The Signs of Addiction

Addiction is a famously difficult aspect of life to overcome. Because people are often dependent on their addiction to get through a day, then confronting the problem can be difficult, and often leads to denial about any addiction at all. But there’s no doubt, that recognising an addiction is the first step in helping to defeat it. There are three main categories of change to focus on when looking for signs of addiction. These three categories are Behavioural Change, Physical Change and Psychological Change.

Your behaviour to the external world is something that the people around you will notice. Behaviour encompasses how you interact with what you experience whether it’s people, places, events or challenges. So, if this suddenly changes, it can be obvious for everyone else to see. Let’s say you know someone that’s a happy, outgoing person. They’re often the life and soul of the party, yet you’ve noticed a change in them. They’re no longer happy. They like to keep to themselves, and stay out of the way. Of course, if this happens, addiction isn’t the only thing it could be, it’s only a suggestion. But knowing that someone’s behaviour has drastically changed, and most importantly changed both for a lengthy amount of time, and seemingly for good, could be an early sign of addiction.

Physical Changes are arguably the most obvious to people without addictions. It’s clear to see when someone’s physical appearance or demeaner has changed. However, it’s important to remember that addiction isn’t just about taking and doing. In serious circumstances, addiction can lead to severe consequences. So, by splitting up the physical changes into their own sub categories, you can be better prepared, and have a better understanding of what stage an addiction might be in.

ADDICTION – When people are in the middle of their addictions, there are obvious, physical signs that tell you this. For example, if you meet with a friend or family member for lunch, and they’re slurring their words, and have poor hand-eye, and general coordination, could suggest that they’ve already had quite a few drinks. Of course, just because they’ve been a bit irresponsible with their drinking doesn’t mean that they’re addicted, but if this is a repeating cycle, it leans more towards the latter. When people are addicted, particularly to drugs or alcohol, often their main concern is whether and when they’ll be able to take their next dose, to get their next high. If this is the case, other physical signs could become apparent like scruffiness, poor hygiene, a sudden change in weight, or unhealthy sleeping patterns. Just to reiterate, a one-off physical sign doesn’t equate to having an addiction. It’s all about the repeated nature, and whether this is a continual problem.

OVERDOSE – In the severe cases of addiction, an overdose can occur, either deliberately or by accident. However, they can be fatal. Our bodies are very rugged, and take a lot of hits before they’re beaten, but just like everything else, they have their threshold. When this is surpassed, and overdose can happen. In the thankful event that someone survives an overdose, there are more physical signs to look out for in addition to the previous ones. As the body is recovering, the individual may experience hallucinations and visions. They may have trouble breathing, and even lose consciousness entirely. In a strange way, an overdose can be a turning point with addiction. If you think about it, an overdose occurs when your body physically rejects what you’re putting into it, and given how serious they can be, they be can act as a wakeup call for many people to get help. And if this is the case, it’s great, because they’re back on the right path, and on the road to recovery. But they’re not out of the woods yet.

WITHDRAWAL – When your body has routinely been pumped full of a substance for a considerable amount of time, it’s going to sort of get used to it, and even maybe rely on it, and this where the difficulty of withdrawal symptoms come into the fold. All of our bodies have natural clocks. They’re smart, and become intertwined with our lives. For example, if you’re setting an alarm for six in the morning for a month straight, and getting up straight away, after a while, you should start to wake up at six without an alarm. This is your body’s way of telling you, that it understands your routine. But if your routine involves taking drugs or drinking heavily, and all of a sudden that’s taken away, your body isn’t going to react the way you want. Prescription drugs are often used to calm and relax people, but if you stop taking them, you can become jumpy, and irritable. Your body is experiencing waves of stimuli that before would have passed through. If you’ve been drinking to cure depression, and essentially feed you – when you stop, you can go off your appetite. And if your body is dealing with these changes, if can often lead to sickness and illness. This might seem like it’s not good, but it is. It’s your body trying to get back to its normal, unaddicted self.

Finally, people experience psychological changes when they’re addicted to something. Psychology is all about the study of the brain, and the way in which it works. Because your brain is the engine of your body that powers everything from your movement to your thoughts to your heart beating, exposing your body to external substances is going to change how it works. If we think back to the prescription drugs to calm you, these are going to affect your brains workings. If you’ve taken them to feel calm, your brain will think that everything is relaxed, regardless of whether it is or not. And if you’re in this state of basic bliss, when it wears off, you can be exposed to the reality of your situation, and as a result, have sudden changes in your mood. Your attitude towards people can alter, as well as your levels of anxiety and confidence. All of these factors are the psychological signs of addiction.