Casual Alcohol And Drug Use
With the casual use of alcohol and some drugs being more widely accepted, it has become even harder for people to step back and look at their lives and determine if they have an addiction.
Addictions can be spotted quite easily and early in the process if individuals chose to be honest with themselves and their loved ones are not afraid to face the truth.
Signs Of A Sex Addict
Sexual addiction can manifest itself in many different ways, both physical and emotional. It takes a healthcare professional to make a clear diagnosis, but here are some signs that can point to a potential sex addiction:
Obsessive Sexual Thoughts
Someone dealing with sex addiction may find themselves thinking persistently about sex. These chronic thoughts of sex or sexual fantasies may become obsessive or interfere with other responsibilities.
Spending Excessive Time on Sex
While seeking out sexual partners isnât necessarily a sign of sexual addiction, if someone is spending excessive amounts of time and energy on sex, it might be a red flag. This can include spending time attempting to acquire sex, having sex, being sexual, or recovering from sexual experiences.
Feeling Shame or Depression
If a need for sex crosses over into an addiction, someoneâs sexual feelings might also be interspersed with feelings of anxiety, shame, depression, or regret. The individual may feel shame about their sexual urges and their difficulty controlling those urges.
They may even show signs of clinical depression or suicide ideation. Research shows that it isn’t uncommon for people who are sexually compulsive to also show signs of depression, anxiety, and social anxiety. One study found that, among sexually compulsive men, 28% showed signs of depression, compared to 12% of the general population.
Excluding Other Activities
Masturbating Excessively
Cheating on Partners
Signs And Symptoms Of Drug Addiction You Need To Know
The symptoms of drug addiction arent always obvious. Thats because many people struggle with the difference between addiction and recreational use. While many drugs carry inherent risks of addiction, most people dont become addicted to most substances after using them once.
Drug addiction doesnt come with a sign that announces that you have a problem to the world. Whether youre wondering if you have developed a dependency on prescription drugs or you worry that a friend or family member has developed an addiction, these signs and symptoms can help you determine if theres a problem that requires help.
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How Often Do You:
- stay online longer than you intended?
- hear other people in your life complain about how much time you spend online?
- say or think, Just a few more minutes when online?
- try and fail to cut down on how much time you spend online?
- hide how long youve been online?
If any of these situations are coming up on a daily basis, you may be addicted to the Internet.
Not A Day Goes By That You Are Without Your Phone
People who are addicted to their phones will not be able to live without it even for a day.
If, by mistake, they ever leave their phones at home and realize midway that they did, then they will make it a point to go back home and fetch it.
These people need to have their phones with them constantly, without which they feel incomplete.
You will know that you are addicted if you always find yourself charging your phone multiple times in a day.
While smart phones are heavily equipped with a lot of apps and other entertainment sources, they consume a lot of battery, especially if used continuously. Data transfers used by most entertainment and social apps tend to drain the battery extremely fast.
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When To Contact A Doctor
Anyone using substances, even socially, should discuss them with a doctor to ensure safe use and monitor for signs or symptoms of addiction.
However, a person with addiction may not be ready or willing to seek professional medical help, regardless of the negative impacts it is having on their health and wellness.
If a person experiences a substance overdose, those around them should seek emergency medical assistance immediately. A person who has recovered from an overdose may want to seek professional help to treat their addiction.
When a person is ready and wants help with their addiction, they may wish to contact a medical professional to discuss options for treatment. These options include rehab, therapy, detox, and medication.
Medicinal advances and progress in diagnosis have helped the medical community develop various ways to manage and resolve addiction.
Some methods include:
- medical devices to treat withdrawal
- treating related psychological factors, such as depression
- ongoing care to reduce the risk of relapse
Addiction treatment is highly personalized and often requires the support of the individuals community or family.
Treatment can take a long time and may be complicated. Addiction is a chronic condition with a range of psychological and physical effects. Each substance or behavior may require different management techniques.
A person with addiction can find many organizations that may help them. A person can also call a hotline for help with their addiction.
How Do You Know If You Have An Addiction
How do you know if you have an addiction? Do you have to wait until you hit rock bottom and find yourself in a bad situation? Do you have to get to the point where you are committing crimes or risking your health? Sadly, many people believe that you do not have an addiction until you have reached these critical stages.
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What Is An Addiction
Recognizing an addiction problem in someone you know can be harder than it seems. The American Society of Addiction Medicine defines addiction as a chronic disease that affects the brains reward, motivation, and memory functions. Someone with an addiction will crave a substance or other behavioral habits. Theyll often ignore other areas of life to fulfill or support their desires.
