Category: Addiction Education

My Man Says He’s Not an Alcoholic: Signs of Alcoholism in Men

My Man Says He’s Not an Alcoholic: Signs of Alcoholism in Men

If your partner is drinking too much, you probably notice a lot. At the same time, they may argue or even outright deny drinking too much or having a problem. That’s a common problem with alcoholics. They convince themselves that they are in control and they can quit whenever they want – even when they can’t.

Recognizing that your loved one is struggling with an alcohol use disorder is one of the first steps of getting them help. It can also be important for your own mental health – especially if they are lying and hiding drinking. Unfortunately, if your loved one doesn’t’ want to get help, they won’t and you can’t make them. However, taking the steps to help them learn about substance use disorders, why alcoholism is a treatable thing and not a personal failing, and how they can get help may help. And, that all starts with recognizing the signs of alcoholism and how it impacts people.

They Get Sick Often

If your man is drinking so much that he has cold or flu symptoms when he stops, he’s struggling with alcohol dependency. This means that his body is so accustomed to alcohol that it has to adjust to lower levels of it when he stops drinking. With alcohol, this happens because alcohol interacts with the central nervous system and therefore the respiratory system. As a result, someone going through withdrawal will have shaking hands, sniffles, a headache, and will likely be extremely irritable.

Even if you notice that they periodically have these symptoms, especially if they can’t drink for a few days for medication or for work – then they likely have a problem.

He Sneaks or Hides Drinking

Someone with a healthy relationship to alcohol will never sneak or hide drinks. It doesn’t matter how much you “nag” them about it or feel negatively about it. If they have a good relationship with alcohol, they won’t hide using it.

This means that finding bottles hidden in a drawer or behind a couch is a sign of alcoholism. It means that someone who fills water or soda bottles with alcohol and takes them with them through the day is an alcoholic. It means that someone who often or normally slips alcohol into their normal beverage is an alcoholic. And, it means that someone who hides or tries to throw away bottles or evidence that they were drinking is an alcoholic.

They Drink More than They Say

If your loved one promises to have a single drink and then gets drunk, it’s fine once, but more than that and it’s a bad sign. Even if they jokingly go “I can’t just have one beer, it turns into two and then three”, it means that they don’t have self-control around alcohol. Lack of self-control around alcohol means they have a substance use disorder.

That’s also true if he tells you he drank less than you know he did. For example, if your partner comes home smelling strongly of alcohol and says he only had a few beers. Or, if he lies about not being drunk but is drunk. If he has to lie about it, it is a problem.

Unfortunately, this can be difficult to argue or work around. Why? People often lie so well that they convince themselves. That’s very easy in a bar, where you don’t have bottles and cups to get rid of. It’s also easy at home when you sneak drinks and hide them – because you don’t see the evidence of how much you’re drinking either. When that’s the case, it means alcohol consumption can get significantly out of hand, because they aren’t keeping tabs on what they are actually drinking.

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They Frequently Binge

Binge drinking, or drinking more than four servings of alcohol in a single sitting, shouldn’t be a regular thing. Healthy alcohol consumption involves moderation and being careful of how much you drink and why. Yet, 80% or more of Americans will sometimes binge drink. If that happens once or twice a year, it’s usually fine. However, if it’s a thing that happens more often, it usually means there’s a problem.

That’s also true if they:

Save up to get to drink more on the weekends
Drink to the point of blackout
Drink to the point of throwing up
Have memory lapses while drinking

They Overprioritize Drinking

It’s normal to look forward to having a few beers with friends. However, if someone has a problem, they over think about drinking. Sometimes that can take the form of making it a hobby. People invest in craft beer or spirits to make their alcoholism more socially acceptable. However, if they spend a significant portion of their time thinking about or drinking alcohol, it’s usually a bad sign. You can have a healthy relationship with craft alcohol and put more time and attention into it. However, that should not be paired with also frequently getting drunk.

Overprioritizing drinking looks like:

Spending a lot of effort to ensure there is alcohol
Skipping meals so alcohol hits harder
Skipping meals so they can drink without gaining weight
Refusing to go somewhere because they can’t drink
Refusing to go somewhere unless you are the designated driver

Essentially, if the most important part of the activity is drinking, your partner has a problem.

He Drinks to Self-Medicate

TV shows and media have normalized “having a drink to feel better” or to “unwind”. However, that’s a very unhealthy approach to life and one that can result in addiction. If your partner uses alcohol to make themselves feel better during extreme events, it’s probably fine. On the other hand, if they need a beer to unwind from work or to even be normal, they have a problem.

Alcohol should not be a way to cope with stress. It also shouldn’t be a way to manage emotions, including social anxiety. Alcohol also should not be a social lubricant. If you “need” it, you have a problem.

