10 Signs you May Be Suffering from Addiction

It always starts off simple and innocent. It is a beer after work, drinks with friends, getting that new prescription from your doctor, or the hit off a joint. A little time passes and soon enough you find yourself wanting that beer at lunch time, you don’t want the party with your friends to stop, you need to get your prescription filled more and more often, and now you are smoking alone. Whatever the case may be for some people, such as you, slowly but surely an addiction develops.

If you have made your way to this article chances are that you need to take a long hard look at your drug use or drinking. Why? Because it is very likely that your drug use and drinking has turned into a substance abuse or in other words, drug abuse. Now you are probably wondering, but how do you know for sure? Well, to put it simply you look for the signs of an addiction.

Here are 10 signs you may be suffering from addiction:

1. You have tried to stop but you always find yourself right back where you started; abusing drugs again. One of the main signs of addiction is the inability to stop using even when you want to.
2. You begin engaging in drug use more and more often. Sometimes you end up using drugs longer than you expected. For example, you plan on smoking one joint and you find yourself stoned all weekend.
3. The drugs are all you can think about. A preoccupation with using drugs is a huge sign of addiction. For example, you are sitting at work and all you can think about is how bad you want to use when you get home. You may even think about the exact things and ways you will use drugs; picturing it all in your head.
4. Continuing drug abuse despite the negative consequences may mean that you not only have an addiction but that it is also time to seek some kind of outside help from an inpatient or outpatient treatment center. Continuing to engage in drug abuse regardless of the consequences means continuing to use drugs even though they are affecting your financial, psychological, social, academic and even physical parts of your life.
5. You’re building up a tolerance. Do you find that you need to use more of that little white pill to get the same effects? This is due to the buildup of a tolerance. Meaning you need to use more and more to get “high”. This is one of the many points for the diagnosis of an addiction.
6. Most of your time is spent getting high or obtaining what you need to get high. This is classic behavior of someone with an addiction.
7. Friends and family have started to notice something isn’t right with you. If your friends and family start to ask you about your drug use then it may be time to get some help.
8. You limit your social activities to no longer run into these family members and friends. If you find yourself holed up in your own house unwilling or not wanting to do any recreational activities or hang out with friends you probably have an addiction.
9. You start engaging in negative behavior to get your drugs. This could be anything from stealing, violence, and lying.
10. Being high at your workplace or at events where you should be sober because you can no longer control your drug abuse. Say you have a wedding to go to or work in the morning and you make a decision to not use. If you find that you end up using anyways and you show up high at work or totally incapacitated at your best friend’s wedding; this is a sign of addiction.

If you are experiencing any signs of addiction it is important that you don’t deny them. Denial is one of the biggest factors that keeps people chained to their addiction and keeps them from getting the help they need. Don’t let denial hold you back, get help now.