There is a lot of things to consider when it comes to determining if someone in your family or friends has drug or alcohol addiction issues. You can observe their psychological or physical characteristics in order to confirm if they have addiction problems. Here are 10 signs that you need to consider to confirm someone’s substance abuse problem.
1. Mood swings. Addicts oftentimes become angry or irritated from minor offenses or for no reason at all. You might even see them having manic episodes, laughing a minute after they had an anger outburst or vice-versa.
2. Have poor personal grooming. When addiction progresses, addicts start to disregard taking care of their basic personal hygiene. Simple grooming habits like combing your hair or brushing your teeth are often overlooked.
3. Lying quite frequently. When under the influence of alcohol or drugs, lying and fabricating deceptive stories are easily done. Seeing or hearing these from your friend or a family member is a strong indicator that he or she has a substance abuse problem.
4. Lone drinking. If you often see your loved one drinking alone around the house or at a bar, it can be a sign of alcoholism.
5. Bruises. Another strong indication that the person is having substance abuse problems is when you often see them with injuries or bruises on their bodies. Strangely, they do not remember how they got those injuries or know what kind of accident they’ve gone through.
6. Denies drinking. If someone drinks a lot or consumes a large amount of alcohol in a small amount of time, but keeps denying or lying about the true quantity of what he or she has drink: the individual definitely has alcohol abuse issues.
7. Frequent colds or nosebleeds. Having colds or nosebleeds may just normally occur from sinus problems. However, if this happens quite frequently, it can be an indication of a drug addiction problem. Frequent nosebleeds may develop due to sniffing drugs in powdered form, like crystal meth or cocaine.
8. Itchiness. Some side effects of drugs like opiates or heroin include itchiness or skin irritation. If you often see your friend or loved one scratching a certain part of his or her body, there is a possibility that the individual is abusing the aft-mentioned drugs.
9. Unstable weight conditions. Someone with drug addiction may experience rapid weight gain or weight loss depending on the type of substance being consumed.
10. Money problems. If a loved one often asks for money but doesn’t know where that money is going, he or she could be spending it on “bad” things. He or she does not want you to know about drugs.