Admitting you have an addiction is the final step towards getting treatment for your problem. Sometimes the person with the addiction is the last to know. According to an article from author Barb Rogers on The Huffington Post, here are seven signs you can look for to determine if you have an addiction:
1) Questioning
People who don't have an addiction problem don't wonder if they have a problem. It's simply not something they think about because they don't need to.
If you are constantly questioning your own actions and why you can't stop them, then you might have an addiction.
2) Defensiveness
When others touch on the topic, do you feel your hackles rise, and do you instantly defend yourself with statements like: "I can stop doing it anytime I want to."
3) Blaming
Placing blame for your behavior on others or a situation is an old ploy of addicts that keeps them from taking responsibility for their choices.
4) Secrets and lies
Often, addicts are the only ones who think their addiction is a secret. They believe the lies are hiding the secret, but those close to them have noticed.
Lying to friends and loved ones is often a tell-tale sign that your behavior has crossed into addiction.
5) Time and effort
The time addicts put into the behavior, and into finding ways to stop doing it, takes away from other parts of their lives.
In other words, is your addiction dominating your life?
6) Guilt and shame
If you feel guilt and shame, but you can't seem to stop what you're doing, then the problem has become an addiction.
7) Isolation
Telling yourself you are different and can handle things that others are not able to handle will only prolong the problem and escalate the possibility of serious addiction.
Addiction often leaves people alone and empty -- a crucial sign for which to look.
Rogers, the author of "If I Die Before I Wake: A Memoir of Drinking and Recovery," wrote that people who are addicted should not despair -- help is available:
It doesn't matter whether it's alcohol or shopping, drugs or clutter, eating or not eating, gambling or infidelity -- if it's causing problems, and you can't quit even though you want to, then it is an addiction. The good news is that there is help ranging from treatment centers and anonymous meetings to individual therapy. Very few addicts find successful, long-term recovery without a support system.
