Each drug has its own negative effects on a user, but the indications of having an addiction remains almost the same.
Persons with drug addictions will sooner come to realize that they need to seek help or guidance and if they don’t someone who cares for them will do it for them.
They may be hesitant at first, but after sobering up, they will realize the importance of getting their life back on track and will use the help they get.
Below are the signs and symptoms of drug misuse and addiction.
Drug misuse indicators are:
- Ignoring or avoiding of everyday duties whether it may be at school, working place or at home. This means that the person will stop with their normal daily routine because of the drug abuse.
- Doing dangerous things after using, such as – driving, using unsterile needles and having sex without protection.
- Legal trouble – Could be from theft to support the drug using lifestyle or other arrests relating to their drug use.
- Relationship problems – Regular fighting and aggression towards loved ones or colleagues.
Drug addiction indicators are:
- Tolerant towards normal amount of drug use – This means that the body has become accustomed to the normal usage, and now the person needs more of the drug to have the same feelings as before.
- Experiencing relief from withdrawal symptoms by using drugs – Addictive users experience a great number of different symptoms when they have gone a while without using drugs such as anxiety, sweating, restlessness, nausea, etc.
- The loss of self-control with the use of drugs – This means when a person sets personal boundaries to themselves, but fails to, and leads to having much more than they wanted to.
- Constantly thinking of using drugs – Addicts change their whole life by: using drugs, thinking of it and deciding on where to get more. After the use they need to recover and then the whole process starts all over again.
- The loss of interest – drug addicts show no interest towards their previously much loved hobbies, friends, family and sport.
- Continuous use despite the harm – The obvious signs to stop the use of drugs doesn’t have any effect on users and still abuse drugs like nothing is wrong.
It is never easy to see someone you love and care for struggling with a drug addiction. In fact, there is nothing else like the pain that comes with seeing someone you care for losing the battle to drugs. It is a reality that millions of people live with every day, and feel helpless to do anything about.
The most important thing to remember is that while the person who is struggling with the addiction is still alive, there is still hope and something can still be done. It is difficult for the inexperienced to identify a drug addict, but there are signs that you can look out for.
In recent years the term functioning drug addict has become more popular, similar to that of the functioning alcoholic. It means that a person who is addicted to drugs can still lead a semblance of a normal life, but they are still addicts. It makes it difficult to identify their problem, because the obvious and classic signs of addiction aren’t that obvious.
There are still things you can be on the lookout for in order to identify whether the person is dealing with a drug addiction. A sudden change in personality and severe mood swings is really something that every drug addict deals with. Also, it is characteristic of a drug addict to lose a lot of weight, fast, and to look unhealthy and not sleep too well. They will not have a big appetite and will be very moody all the time.
If you suspect your loved one is having a problem with drug addiction, you have to act now to get them the help they need. This can be done by holding an intervention and coming from a place of love and no judgement. You can still get your loved one the help they need to take back control of their life.