No one wants to believe that anything they enjoy doing can cross the invisible line and become an addiction. Since denial is one of the classic signs of addiction, it’s important to identify the warning signs that you’re actually addicted to something. Once you’re clear that you or someone you love has an addiction, you can then take the necessary steps to get help with addiction treatment. These seven signs are not all of the signs of addiction, but some of the most common ones.

You know you’re addicted when:

1. You show the classic signs of addiction, such as cravings for the substance or activity, withdrawal symptoms when stopping — such as shaking, headaches, sweating, diarrhea — and an increase in tolerance indicated by a need for increased dosing in order to achieve the same “high” or effect.

2. You find that you are often thinking about your “drug of choice”. Your thoughts are consumed not only with the substance or activity itself, but with other aspects, such as how to get it, how to conceal it, measures you can take to control it, etc. These thoughts interrupt your work and home life and over time become a constant obsession.

3. You find that you can’t stop once you’ve started, and you can’t stay stopped, in spite of your best intentions. For the addict there is no such thing as “moderation”. Once you’ve started overeating or drinking or you’ve taken a pill, you find that you want to continue until the supply is gone or you feel sick. And even when you’ve stopped for a time, you always end up going back to it, in spite of your best efforts not to.

4. You are lying in order to cover up your behavior. When you are addicted, others begin to notice and comment. This unsolicited attention makes it harder for you to indulge. You end up lying so people don’t know about your activities and how much you are using. You also become increasingly irresponsible, missing appointments and deadlines, and you make up stories and excuses to cover your tracks.

5. You make promises to stop that you don’t keep. Every addict makes promises to stop, both to themselves and to others. And they are usually sincere in their promises; they believe they will do better. But they don’t realize that, as an addict, they can’t do better, they are beyond the point of self-control. People only make promises to stop something when it is a problem.

6. It’s costing you. Addiction is a progressive condition. It can start out as harmless and occasional indulgence, but if you are an addict your indulgences will increase, as will the price that you pay for your binges. It will begin to affect your performance and attendance at work, your relationships, your parenting, your health, and your finances. Soon the price you are paying will far outweigh the benefits you are deriving.

7. You continue the use in spite of the obvious negative consequences. No matter what trouble your behavior causes, you keep using. Any rational person would see the writing on the wall and stop before it gets any worse, but the addict isn’t operating on logic. Addiction is a mental, physical, and spiritual condition that no amount of logic or reason can curb. You can’t see what the addiction is doing to you, only what it is doing for you. Therefore, you continue in a downward spiral.

If you can identify with one or more of these addiction signs, you are either on the way to becoming addicted, or already fully addicted. Hopefully, after reading this article, you will reach out and seek help to stop. No addict can quit on his or her own, so it’s important that you take steps to get the help you need. There is no shame in being addicted. The only shame would be in allowing your life to continue to spiral out of control on account of your addiction. There is help available and you deserve to get that help.

Take the QUIZ to learn if you have an ADDICTIVE PERSONALITY: www.roynelsonhealing.com/quiz

Posted on Tuesday, December 23rd, 2014 under Addiction.