“But he never showed any signs of someone addicted to drugs.” “She seemed okay to us even if she was a bit withdrawn.” “How couldn’t we have seen the signs?”
When you work in the addiction treatment world for long enough, you’ll hear any variation of the above sentiments often.
Missing the signs of addiction is way more common than you think. You might be wondering how this is so. Addiction often doesn’t look like the strung-out, sickly thin, and pale characters you see in the movies or TV shows. Unfortunately, addiction is portrayed inaccurately in the media.
Addiction has a lot of faces that seem ‘normal’ for a long duration of the addiction. When coupled with the deceit that most addicts use to hide their behavior, it’s almost impossible to figure out if your loved one is struggling with addiction, unless you know what to look for. That is why missing the signs of someone addicted to drugs is a common problem that families and friends of addicts experience.
How do you get help for your loved ones if you don’t even know they need it?
Common Signs of Someone Addicted To Drugs
Stress, going through a rough patch at work or in a relationship, and even teenage angst are often used to explain strange behavior. You know your loved one best and if you think there is something wrong, below are a few common signs of a drug addiction:
- They look exhausted and sad a lot
- They let themselves and their space get messy. And this includes poor hygiene, washing their clothes, or cleaning their room
- They have mood swings and often seem nervous or cranky
- They don’t keep regular sleep hours
- They develop off eating habits either by eating significantly more or less than normal
- They start spending a lot of time alone
- They develop problems at work either with their performance or with co-workers
- They lose interest in things they loved before
- They start missing important meetings and appointments
- They exhibit an energetic and uplifted mood where they speak very fast and might say some meaningless things
Some of these signs could be explained away by other illnesses like depression. However, if your loved one is exhibiting many of them simultaneously, they may be struggling with a drug or alcohol addiction,
How To Get Someone Help With Their Addiction
One of the saddest and most ironic parts about addiction is treatment and recovery. No matter how much you want sobriety for your loved one, they have to want it for themselves. No matter how many times you suggest treatment or “force” them to go, they still have to want to be sober for themselves.
So, even when you’ve noticed the signs of someone addicted to drugs, you can’t force treatment.
It doesn’t matter how many rehab facilities you ship them off to or how many times you try to get them sober. Treatment will only work if the addict wants sobriety for themselves.
But this doesn’t leave family and friends without a role to play. Every addict needs to see how much their addiction is hurting them and their loved ones.
Staging an intervention is one of the most effective ways to help shed light on your loved ones addiction.
An intervention is a structured conversation that provides a neutral space for loved ones to let the addict know how much their actions affect everyone around them. An intervention is often led by an intervention specialist.
Plan an Intervention With the Help of Revive Interventions
Planning an intervention is a delicate dance. You will want to make sure your loved one isn’t feeling attacked or judged when approached about their addiction. The best way to stage an intervention is with the help of addiction treatment professionals.
At Revive Interventions, we fully understand addiction. We’ve been in your loved ones shoes before. We offer an intervention service that organizes interventions and helps families heal from the effects of addiction.
Having been addicts once as well as friends to addicts, we have an extraordinary experience in organizing successful interventions. Reach out to us today for help with planning your loved ones intervention!
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