They Can’t Quit

If your partner goes “I can quit anytime I want”, and then doesn’t, it usually means they can’t. That’s also true if they keep trying to quit and then relapse and find a reason for that. Or, if they say they will quit or cut back, and then keep finding reasons to not. “I’ll stop drinking when that stressful thing stops” is the same as saying “I can’t quit”. It’s also true if they blame it on you, “I might drink less if you didn’t nag so much”, also means “I can’t quit”.

Most people will at least try to cut back or to quit and then may find that they can’t actually do so. That’s true even if it seems like they have a valid reason. Or if quitting really is inconvenient right then. If someone cannot quit, especially if they say they want to, they have a problem.

If your partner is struggling with alcohol, it’s important to try to get them help. Unfortunately, getting someone to acknowledge that they need help can be extremely difficult. You may need professional help or an intervention to get your partner to face the fact that they do have a problem. And, that starts with recognizing the ways they do struggle with alcohol. Good luck getting your loved one into treatment.

If you or your loved-one struggles from alcoholism or other substance abuse please contact us today and speak with one of our experienced and professional intake advisors about our alcohol rehab, detox, partial hospitalization, and residential treatment programs. 10 Acre Ranch also has specialty tracks like our pet friendly drug rehab and couples substance abuse treatment programs. We’re here to help you recover.

Casual Cocaine Use – How Dangerous Is It?

Casual Cocaine Use - How Dangerous Is It?

Cocaine is one of the most common recreational drugs in the United States. In fact, in 2022, an estimated 478,000 people tried cocaine for the first time. For many of those people, cocaine will remain an intermittent and “casual” thing. For others, it goes on to become an important part of their lives. In fact, in 2022, an estimated 0.5% of the population, or 1.4 million Americans over the age of 12 had a cocaine use disorder.

Cocaine is often seen as a relatively light and even casual drug. It’s touted for wearing off quickly, having a low addiction profile, and for being “safe” to use compared to heroin or even pain pills. Unfortunately, while cocaine can be safer than opioids in some respects, cocaine is not a safe drug to use, even recreationally or casually. There’s a lot of data that goes into that, but even a single cocaine usage can send you to the hospital. And, with 1.4 million Americans experiencing addiction to cocaine, it’s also addictive.

Cocaine is Addictive

Cocaine is an addictive drug and the more you use it, the more likely you are to develop a reliance and addiction. Most “casual” users feel that they are safe from addiction because they don’t use often. However, for many people, addiction is also about exposure and vulnerability to exposure. Using the first time is what prompts you to use more – and each time you do, you’re more likely to increase usage. This means that any usage will result in a higher risk of addiction. It’s also true that many people experience tolerance and you need increasingly more of the drug to get the same results – which again, increases risks of addiction.

Cardio and Heart Problems

Cocaine is a stimulant that elevates the heart rate and puts stress on the heart. That can cause immediate problems for individuals with high blood pressure or a weak heart. For example, if you have a family history of heart disease, have had heart surgery, or have other heart problems, you are at high risk of experiencing heart problems from cocaine.

In addition, cocaine puts stress on the heart which can result in long-term problems, weakening the heart, and increasing risks of heart attack with each successive use. Long-term spikes in blood pressure are also uncommon in exercise and normal activity. This means that the 60+ minutes of average cocaine use can result in significant spikes to blood pressure which can mean you have a stroke resulting in paralysis or even death.

And those can all turn into long-term side-effects with chronic arrythmia, infarctions, or coronary artery disease. These can greatly increase your need for medical care and will decrease your quality of life.

Overdose Risks

Most people don’t think of cocaine as something you can overdose on. But, in 2020, 19,447 people died of cocaine overdose in the U.S. alone. That overdose can happen for a number of reasons. The most common are that someone is unaccustomed to using cocaine and takes too much or that they take too much in quick succession. For example, a common way to use cocaine is to take a line and then pass it around, taking more to extend the high as the evening progresses. If you don’t wait long enough in between doses, the drug builds up in your system, eventually resulting in an overdose. And, that overdose can be extremely difficult to treat in a hospital – especially as many people reach the ER for cardio related issues and heart attack rather than for cocaine overdose.

Symptoms include:

Significant sweating
High body temperature
High blood pressure
Agitation
Seizures
Tremors or shaking
Difficulty breathing
Hallucinations or visual distortions
Arrythmia
Heart attack
Stroke

In each of these cases, a medical team may not realize that you’re suffering from anything but a heart attack or stroke until it’s too late. That means they may treat only the symptom rather than the overdose which will continue to cause issues.

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Toxicity and Poisoning

Cocaine toxicity happens when cocaine permeates the membrane tissue around the cardiovascular system. The result is often sudden death. Unfortunately, with no way to predict when it will happen and no dose associated with toxicity, this is a risk you take on every time you use cocaine.

