When a loved one is struggling with substance addiction, the effects, unfortunately, can extend to every single layer of their life: personal, health, educational, professional, social.
People who are dealing with a substance addiction don’t always have the power to admit they are struggling to their family, friends, or even themselves. It becomes even more important for everyone to learn to identify the signs of an addiction.
The sooner you spot the signs, the sooner you can reach out to them, and help them before the addiction completely takes over their life.
Below, you have the 5 most common signs that someone you care about might be struggling with addiction:
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Emotional Volatility
Addiction is known to cause emotional changes in people, even to the point where the person suffering from it can act completely out of character. Emotional regulation can be achieved through our DBT skills program at https://rehabhelper.co.za/
Of course, people’s emotional state can change over time even without this condition, but if your loved one starts behaving erratically, unpredictable, and manic at time, and you do not have another explanation for it (such as loss of job, going through trauma, etc.), addiction might be the culprit.
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Changes in Sleep Patterns
Substance abuse can take a physical toll on the body and affect a person’s mental functioning. It’s not uncommon for people going through an addiction to experience a severe change in their regular sleep pattern.
The person could, for instance, start to experience a severe type of insomnia, and not be able to sleep and rest, causing even physical changes in their body. Amphetamine-like drugs are known even to lead to severe sleep deprivation, which is another layer that puts the person’s life at risk.
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Violent Outbursts
People going through substance addiction often start ignoring their social and family relations and are compelled to focus on their addiction – where to get the substance, when to take it, etc.
This can make them incredibly impatient with people or even activities that distract them from their goal to the extent where they may even display violent outbursts even if they don’t have a history of such behaviors.
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Sudden Isolation
People dealing with substance addiction can sometimes isolate themselves from their loved ones. Participating in birthday parties or hanging out with friends does not bring them any sense of gratification anymore, so they lack the drive to enter these situations.
Instead, they remove themselves rather suddenly from it, stop answering their phone calls and messages, and can even refuse the help people offer them.
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Physical Changes
Substance abuse, especially long-term, can create a variety of physical changes:
- Stomach problems
- Weight loss
- Sexual function decline
- Memory issues
- Difficulty concentrating, etc.
If you notice any of these signs in a loved one, it’s essential to reach out to them and if they are indeed suffering from an addiction, get them the professional help they need. Contact rehab south africa today for free impartial advice.
https://rehabhelper.co.za/ also offers fantastic drug and alcohol support services.