What Are the Signs of Addiction?

Acknowledging that you or someone you love has a drug addiction may well be one of the most difficult things you will ever do. The challenge is often compounded by the fact that recognizing addiction is not always easy. In fact, many do not even realize, or admit, that they have a problem until the substance use dependency has them in its thralls, until the spiral has begun.

But it is possible to stop the descent before rock bottom comes. While drug rehab can be a highly effective option, the first and perhaps most important step lies in learning to recognize the signs of addiction.

What Is Drug Addiction?

One of the more pernicious aspects of substance use disorder (SUD) is its subtlety. The stereotype of “the addict” is typically of a person so consumed by their craving for drugs or alcohol that they’ve lost all ability to function.

The reality, though, is that this level of impairment, for most persons experiencing SUD, represents late stage disease. Earlier stages of addiction are characterized by more subtle signs, including:

Repeated unsuccessful attempts to quit or abstain
Experiencing symptoms of withdrawal when trying to detox from the substance, including both physical and psychological impacts
Lack of control over your behavior and, in particular, over your use of the substance (i.e. taking more prescription medication than prescribed).

In other words, addiction doesn’t start when you’ve reached the point of no longer being able to function in your ordinary life. It starts the moment you find yourself doing things you know you shouldn’t be doing, the moment you begin hiding or lying about your substance use, the moment you begin breaking the vow you made to yourself or your loved ones not to drink or use that week, that day, or even that hour. A drug addiction begins the moment you stop controlling your substance use and it starts controlling you.

What Are the Most Common Types of Addiction?

Alcohol and Drug addiction comes in many shapes and forms. Substances that may have no effect on you may trigger a nearly instantaneous dependency in someone else, and vice versa. While the mechanisms of the disease of addiction still aren’t entirely understood, there is increasing recognition among researchers, addiction specialists, and care providers that addiction is the end result of a constellation of genetic, psychological, physiological, environmental, social, and situational factors, all influencing the affected person in diverse ways and degrees.

However, there are a handful of substances that appear to trigger the most prolific and pernicious dependencies. These include:¹

Alcohol: According to a 2021 SAMHSA study, of the more than 133 million persons aged 12 and up who had used alcohol in the previous month, more than 76 million were considered heavy and/or binge drinkers
Marijuana: More than 36 million Americans age 12 and up are reported to have used marijuana in the past year, with marijuana use highest among those aged 18 to 25
Opioids/Painkillers: An estimated 3.3%, or more than nine million people misused opioid in the previous year, with the misuse of prescription painkillers accounting for more than eight million of those incidences. This contrasts with the 1.1 million who reported having used heroin in the same time period.
Methamphetamine: More than 2.5 million people aged 12 and up were found in the SAMHSA study to have misused methamphetamine in the previous year, with the vast majority of those persons being adults above the age of 25
Cocaine: An estimated 1.7% of persons aged 12 and up used cocaine in the previous year, according to the study, or nearly five million people, with usage rates highest among young adults aged 18 to 25
Heroin: More than 1.1 million Americans above age 12 were found to have used heroin within the previous year, with the highest rates of use among adults aged 26 and above
Stimulants: The misuse of prescription stimulants, including prescription ADHD drugs, is highest among young adults aged 18 to 25, with an estimated 1.2 million having misused stimulants in the previous year according to the 2021 survey
Benzodiazepine: Benzodiazepines are a subclass of drugs used as tranquilizers or sedatives. In the 2021 SAMHSA survey, it was found that an estimated 3.9 million Americans aged 12 and up had misused prescription benzodiazepines in the previous 12 months, with young adults aged 18 to 25 showing the highest rates of misuse
Inhalants: Inhalants are among the most common form of illicit drug use among adolescents, with more than 600,000 teens aged 12 to 17 having reported using inhalants in the previous year, more than any other age demographic
Barbiturates: Barbiturates are a class of prescription sedatives that exhibit a high propensity for addictiveness, with an estimated 4.9 million persons aged 12 and up having misused prescription tranquilizers or sedatives in the previous year, according to the 2021 study.

Identifying the Stages of Addiction

As has been seen above, addiction doesn’t simply happen out of nowhere. It is a process, a descent. And the sooner you can recognize the signs of addiction and stop the cascade, the better. A critical aspect of this is understanding how the disease of addiction typically progresses.

For some, dependency takes hold rapidly, while for others the addiction evolves more slowly. In nearly all cases, though, the progression from initiation to addiction follows a largely predictable sequence:²

Initial exposure/first-time use
Misuse/abuse
Tolerance
Dependence
Addiction
Relapse

Simply put: first, you try it. Then you begin consuming it more regularly. Soon, you begin to consume it excessively or to use it outside of the boundaries of what is prescribed or recommended. Next, you discover that you require ever greater quantities of the substance to get the required effect. After this, you realize that you need the substance simply to feel “normal” or to avoid undesirable symptoms, from physical illness to extreme anxiety and depression all the way to psychosis.

From there, you find yourself building your day around how to get the next fix, your thoughts preoccupied with when, where, and how the next drink, dose, or hit will come. Finally, you find yourself in a seemingly endless cycle of quitting and relapsing, periods of white-knuckle abstinence followed by terrifying episodes of uncontrolled binging.

What are the Warning Signs of Addiction?

Because addiction is often a graduate progression and not a sudden and decisive fall, vigilance is key to protecting yourself or someone you love. Once again, it’s all about timely intervention. The sooner you can stop the skid and get your life moving in a healthy, happy, and dependency-free direction, the better.

The good news is that it is possible to spot even the subtlest signs that someone you love is struggling–or that you yourself are slipping into addiction. Seek help if you or a loved one is exhibiting the following behaviors:

Reckless and risky behaviors, including impaired driving
Aggressiveness and irritability, including physical altercations
Increasingly secretive behavior
Sudden disappearances that may last for days or weeks
Sleeping too much or too little
Problems at work, including showing up late or not at all, problems with performance, loss of motivation, or conflict with coworkers, clients, and supervisors
Withdrawal from friends and family
Increasing tension and conflict in relationships
Apathy or loss of interest in things you once enjoyed
Paranoia
Depression and suicidal thoughts
Sudden bouts of crying
Sudden change in appearance, including significant weight gain or loss, flushed face, or bloodshot eyes
Poor hygiene
Smelling of alcohol
Slurred speech
Lesions on face or body
Sudden dental decay or loss of teeth
Sweating, trembling, or vomiting (signs of withdrawal)

Know the Signs of Addiction

As frightening as the disease of addiction may be, it is neither destiny nor a death sentence. But knowledge truly is power, and the first step in helping yourself or your loved one find hope, health, and healing again is acknowledging that there is a problem. And that begins by learning to recognize the signs of addiction.

Resources

All data cited above derive from: Key Substance Use and Mental Health Indicators in the United States: Results From the 2021 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, (2022). Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration *SAMHSA), Department of Health and Human Services USA.
Gowing, L.R., Ali, R.L., Allsop, S., Marsden, J., Turf, E.E., West, R., & Witton, J. (2015), Global statistics on addictive behaviors: 2014 status report. Addiction 110(6), 904-919.