That’s also true when toxicity is caused by contaminants. For example, cheap cocaine may be cut with substances like baby powder and talk. It might also be cut with fentanyl, which increases risks of overdose. Both are extremely bad for your airways and your lungs. However, some substances can actually be toxic and may require medical intervention.

Decreased Nasal Health

Cocaine is extremely bad for your nasal passages. In fact, it erodes the cartilage between your nostrils by cutting off blood supply, constricts blood vessels, and may eventually result in significant changes to the way you’re able to smell and even breathe. Even casual use will result in the death of nasal tissue, which can lead to sores, infections, scarring, and other problems

Increased Mental Health Problems

Cocaine, like many other drugs, is bad for your mental health. That’s also true when taken in moderation. Here, cocaine functions as an upper, creating increases in serotonin and dopamine in the brain. While high, people feel powerful, euphoric, and social – everything is experienced as intense. That feeling comes at the cost of changing your brain chemistry, because your brain will adjust to try to regulate dopamine and serotonin levels. This can mean reduced production of both during everyday life, meaning you feel less, get less reward from social contact, and eventually have to lean more and more on the drug just to feel good. That might also mean that the quality of the rest of your life is decreased. However, it also puts you at increased risk of paranoia, anxiety, and depression – and each of those will encourage you to use more so that you get to feel good.

In each case, cocaine starts out as seemingly harmless but pushes your mental health so that you’re not happy without it. And that can be extremely difficult to deal with, especially if you already have mental health problems.

Of course, cocaine isn’t guaranteed to cause anxiety or depression. In addition, your mental health problems may vanish if you simply stop using for 3-24 months. However, cocaine usage can cause those mental health problems, even if you’re using moderately.

Eventually, cocaine is a high risk drug. Here, its highest risk is for cardiovascular health as it causes a significant amount of stress on your heart. However, it’s also addictive and may cause issues with reliance, emotional blunting, and needing cocaine to cope or to feel good. That will all result in a negative spiral and increase risk of addiction. At the same time, cocaine can be dangerous even if you only use it once. For that reason, it’s always a better idea to choose something safer for recreational use or to look for ways to spend your time that don’t involve intoxication. However, if you must use, it’s important to seek out an overdose prevention center where you can use safely, with medical attention, and with the assurance that help is there if you need it.

If you or your loved-one struggles from cocaine abuse or other substance abuse please contact us today and speak with one of our experienced and professional intake advisors about our detox, partial hospitalization, and residential treatment programs. 10 Acre Ranch also has specialty tracks like our pet friendly drug rehab and couples substance abuse treatment programs. We’re here to help you recover.

Who is Best Suited for Residential Addiction Treatment?

people outdoor in recovery sitting on the grass

Who is Best Suited for Residential Addiction Treatment?

Today, an estimated 16,000 rehab centers deliver addiction treatment services to millions of Americans. On average, some 4 million of us go to rehabilitation every year. However, with dozens of choices in treatment type and style, it can be difficult to decide what’s right for you. Here, one of the biggest first choices is whether you’re attending inpatient or residential addiction treatment or outpatient treatment.

Both treatment options have pros and cons. And, residential treatment is definitely the best fit for some people and outpatient treatment for others. Therefore, making that decision will mean reviewing your needs and possibly talking to a consultant to help you decide what’s right for you. However, this article will help you get started with an overview of who’s best suited for residential addiction treatment.

Those with a History of Relapse

If you’ve tried to quit before and ended up relapsing, you likely go into rehab with a mindset that it isn’t going to work and you’re just going to fail. That can mean that you don’t even try – not even to get clean and sober to begin with. Going to a residential treatment facility means you’re forced into being clean and sober because you have no access to drugs and alcohol over the duration of the program. That duration can be 28, 30, 90 days or even longer. This means you’ll have plenty of time to detox and recover physically from your addiction – without having to navigate the hurdles of being able to just buy something and get drunk or high whenever you want.

However, if you do have a history of relapse, it’s important to talk about it with your counselor. That may result in preventive steps like ensuring you go into an aftercare program after you graduate, extra checkups, or a MAT (Medication-Assisted Treatment) maintenance program to ensure you can’t relapse once you’re back on your own.

People Without a Stable Home Situation

Addiction treatment relies on you having a comfortable routine and a good basis to build your life on so that you can work to rebuild your life and your behaviors. This means that if you have a tumultuous situation at home, if your friends and family at home also use, or if you don’t currently have a stable living situation, it’s better to go to an inpatient rehab facility.

Residential treatment can also vary from clinical settings to home-like settings with small groups brought together for treatment. They can offer all of the comfort and most of the privacy of home, although you will be asked to participate in social behavior, which typically means sharing a room, communal eating, and communal activities.

In addition, you can often move out of residential programs and into sober homes or halfway homes to benefit from that same level of stable home situation so you can maintain your recovery after you graduate the program.

