{"id":18,"date":"2020-01-06T20:04:47","date_gmt":"2020-01-06T20:04:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/changemyheart.com\/blog\/?p=18"},"modified":"2020-01-10T17:49:11","modified_gmt":"2020-01-10T17:49:11","slug":"what-are-some-signs-that-someone-has-developed-an-addiction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/changemyheart.com\/blog\/what-are-some-signs-that-someone-has-developed-an-addiction\/","title":{"rendered":"What Are Some Signs That Someone Has Developed An Addiction"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>If I knew that my friends\nstrange behaviour was because he was an addict, I could have helped before he\ncommitted suicide. I wanted to educate myself on the signs of addiction so I\ncould better identify how I could help and be a better friend. I learned so\nmuch, and in this post I want to share with you what I learned about addictions\nand how to identify signs that someone has an addiction and what to do about\nit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What are some signs that someone has an addiction? Look for\nthese signs\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong><a href=\"#001\">How They Act<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"#002\">How They Look<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"#003\">Paraphernalia You Find<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"#004\">Withdrawal Symptoms<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"001\">How They Act<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Changes in their behavior\nare clear signs that something is wrong especially if they made new friends\nrecently. In addiction recovery, one of the rules is cutting off ties with\nfriends who have supported your habit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You may try asking them\nabout their friends and try to get together. If they block the possibility of\nyou meeting those friends, or if you actually do get to meet them, in either\nsituation you will learn more about whether or not they are picking up the\nhabit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Be prepared for anger blow\nups. If they are using, they are going to protect that addiction. This can\nappear intentionally and subconsciously. Don\u2019t be offended, its their addicted\nmind trying to protect the addiction. They may be already trying to quit but as\nsoon as someone else asks, they get angry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another behavior is\nisolation. Shame and Guilt are prevalent in the addiction community. They may\nfeel they are so far gone that they have no worth left. They may feel they\ndon\u2019t deserve friends and family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lying about anything is\nalso a very well known habit with addicts. When they are using and not where\nthey should be, people will ask where they were. They try to cover their tracks\nconstantly and lie after lie will normally fall apart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Stealing is another sign\nthey are addicted. The constant need for using will require money. If you\nnotice money, jewelry, appliances missing you more than likely have someone\nwith an addiction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Substance abuse is not the\nonly type of addiction someone may have There are two types of addictions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Physical Dependence Addictions<\/strong>   <\/td><td><strong>Mental Dependence Addictions<\/strong>   <\/td><\/tr><tr><td>\n  Alcohol\n  <\/td><td>\n  Pornography Alcohol\n  <\/td><\/tr><tr><td>\n  Drugs\n  <\/td><td>\n  Sex\n  <\/td><\/tr><tr><td>\n  Nicotine\n  <\/td><td>\n  Overeating\n  <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"002\">How They Look<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Eyes can help you identify\nif someone is high or drunk. Look for\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Bloodshot eyes<\/li><li>Wide pupils<\/li><li>Small pupils<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Skin condition is another\nindication of substance abuse. Indications of needle punctures in the arms and\nlegs relate to injectable substances. Concave eyes and sagging nostrils could\nall indicate a history of substance abuse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Alcoholism is often\nidentified by tanned or flushed skin and also sweaty skin. There are two\nreasons this happens. Depending on the amount consumed, aimless wandering and\npassing out while outside in the hot sun is pretty common. Hence the tan. But\nthe sweaty skin isn\u2019t from the sun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s called vasodilation.\nAs they consume large amounts of alcohol their blood vessels will swell to the\nsurface which makes their skin warmer and flushed which causes them to sweat\nmore. These are are all indicators of alcoholism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sores on the face or other\nareas can indicate methamphetamine use. A side effect to using meth is the\nhallucination that you have bugs under your skin. This causes users to itch.\nAfter some time, visible sores and scabs can be seen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another side effect of\nmeth use and any opioid use is what they call, \u201cmeth mouth.\u201d Meth use also\ninduces vomiting and acid decay on the teeth causes yellowing and breakdown of\nthe enamel. Opioid use causes bruxism where you are prone to grind your teeth\nand weaken your jaw. Both issues causes major issues to your dental work. Scabs\nand missing teeth are indicators of drug use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"003\">Paraphernalia You Find<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The possession of items\nlike\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"\"><tbody><tr><td>\n  tin\n  foil\n  weight scalessmoking pipesbutane torchesbongsziplock bagssquare folded paper envelops (bindles)cigarette lighterssmall porcelain bowls\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  <\/td><td>\n  \u00b7&nbsp; hypodermic\n  needles\n  \u00b7&nbsp; balloons\n  \u00b7&nbsp; aluminum foil wrappers\n  \u00b7&nbsp; mirrors or flat metal\n  \u00b7&nbsp; short straws\n  \u00b7&nbsp; glass pipes\n  \u00b7&nbsp; capsules\n  \u00b7&nbsp; vials\n  <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><em>\u201cThe possession\nof items like\u2026 [these] \u2026are indicative of drug use.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"#001\">Early Detection of Illicit Drug Use in Teenagers<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Anything can be re-tooled\nto create what is needed for substance abuse. but if you really want to know if\nsomeone is using testing kits can provide the most effective way to know for\nsure. Make sure you get a kit that tests for multiple drugs all at once. Here\nis the most popular one on amazon.