General signs of addiction are:
- lack of control, or inability to stay away from a substance or behavior
- ignoring risk factors, like sharing needles despite potential consequences
- physical effects, like withdrawal symptoms or needing higher dosage for effect
These signs are commonly linked. The degree of intensity for each sign may depend on how long the addiction has been going on.
A healthy person can usually identify a negative behavior and get rid of it. This is not the case with someone with an addiction. Rather than admit the problem exists, theyll find ways to justify and continue the behavior.
The first step to getting help is being able to recognize the physical, mental, and emotional signs, like abrupt weight or personality changes in your friends or family members. If you or someone you know has an addiction, call 1-800-622-4357 for free and confidential treatment referral and information from Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration .
Traits Of People With High Risk Of Developing Addiction
Nevertheless, there are traits that can be recognized in people who have a higher risk of becoming addicted to psychoactive substances rather than just being able to moderate behavior around these types of substances. People with this higher addiction risk include those who are:
- Related to others who have developed addiction
- Experiencing other mental health disorders
- Adventurous and risk-taking
A more thorough discussion of each of these traits is explored below.
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How Do I Stop A Shopping Addiction
Feeling out of control or depressed about your spending habits isnt fun. Fortunately, its not too late to take back control of your shopping habits.
The following tips are based on my own experience and conversations Ive had with others. Here are some helpful strategies to help you go from being a shopaholic to taking back control of your spending.
Needing To Increase Doses
Tolerance is caused by regular, repeated use of opioids. The body adapts to the drugs and requires higher doses to relieve pain or achieve euphoric effects. This is a natural adaptation that can be caused by therapeutic use or misuse of pain pills.
If your tolerance is increasing and you keep chasing a pleasurable experience caused by opioids, you may be addicted. If youre able to stop using the drugs before tolerance develops, you probably arent addicted.
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You’re Willing To Take Risks And Make Unreasonable Sacrifices
Suddenly, your addiction is the only thing that matters, and you’re willing to go to extreme lengths to fulfill it, even if those lengths are risky and unwarranted. The brains of those who struggle with drug abuse may be wired in a way that finds a good reason to take risks. A report published by Science Daily suggests why that might be the case.
People struggling with drug abuse “have very strong motivation to seek out ‘rewards,'” the report reads. “They exhibit an impaired ability to adjust their behavior and are less fulfilled once they have achieved what they desire,” which is why they tend to take risks that others may deem unnecessary and dangerous.
Understanding The Signs Of Addiction
A drug addiction or alcohol use disorder can be difficult to identify without understanding the signs of addiction. Substance use disorders can change the way people look, how they act and how they feel, and the symptoms of drug abuse can be physical, behavioral and psychological in nature.
Not everyone who uses drugs or alcohol has a substance abuse problem. However, about 10% of Americans struggle with substance abuse. Understanding the signs and symptoms of drug addiction is the first step towards getting help.
Fortunately for concerned family members and friends, many characteristics of addiction are easy to identify, and many types of drug addictions share similar signs and symptoms. If someone can recognize the symptoms of addiction, they may be able to help a friend or family member who struggles with this disease.
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Why Do Some People Become Addicted To Drugs While Others Don’t
No one factor can predict if a person will become addicted to drugs. A combination of factors influences risk for addiction. The more risk factors a person has, the greater the chance that taking drugs can lead to addiction. For example:
- Biology. The genes that people are born with account for about half of a person’s risk for addiction. Gender, ethnicity, and the presence of other mental disorders may also influence risk for drug use and addiction.
- Environment. A persons environment includes many different influences, from family and friends to economic status and general quality of life. Factors such as peer pressure, physical and sexual abuse, early exposure to drugs, stress, and parental guidance can greatly affect a persons likelihood of drug use and addiction.
- Development. Genetic and environmental factors interact with critical developmental stages in a persons life to affect addiction risk. Although taking drugs at any age can lead to addiction, the earlier that drug use begins, the more likely it will progress to addiction. This is particularly problematic for teens. Because areas in their brains that control decision-making, judgment, and self-control are still developing, teens may be especially prone to risky behaviors, including trying drugs.
Youre Constantly Contemplating If You Have A Drinking Problem
If I am honest with myself, I think back and know that I was contemplating whether my drinking was problematic for many years. I surrounded myself with people who drank the way I did and who were social and wanted to go out to places where drinking was involved. I justified things like blacking out, nasty hangovers, and other consequences by saying these things happen to everyone, when thats just not true. If youve ever had the fleeting thought that you might have a drinking problem, I encourage you to look into this deeper. Why are you having this thought? What is your relationship with alcohol, and how has it changed? People who dont have alcohol issues dont normally have these thoughts.
Get Help During COVID-19
With just 30 days at a rehab center, you can get clean and sober, start therapy, join a support group, and learn ways to manage your cravings.
