Tell-Tale Signs You Can Identify
Some of you are new to addiction world, and some of you are veterans. For those of you who have a loved one who lost control with drugs and/or alcohol, and have lived through their struggle with them, you will probably never forget the behaviors of someone using drugs. After the recovery process successfully begins, there is always the fear of relapse, but we can use a variety of methods of fast checking and evaluating to identify the warning signs that signal relapse. You don’t necessarily have to be an addiction counselor to see these things if they indeed do occur- just a good observer.
As we all have discovered, each particular drug has a hallmark
Excessive drinking causes the slurring of words, and loss of balance and coordination, whereas cocaine may speed up the speech. Heroin is invariably accompanied by the infamous ‘nod’. Meth causes crazed behavior with hallucinations and staying up for days without sleep. So know your drugs, and know how a person changes when they take these drugs. When not sure, a drug test (urine) will dispel all doubts, but mind you disrupt someone’s recovery by falsely accusing, least you cause a relapse. Beyond that, take a look at the behavior- unexplained gaps of time, lies, money that can’t be accounted for, rapid weight loss, lack of routine and consistency, loss of job or inability to get hired, and also, listen to your intuitive side, which is an alert to tell you to look closer. In most cases you will see patterns of regression, not just one lone red flag.
Empirical evidence shows us that when folks relapse, their life unravels and spirals out of control, very very quickly. That is what happens, and within time as it continues, even the worst observer cannot help but notice!
When you see healthy routines, accountability, employment, cooperation, and consistency, that is the flag you want to see waving, and signals that recovery is in progress, and working!