If you are worried about yourself or someone in your family, knowing the signs someone is abusing drugs can help you understand when to seek help. If anyone shows drug signs, you can find a substance abuse treatment program in Southern California to help.
What are the Signs Someone is Abusing Drugs?
The behavioral signs a person is using drugs or emotional drug signs include a change in personality that has no other explanation. Drug abuse and addiction are often accompanied by lying, hiding, and other secretive behavior. A family member might become reclusive without warning, no longer engaging in hobbies or activities they once loved. You might notice they avoid social activities and no longer hang out with friends. They might also avoid interactions with family. Depression, anxiety, insomnia, changes in appetite, mood flashes, anger, and paranoia can also occur.
There are physical signs someone is abusing drugs too. This might start with a lack of hygiene. You might notice that a loved one is no longer taking care of themselves or cleaning up in their room/home. They might show signs of addiction like track marks from drug injections, changes to their pupils, and skin discoloration. When individuals become addicted to drugs, they usually have changes in sleeping patterns and eating habits, either sleeping/eating too much or too little. This can cause identifiable weight problems. You might notice bags under their eyes, clammy skin, and more.
Depending on the drug being abused, there might be paraphernalia too. An individual abusing heroin (perhaps previously addicted to prescription opioids) might have burned spoons and lighters in their room. Someone using prescriptions might leave behind a trail of empty pill bottles or torn labels.
Financial signs and symptoms of using drugs happen too. People who might have stable jobs suddenly lack the money for essential bills. As money starts going toward drugs and nothing else, there might be a lack of proper food in the home or past due bills with no reasonable explanation. Serious addiction can lead to lying and stealing, where an individual steals from family or friends to cover the cost of more drugs. Addiction to opioids might mean lying to different free clinic doctors to get prescriptions.
What are the Signs of Addiction?
Signs of addiction are often the same as abusing drugs. They include poor hygiene, financial trouble, legal trouble, reclusive behavior, and personality changes.
- You might see emotional signs a person is using drugs, like changes in behavior or personality that don’t otherwise make sense.
- You might also notice that your loved one is sleeping at odd hours of the day or night, awake when they shouldn’t be, for no reason.
- You might see physical signs of addiction, particularly withdrawal signs, depending on the drugs being taken.
However, when you see that your loved one is disregarding their personal and professional responsibilities, hiding their drug or alcohol abuse from you, and caring about nothing other than another fix, it is time to encourage them to get help.
How to Get Someone Into Rehab
Once you recognize the signs someone is abusing drugs, it might be time to stage an intervention. To get someone into rehab, you can:
- Use a professional to help sit down and talk with your family. Using a professional, you can set up something like an intervention or just a family discussion, but arrange it at their office, have a schedule of items you want to talk about, and enjoy guidance from someone who knows how to help those with drug abuse problems.
- Have an intervention where you discuss the drug signs you’ve seen and how they have impacted the family.
- Present a rehab center or treatment program that you have already evaluated.
Finding Substance Abuse Treatment Programs Near You
If you notice signs a person is using drugs, consider our facility as a way to get help. Coachella Valley offers a range of Palm Springs inpatient and residential treatment programs. Inpatient programs have a higher chance of success, particularly for those who struggle with substance abuse and suicidal ideations. Your loved ones move into our facility full time, where they can step away from environmental triggers, negatively influencing friends or circumstances, stress at work or school, and more. We work hard to customize the treatment programs we assign at our rehab center, knowing that each person struggles with addiction differently. Our goal is to give a daily schedule that targets the types of abused substances, with long-term holistic and social skills that can be used long after graduating from rehab.
Today, let us help you find a Southern California substance abuse treatment program for your loved ones.
