Experimenting with drugs and alcohol can be a slippery slope. Smoking, drinking, or popping a mood pill once in a while may seem harmless. But for some people, casual substance use can quickly escalate into dependency. So, how do you know when experimenting turns addictive?
“Substance use disorder crosses all ages, races, genders, and socioeconomic classes,” says Patrick DiGenova, MD, a psychiatrist at Atlantic Health System’s outpatient behavioral health center. “Although young people in their teens and 20s are particularly vulnerable, we see middle-aged men and women, even 80-year-olds, who are struggling with addiction.”
Dr. DiGenova explains that drug or alcohol dependency often develops out of curiosity, social pressures, or as a way to cope with anxiety, stress, or trauma. Regardless of what drives the behavior, he cautions that using these substances can alter brain chemistry and cause significant impairments. Here are five warning signs of addiction—and how to find professional help.
1. Changes in Behavior
The user has mood swings and becomes secretive, irritable, or withdrawn. They lack energy and distance themselves from friends and family. They engage in risky behavior: driving under the influence, practicing unsafe sex, mixing substances, or developing legal troubles.
2. Changes in Physical Appearance
The user begins to neglect personal hygiene and develops extreme sleep patterns of insomnia or excessive fatigue. They may lose weight, have bleary, red eyes, slurred speech, and even experience tremors and nausea if going through withdrawal.
3. Neglecting Responsibilities
The user begins to miss deadlines, ignore responsibilities, and exhibit poor performance. They may give you excuses that they’re simply stressed out or tired, but if the behavior pattern persists, it reflects a bigger problem.
4. Financial Problems
Illicit substances are expensive, so you may notice the user has unexplained financial issues. They may steal or borrow excessively from friends and family. The need to fund their addiction often leads to increased debt and strained relationships.
5. Tolerance
Over time, a user needs more substances, more frequently, to achieve the same feelings. Mixed drinks become hard alcohol only; two shots quickly become 20. The same is true for weed, powders, or pills. As a user builds up a tolerance, their brain chemistry changes.
Getting Professional Help
“Substance use disorder is a chronic disease,” says Dr. DiGenova, part of Atlantic Health System’s intensive outpatient program for mental health and substance use disorders. Here, patients meet daily with licensed clinicians and support groups for up to eight weeks. Dr. DiGenova provides evaluation and medication management, if needed.
“We see a lot of positive outcomes from this program,” he says, noting that relapse rates range between 40% and 60% and are a common part of the recovery journey.
“Stigma and public perception about substance misuse cause people to feel guilty and shameful. But there is no judgement here. People come to us in the midst of a crisis and we’re with them until they’re back to an optimal state of living.”
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