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Pack-Identify-Diagnostics-Panel-Drug\/dp\/B01DMMPO58\/ref=zg_bs_3777251_13?_encoding=UTF8&amp;psc=1&amp;refRID=YE2SDADQV1KK1S161708\">5 pack Diagnostic Drug Test Panel<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>These test have a limited shelf life. About 1 \u2013 2 years\ndepending.<\/li><li>This test check 12 panel drug types and is FDA 510(k) Cleared,\nCLIA Waived.<\/li><li>Make sure to wait the full 5 minutes before reading results.\nSome T-Lines appear instantly but some could take 5 minutes to react to the\nurine.<\/li><li>It has a 99% accuracy in detecting drugs<\/li><li>You can test: Marijuana (THC), Cocaine (COC), Oxycodone (OXY),\nEcstasy (MDMA), Buprenorphine (BUP), Morphine \/ Opiates (MOP), Amphetamines\n(AMP), Barbiturates (BAR), Benzodiazepines (BZO), Methamphetamines (MET),\nMethadone (MTD), Phencyclidine (PCP).<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Regardless of testing,\naddicts get really good at hiding things. So finding these items won\u2019t be so\neasy. Make sure you are respecting their space. Here are the top 10 places they\ncould hide paraphernalia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Behind picture frames<\/li><li>In books<\/li><li>Taped in cars<\/li><li>Under or in mattresses<\/li><li>Pens or markers<\/li><li>Inside drinks or inside candy wrappers<\/li><li>Women\u2019s makeup and hygiene items<\/li><li>Inside vents<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"004\">Withdrawal Symptoms<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Sadness and depression is\ncaused chemically from the lack of whatever the addict is addicted to. But\nthere is also issues with feelings of guilt and shame that they are dealing\nwith. This is another contributor to the depression and sadness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Certain addictions cause\ninsomnia or over sleeping. Many individuals can\u2019t sleep with or without their\nfix. So withdrawal from these items can really mess up their daily schedule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many times the brain is\nnot performing at optimal levels. Things don\u2019t make as much sense for them. The\nissue is dopamine. When an individual gets a fix through any substance or\nhabit, like video gaming, their brains become dependant on it. It rewires the\nbrain to become completely dependant on dopamine so withdrawals are guaranteed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Isolation is another way\nyou can identify when someone is abusing some soft of addition. They are trying\nto overcome some excruciating withdrawals. Without a sober inpatient facility,\nwhich also can be expensive, they will hold up in their bedroom and try to wait\nit out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When isolation is being\nused to cope with withdrawals its important to be aware of what is happening to\nthe individual. Suicide is possible, but relapsing is much more likely. They\ncant cope with the withdrawal symptoms so they will try and go where they have\naccess and use to overcome the feelings of withdrawal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Where Can We Find Help For Addiction\nRecovery<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This is a delicate\nsituation. Many addicts have to make the concerted effort to decide to become\nsober again.&nbsp;<strong>Again, they need to be the ones that decide they are going\nto change.<\/strong>&nbsp;Often we will have mothers contacting us about\ntheir teen or adult son or daughter asking us to help them quit substances,\nporn, video games, you name it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The problem is, we can\u2019t\nforce anyone to change. They have to want it. Not only do they have to want to\nstop, they have to keep trying to stop even when they relapse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Depending where they are\nat in their recovery we suggest the Change My Heart System. Here they can get\nhelp in our private automated program called the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/changemyheart.com\/how-it-works\/plans\">Solo Plan<\/a>.\nThis option allows them to get comfortable with the idea first before they can\nchoose a more one on one assistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But as soon as they want\nreal help they can get&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/changemyheart.com\/how-it-works\/plans\">daily support<\/a>&nbsp;with\nour specialists who have beat the same addiction they have while monitoring\ntheir recovery in our online system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Identifying signs of addiction can help create an intervention that can save this person\u2019s life. Good luck and make sure you respect their privacy and remember, only they can truly decide to overcome their addiction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4>Footnote<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ol><li id=\"001\">Ali S, Mouton CP, Jabeen S, et al.&#8221;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC3257983\/\">Early detection of illicit drug use in teenagers.<\/a>&#8221; Innov Clin Neurosci. 2011;8(12):24\u201328.<\/li><\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If I knew that my friends strange behaviour was because he was an addict, I could have helped before he committed suicide. I wanted to educate myself on the signs of addiction so I could better identify how I could help and be a better friend. I learned so much, and in this post I [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":20,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/changemyheart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/changemyheart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/changemyheart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/changemyheart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/changemyheart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/changemyheart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":72,"href":"https:\/\/changemyheart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18\/revisions\/72"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/changemyheart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/changemyheart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/changemyheart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/changemyheart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}