Substance abuse can engulf your life. What might appear to be an innocent recreational use of drugs and alcohol can turn almost instantly. Many who suffer from a substance abuse disorder don’t realize it until the addiction out of control.
Addiction is a disease that where you may convince yourself that you don’t really have a problem. You may also think you have everything under control. You’ll insist that you can quit whenever you want, but you don’t. So, how can you tell if you’ve crossed over the line?
At what point does the addiction take over your best attempts to stop? What can you do if you already have crossed that line? There is a way out, and it begins with treatment. Let’s look at how to know if you’re ready for a drug rehab.
Signs That You’re Ready for Treatment
Treatment is a first step to rebuilding your life without the need for drugs and alcohol. Many begin their journey in recovery by attending a drug rehab. So, what are some signs that you may have a serious drug or alcohol problem that demands help?
Can Stop, but Can’t Stay Stopped
This is a common feeling spoken about in recovery circles. Most addicts and alcoholics have mentioned times when they were able, through sheer willpower, to abstain. Most of these periods were to fulfill some important responsibility.
However, as soon as the incentive was removed, they were right back where they left off. These brief periods of clean time will invariably trigger relapses that get increasingly worse. This cycle of relapse becomes more and more dangerous each time.
Eventually, your ability to even stop when faced with critical consequences becomes virtually impossible. You have a substance abuse disorder. You need help to stay stopped. When you try to stop, but can’t stay stopped, you’re ready for treatment.
Drink or Use Drugs Despite Serious Consequences
If you’re facing legal consequences, you may present different excuses for your addiction. Some even insist that the consequences are the reason you need to escape. The problem is an ability to deal with the reality of the consequences that happen because of your addiction.
There is another level of consequences that are even more alarming. Many alcoholics and drug addicts are unable to stop, even when faced with dangerous health consequences. The world of an alcoholic and a drug addict is also wrought with other possible consequences.
Those who suffer with a substance abuse disorder lose jobs, destroy family relationships, and fail in school. The problem isn’t the consequences themselves. The problem is that you continue to drink or use drugs despite serious consequences. This is a clear sign you need rehab.
Drink or Use Drugs More than you Reveal
If you have to lie about your drinking or drug use habits, you have a problem. When your addiction involves illegal drugs or the abuse of prescription drugs, you have something to hide automatically. Lying about an addiction is a trademark sign of the disease.
Once you begin to abuse drugs or alcohol to the point you have to lie about it, you’ve crossed the line. The lack of honesty about your substance abuse is common. However, when you drink or use drugs more than you’re willing to reveal, you’re ready for treatment.
The Addiction Has Become Your Life
If one of the first things you think about when you wake up in the morning involves drinking or using drugs, you have a problem. When the substance becomes one of the most important things you think about, the substance has taken control of your life.
This is a dangerous point in addiction. When you begin to think about drugs and alcohol all the time, or at least too frequently, you’re invariably at a dangerous point of physical and emotional withdrawal. When your addiction becomes your life, it’s time for you to consider treatment.
Once you reach any of these levels of substance abuse, don’t lose hope. Despite the hopeless feelings that are an inherent part of addiction, there is hope. That hope is in recovery. Often, the path to a new way of living begins with treatment.
If you feel you have a problem with drugs or alcohol, reach out for help. You don’t have to wait for any of these symptoms to take over your life. You can begin a wonderful journey in recovery today. Pick up the phone and reach out for help. Your journey starts with one phone call to 833-610-1174.