8 Early Signs Of Addiction That You Might Be Ignoring

8 Early Signs Of Addiction That You Might Be Ignoring

The battle with addiction can last  a lifetime. For some people, it might start in the teens and twenties when they're still trying to figure out who they are and what life is going to be about for them specifically.

For others, this could happen later on in life when there's a huge change brought on by very difficult circumstances or an incredibly shocking event happens to leave a person feeling isolated and alone.

There's never a specific time when someone quits being a regular everyday human being and becomes an addict. It just sorts of works its way into their lives, much like alcoholism does for some people.

To better understand what early addiction might look like, let's take a look at some of the signs of early addiction:

1.  Loss of Interest in Former Hobbies

Alcoholics are famous for giving up their passions. They give up things like sports, hanging out with friends, spending time with family, and so on. There are important reasons for how this happens, but it remains the fact that alcoholics lose interest in doing anything outside of their addiction when they're deep into it.

Since everything they do is alcohol-centric, they become highly dependent on drugs for everything. It is only in the early few months of being sober after quitting drugs that they understand that those activities are very well achievable without drugs.  

2 . Hostility Towards Those Who Are Concerned

When someone is addicted to something, they begin to take criticism very personally because they feel as if you're attacking them personally. This is because their addiction begins to define who they are as a person, and they end up feeling threatened any time someone dares to question it.

3 . Developing Problems With Priorities

Addiction is very much about prioritizing one's own desires over everything else in life. In many cases, addicts don't see anything wrong with this behavior even when those close to them begin expressing concerns. As long as the addict gets what they want when they want it, they don't care how it affects others in the process or if there's a problem with their priorities in regards to where they're spending their time or energy.

4 . Lying Their Activities And Drug Use

When someone is developing a drug addiction, they might not be honest about their activities and their drug usage.  You might notice them lying about where they were or what they've been doing if their drug addiction has progressed enough. They might also lie about their drug use to hide the extent of it, which is a sign that there's even more reason to be concerned about their behavior.

5 . Putting Others Down Or Speaking Negatively

When someone puts others down, speaks negatively about people often, or seems to take pleasure in disparaging others; this can be signs of early addiction because the person might want to make themselves look better by putting others down. This behavior will become worse as their addiction progresses, which leads us to our next sign.

6. Isolating To Use Drugs

This one should be obvious since isolation is common among drug addicts.  When someone is withdrawing from friends and family and getting irritated when they're interrupted, it could be because they want time to use drugs. If they've been isolating more frequently or for longer periods than usual, then that's a definite warning sign that they're spiraling downwards into addiction.

7. Getting Angry Or Irritable At Normal Situations

Addicts tend to get irritable over seemingly normal situations, such as if the service is slow at a restaurant or there's unexpected weather at an airport; this can indicate an early addiction because it might be common behavior among addicts who are using again after attempting to clean up their act.

8. Money Troubles And Debts

Money is one of the most common problems addicts face, even when they're able to work again after treatment. If an addict is having issues with money that wasn't present before they started using drugs, then that can be a sign that addiction has set in. People who are just experimenting or recreationally using might not have issues with money while people who are already struggling will have issues with it.

If you or someone you know is showing these signs of early addiction, don't hesitate to seek treatment in time before it turns into a full-blown addiction!