your perceived “weakness” and start using again to cope. The vicious cycle continues, and you feel trapped.
Wyoming Recovery is here to help. Our substance abuse treatment center in Casper, WY offers comprehensive programs tailored to your needs. Whether you need addiction treatment for alcohol or drugs, we can help you recognize your substance abuse problem and, ultimately, overcome it.
For more information about our programs, or to inquire about same-day admission, please contact us at (307) 265-3791.