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Switch To A Cash Diet
Research has shown that people are willing to spend more when paying with credit card instead of cash. This is because credit card payments may not be as noticeable as paying with cash.
We dont realize the pain of our payment until the bill comes in weeks later. If youre having trouble sticking to your budget, leave the credit cards at home and switch to a cash diet instead.
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Addiction Is A Medical Condition
Addiction is just like any other medical condition or disease. The sooner you catch it and provide treatment, the better the chances are for a full recovery.
How do you know if you are causally using drugs or alcohol in a social setting or have an addiction? The American Psychiatric Association has come up with the following signs and symptoms of addiction. If you answer yes to two or more of these symptoms or signs, you may need help from an addiction recovery center.
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Do You Think You Have A Problem Take Our Addiction Quiz
Surprisingly enough, it isnt always easy to discern whether or not you have a problem with addiction. Logic would suggest that a person who was incapable of not putting substances into their body would be totally aware that they had a problem, but that is one of the largest issues with addiction, it masks itself from the person who is afflicted. It expresses itself in such a manner where the person who is afflicted with the illness is usually the last to know that they have an issue. It will create just enough denial and justification in their minds so that they can continue to use or drink unimpeded and even against mounting evidence to the contrary, they will maintain the mentality that everything is fine.
You Worry About Losing Your Cell Phone
Cell phone addicts are constantly worried about losing their phones, and they will most likely have a panic attack if they lose their phones even for as little as one second.
Being constantly worried about losing your phone is certainly not a healthy behavior, and hence indicates clear signs of addiction.
If you are addicted to your phone, then chances are that you would take it everywhere with you, even to the bathroom.
If a person starts taking his/her phone to the bathroom, then he/she will normally take longer than usual to come out, since he/she will become all too consumed with the phone inside.
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You Avoid Social Situations That Don’t Involve Your Addiction
Often times, people with addiction will alienate themselves from social situations in which they aren’t able to pursue their addiction as a result, they might start to make up excuses. If you find yourself skipping out on a necessary chat with a friend because she wants to meet up at a non-smoking bar, your addiction to smoking might be overshadowing other needs.
How Can You Know If Youre An Addict
Addiction can be a problem that someone keeps hidden for a long time. In other cases, people may not realize that someone has an addiction. A person may not know that he or she has an addiction either, which can make them unlikely to seek treatment.
One of the reasons why people struggle to identify if they have an addiction is because they do not understand what an addiction is. Most people also think that it cannot happen to them. To help you determine if you need help, here is the answer to how do you know if youre an addict?
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How Addictions Can Affect You
The strain of managing an addiction can seriously damage your work life and relationships. In the case of substance misuse , an addiction can have serious psychological and physical effects.
Some studies suggest a person’s risk of becoming addicted is partly genetic, but environmental factors, such as being around other people with addictions, are also thought to increase the risk.
Behaviours such as substance misuse can be a way of blocking out difficult issues. Unemployment and poverty can trigger addiction, along with stress and emotional or professional pressure.
The First Thing You Do After Getting Up In The Morning And The Last Thing You Do Before Going To Sleep At Night Is Check Your Phone
Do you find yourself checking your phone as soon as you wake up in the morning and as soon as you are about to fall asleep at night?
If so, then you might just be heavily addicted to your phone.
Keeping your phone close to or right next to you while you sleep can cause serious disruptions to your sleeping patterns.
Therefore, this behavior is not healthy.
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You Find Yourself Wondering What Life Would Be Life Without Alcohol
Another deep question you might find your soul asking during your drinking years is what would life be like without alcohol? I hated to admit this fact, but I definitely wondered what life would be like without my toxic relationship with booze. I wondered if it was possible to quit, and if I could, what kind of life would I live? Would it be fun, exciting, or interesting? Would I still travel and meet fun people? Would I ever get rid of my feelings of shame and guilt? Now that Im on the other side, I know the answers to all of these questions, and I can honestly say that wondering what life would be like without alcohol eventually led me to getting sober. If youre wondering about this for yourself, you might want to give sobriety a shot and see how it works out for you.
These are just 5 indicators that you might have an issue with alcohol. There are many others, but for those of us who struggle with knowing whether or not we need to quit, these pressing questions and feelings can be the bridge to getting help.
Kelly Fitzgerald
- About
Kelly Fitzgerald is a sober writer based in Southwest Florida who is best known for her personal blog < a href=”http://sobersenorita.com/” rel=”nofollow noopener”> The Adventures of a Sober Señorita< /a> . Her work has been published across the web including sites like The Huffington Post, Thought Catalog, Ravishly, SheKnows, Elite Daily, The Fix, Brit + Co, Addiction Unscripted and AfterPartyMagazine. She is currently writing a memoir.
