Signs You Need to Go to Rehab for Substance Abuse

They say that denial is the first sign of a serious problem. In the context of substance abuse, this may very well hold as well, because denial prevents you from seeking the right kind of help for your condition. 

If you’ve got well-meaning family and friends asking you more frequently and urgently about how you’re doing, consider that perhaps they’re seeing something about you that you’re not. Perhaps they’re noticing a certain tendency for substance abuse that you may not be all too aware of. 

If you have a habit that you’re keeping a secret, but you insist that everything is under control, and that you don’t have a problem, then maybe you do. Here are some telltale signs you might need to check yourself into rehab Alabama-based (https://impactrecoverycenter.net/) for substance abuse. 

Getting Strong Cravings

More specifically, you’re getting stronger cravings every time, and it’s already affecting your mood and disposition. It’s one thing to get irritable when you don’t get what you want, but it’s quite another when you begin feeling anxious, angry, or even paranoid because you can’t drink your alcohol or pop your pill right then and there. 

If you find yourself feeling the need to do these things in secret, then consider that you’re reacting this way because deep down, you do know that you shouldn’t be doing it. And if other people see you, then they will only reinforce what you already know but refuse to acknowledge: you have a substance abuse problem.

The thing with addiction cravings is that they eventually get to a point when they become insatiable. The more you take, the less it becomes effective on you, and so you increase the quantity of intake. This only digs a deeper problem, until you’re trapped deep within, with seemingly no way out.

Increased Dependence

Do you consider yourself to be a “functional alcoholic,” or someone who is still able to carry out their tasks and obligations despite preferring your coffee spiked with alcohol first thing in the morning? Or maybe you say you perform better at work when you drown your anxieties in prescription pills? 

Know that these are nothing more than justifications for your addiction. A “functional alcoholic” is an alcoholic, simply put. Needing to take pills constantly so you can continue feeling good while at work makes you addicted to those pills. 

Take away all the trappings of elaborate excuses, and you’ll see that at the core of it all, it’s substance abuse, plain and square. If you are willing to acknowledge this immediately, then you can avoid getting into bigger problems because of your dependence on these substances.

Visual Signs

Eventually, it will get to a point when you won’t even need other people to point out to you that you have a substance abuse problem; your own environment will tell you so. Take a look at your house. Do you have empty alcohol bottles lying around from corner to corner? Is there more in the trash?

What about your fridge? Do you have more alcohol than water and food inside it? Maybe there’s more in the pantry and in the cupboards? Take a look at your empty pill bottles. Do you see a number of them with various prescriptions because you’ve been going to different doctors to get legitimate prescriptions so you can keep your supply going? How many do you have in your medicine cabinet? How many do you have on your bedside table?

If it’s beginning to look like objects of the substance being abused are beginning to overrun your life, it’s most probably because it actually is. Sometimes, these visuals can be so jarring, that it triggers a moment of sobriety and realization. 

If you do get to this point, accept that you do have a problem, and then proceed to immediately seek help from professionals in reputable rehab facilities. Even though you may be undergoing substance abuse right now, you’re still in a position to turn things around fast. Don’t wait until it’s too late.

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