If you suspect that someone you love is struggling with addiction, you must act to get them help. But sometimes the signs of addiction are difficult to spot. Addiction is a tricky disease and it sometimes hides where you least expect it.
There are a few common habits of drug addicts that you can look for. If you think someone you love may be a drug addict, keep reading. We’re outlining the different signs that someone you love could be dealing with a deadly addiction.
1. Lying and Being Secretive
One of the most common habits of drug addicts is that they tend to lie. These lies can vary in size and severity. Something that you may consider a silly thing to lie about, a drug addict may lie about frequently.
They may lie about what they’ve been up to, who they spend time with, or where they spend their money.
A drug addict may also be secretive. Rather than telling you a lie, they won’t say anything at all. If someone you love has gone from being an open and honest person to someone who lies and keeps secrets from you, it could be a sign that they need to enter outpatient drug rehab to treat an addiction.
Stealing could also be a problem. Addicts usually steal money so they can buy more drugs. They may also steal valuable items to sell so they can buy more drugs.
While it may feel intuitive to cut someone out of your life once they start to lie or steal from you, consider reaching out to them and asking what’s going on. There’s a good chance that they need help. You could even attempt to stage an intervention.
2. Isolation
If you’ve noticed that someone you love has started to isolate themselves, it could be a sign of several problems. Addiction is a disease that is mired in shame. When someone suffers from an addiction, they don’t want anyone to find out and they don’t want to ask for help.
However, isolation can be a sign of other serious mental health issues as well. Depression and anxiety are two other factors that can play into someone who used to be social and active suddenly isolating themselves from the people they care about.
If you suspect that someone you love is isolating because of drug addiction, try to get them help. Remind them frequently that you love them and that you’re there for them if they need help.
Let the other people who are close to them know what you suspect. They will be able to pitch in on the effort to get them to stop isolating. They could also try to get them the help they need.
3. Neglecting Responsibilities
Someone deep in their addiction may start neglecting their responsibilities. But this can look different for every addict. It may be as simple as keeping the house tidy or it could be as serious as forgetting to pick their children up from school.
Neglecting responsibilities is another sign that there could be other underlying mental health issues at hand. Either way, someone who stops showing up for work, doesn’t pay rent, and doesn’t properly feed and clothe their children needs to get some help.
In many instances, offering to take care of their responsibilities can be enabling. If you start to pick up the pieces for the addict, it could mean that they are able to slip a little deeper into addiction without getting help.
However, when there are children involved, it’s important that you step in as soon as possible to see that they’re getting the help that they need.
4. Being Irresponsible With Money
A drug addict will stop at nothing to purchase their drug of choice. They will lie, cheat, and steal their way into getting more drugs however they can.
This means that many times, things like rent and groceries go neglected. Instead of stocking their fridge up with food to eat, they spend that money on their next fix. They may even ask their friends and family for money to pay for the things they need to survive, only to turn around and spend that money on drugs too.
If you suspect that someone you love is addicted to drugs, don’t lend them money. While it may seem cruel to let them go without food or other necessities, going through this hardship may be the thing that leads them to get sober in the long run.
5. Change in Physical Appearance
Lastly, over time, drug abuse starts to wear a person’s appearance down. It may start as something as simple as neglecting a shower from time to time. Greasy hair and unwashed clothes could also be a sign of depression and anxiety as well.
However, if you notice a dramatic change in their physical appearance, it could be a sign of drug addiction. Drug addiction can lead to excess weight loss and alcohol addiction could lead to weight gain.
Be on the lookout for marks on their skin as well. Someone who injects heroin could have track marks on their arm. Someone who smokes meth may develop a rash on their skin.
Some meth users start to develop a phenomenon known as “meth mouth” where their teeth start to rot as well.
Common Habits of Drug Addicts
These are just a few of the common habits of drug addicts. It’s important to remember that no two addicts are the same and no two addictions will present the same way.
While the habits we’ve listed are common, just because someone does them doesn’t mean that they’re an addict. On the other hand, just because someone doesn’t do these things, doesn’t mean that they aren’t an addict.
If you suspect that someone you love is dealing with drug addiction, contact us today to learn how to treat it with outpatient rehab.