Signs and Symptoms of Addiction

In addition to cravings, when addiction begins to remake the brain an addict exhibits a variety of symptoms, including:

• Denial: An addict will vigorously dispute any suggestion that his use is harmful, and he may remind others that they use too.
  
  
• Justification: A long, difficult week at work will entitle the addict; getting high is his prerogative because he earned it, he earned the right to relax, to escape for a few hours. In fact, it's therapeutic; come Monday he's refreshed.
  
  
• Coping: What began as spotty, irregular drug use has spilled over into the week because he's discovered that getting high is rewarding, it softens bad experiences and he thinks he's able to confront otherwise difficult interactions better when high.
  
  
• Lying: In an effort to hide or conceal his drug use, he begins crafting small lies.
  
  
• Increased Devotion: Instead of going out with friends tonight, he'll get high. He's cutting off more and more of these corners in his life, but the process is so gradual he does not see how his life is narrowing towards that one purpose: using or getting high.
  
  
• Changes Depending on the drug, an addict may: suffer chronic nasal congestion or glassy eyes; suffer alternating fits of hyperactivity and fatigue; drastic mood swings, between euphoria and depression; exhibit obsessiveness or vague compulsion to make snap decisions.

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