Addiction is a multifaceted disease and depending on the substance and frequency of abuse; addiction treats every individual differently. While symptoms and treatment of addiction vary from one person to another, what remains similar are the signs that someone is suffering from addiction.
Below are the most common signs of drug addiction. The signs do not appear with every drug addiction, but they appear frequently enough to represent a warning sign that something is amiss.
1. Mood Swings
People who are addicted to drugs are prone to mood swings depending on whether or not they’re under drug influence. The mood swings can be as a result of a psychiatric disorder affiliated with addiction or on the substance abused.
2. Being evasive or secretive
Addicts will go to great lengths to hide their addiction. This includes keeping secrets, acting in unusual manners, or avoiding clear answers to your queries.
3. Change in physical appearance
Addiction will have a significant and noticeable impact on the victim’s body. For example, unexplained weight loss, irritated skin, strange smelling on clothing, development of unusual sores on the body or even strange smelling on clothing.
4. Apathy or complacency
While this isn’t common, it’s a noticeable characteristic. An individual who is normally quite active can lose interest all of a sudden. They will no longer seem to be interested in hobbies, skills, and talents that they typically enjoy.
5. Erratic behaviors
These can be the most noticeable signs of addiction. These responses are entirely not typical of the individual. For example, excessive giddiness out of someone who is typically serious. The behaviors can become dangerous situations.
6. Mental instability
Addiction can trigger a psychological imbalance. This is seen when the victim starts acting compulsively, lose their ability to focus, perform actions driven by paranoia or hear voices which are not real.
7. Neglecting your responsibilities
The user starts having issues at work, school or with his household responsibilities because of the addiction. Addiction makes serious and negative impacts to the victim’s day-to-day activates.
8. Memory loss
Substance abuse often leads to blackouts from a heavy usage in a small period of time. The more blackouts a victim gets the more long time memory loss that victim suffer. Illicit drugs have direct impacts on the functioning of a human brain which leads to memory loss.
9. Changes in possessions
Addiction causes a victim to lose sight of everything else. The victim may start selling personal items for cash, or be in possession of improvised drug apparatuses. Some of them even start stealing to feed their next high.
10. Lying frequently
Individuals struggling with addiction will flat out lie to you to protect themselves to admitting their addiction.