Addiction can be difficult to identify, especially when there’s a lot of motivation to hide it. So, what are the signs of addiction that you shouldn’t dismiss? And, when you believe there may be a problem, what should you do about it?
Since the signs of addiction might also be a sign pointing to a different problem, it’s important that we are careful with any confrontation. It can cause more harm than good if we make a false accusation. You wouldn’t want to do that would you?
So, I’ve included 3 warning signs of an addict but anyone who has first hand experience with an addict could add many more to this list.
Warning Sign of Addiction 1: Lying
Addicts become so accustomed to lying that it can seem that they’ve forgotten how to tell the truth or recognize the truth. When you catch someone lying regularly, especially when the lie doesn’t seem to make sense, it is a sign that there are more lies where that one came from. In addiction, it’s referred to as leading a double life. There’s the person that people outside the inner circle see and the much different person that people close to the addict experience.
Confronting a habitual liar that is trying to maintain an addiction can be risky. It could be helpful to seek the assistance of a professional or, at the very least, make sure there is another person present for the discussion.
Warning Sign of Addiction 2: Guilt and Shame
Since most people that are trying to hide an addiction don’t keep their commitments, they seem to be continually apologizing and suffer from excessive guilt or shame. For clarification, you might feel guilty for something you’ve done (or haven’t done).With shame, you feel like you’re a bad person because of what you’ve done (or haven’t done). It’s easy to see how addicts would feel guilty or shameful about their behavior.
So, when you’re questioning whether someone has a problem with addiction, ask yourself how many times they’ve apologized for their behavior recently? And, if the answer leads you to believe that there may be an addiction problem, you’ll benefit from seeking professional help to confront it.
Warning Sign of Addiction 3: Denial
You may have heard that denial is an acronym for Do’t Even know I Am Lying. It’s likely that a person that is showing signs of addiction has already begun to ask questions about the nature of addiction. Most believe that it’s just a phase they’re going through. And, while that could be true, it’s also quite possible that early warning signs of addiction are being ignored or dismissed in the hopes that they’ll go away.
If the person asking the question is the addict, they’re likely in a stage of change that we refer to as contemplation In order to stop addiction before it takes control (or after control has already been established), contemplation must give way to planning, preparation and action.
There are many warning signs of addiction. I’ve only listed a few here. The best thing you can do when you believe there may be an addiction problem is to address it sooner rather than later.
What are some additional signs of addiction that you’ve seen? Please comment below and like/share so that others can join the discussion.