Those Who Need Privacy

Many people don’t attend rehab or treatment because they’re afraid that other people will find out. In some cases, it’s important to learn to talk about your mental health and your substance abuse issues. In other cases, doing so could actually hurt your career or your study. In the latter case, it’s usually a good idea to travel to rehab and to attend treatment with full privacy. While that will cost more, it may be an important step for your career and your long-term well-being.

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Anyone in Need of Intensive Care

Residential treatment gives you the benefit of 24/7 medical monitoring and care. You also get more contact with nurses, doctors, therapists, and counselors, because they are working around you all the time. Therefore, while outpatient treatment can be as effective as inpatient treatment for those with a light to moderate addiction, anyone in need of intensive care is normally recommended into residential treatment.

Residential treatment also normally means you get more personalized care, because your therapist is better able to see your progress, gauge your reactions, and adjust your program to you and with your progress. This can mean you get support for dual diagnosis, that you get extra help with something specific you’re struggling with, or that you have the full program tailored to your needs rather than being put in a general recovery program. In each case, it can and does improve outcomes.

Who needs intensive care? In most cases, anyone with a predisposition to substance abuse (e.g., family history of, family history of abuse, family history of trauma), co-occurring mental health disorder, repeated history of treatment and relapse, high substance abuse (e.g., blacking out using alcohol, risking overdose with drugs), etc. Of course, there are many other reasons you might need intensive care and personalized treatment, so talk to your doctor.

Getting Help

If you’re struggling with a substance use disorder, it’s important to keep in mind that any help is better than no help at all. If you can’t afford or can’t make time to go to residential addiction treatment, it’s better to go to an outpatient program and see what you can learn from it. Outpatient treatment can also add significant value to your recovery and may be enough to help you quit drugs or alcohol for good.

However, it’s also a good idea to talk to your doctor and your counselors to determine what is a best fit for you and your needs. People are often recommended into residential treatment when:

They have a long history of drug or alcohol abuse
They are heavy users
They have no stable living situation
People in their close friends and family also use
Their family life is tumultuous
They experience a high amount of stress in daily life
They have significant complicating factors such as a dual diagnosis
They have specific career needs that could negatively impact treatment
Medical or mental health complications require extra medical or therapeutic attention

In each case, you don’t have to tick the boxes to benefit from residential treatment. Anyone can benefit from stepping away from day-to-day life and focusing fully on treatment and therapy. However, if this profile does sound like you, you are likely best suited for residential treatment.

Eventually, the best option is to get help. If you talk to a counselor at a treatment center or to your doctor, they can help you make the right choice to get the help you need. Good luck.

If you or your loved-one struggles from alcoholism or other substance abuse please contact us today and speak with one of our experienced and professional intake advisors about our detox, partial hospitalization, and residential treatment programs. 10 Acre Ranch also has specialty tracks like our pet friendly drug rehab and couples substance abuse treatment programs. We’re here to help you recover.

What is Evidence Based Addiction Treatment?

What is Evidence Based Addiction Treatment?

In 2020, some 4.1 million people (or 1.5% of the population received substance abuse treatment across an estimated 16,000 treatment facilities in the U.S. Those facilities offer a wealth of options, ranging from 12-step and Christian-based treatment to rigorous evidence-based treatment and therapy built around research and long-term outcomes. That wide variety of choice means you’ll have options to choose from, to select a type of therapy that works for you or your loved one’s lifestyle, beliefs, and preferences. However, it also means you may want to learn what those treatments actually mean and how they work.

One of the most pressing questions is “what is evidence-based” therapy. This term is typically used to reference a standard of quality, which means that methods have been researched and proven to be effective in achieving recovery. This gives you more assurance that the program will actually help you to recover – although results almost always depend on your mindset and motivation.

What Does Evidence-Based Mean?

Evidence-based is a term that means research has been done and has produced evidence that the treatment has a positive effect. However, the term doesn’t say anything about the quality or scientific rigorousness of the study.

For example, LSD was used for years to treat mental health patients based on a study of just four people. On the other hand, CBT is now used to treat substance use disorders based on studies containing thousands of test subjects.

Evidence-based can also mean that a program is based on results from the program. This means that the term can be abused. For example, if 2% of the total patient population go on to graduate into recovery, evidence shows that the program works. For this reason, “evidence” based isn’t good enough and you’ll always want to ask about completion rates, recovery rates, etc. However, even those can be difficult to use as a proof of efficacy, because treatment centers conduct their own research based on factors like program completion rates, sobriety in the months immediately following treatment, and alumni interviews at follow-up points of 6 months or a year.

Evidence-Based vs Research-Based

You’ll also often see terms like “research based” or “science-based” instead of evidence based. Here, terminology can be confusing because it may be used interchangeably. This means that it’s highly likely there is no difference between the evidence-based and research-based claim.

However, a good “research based” program would use a treatment method after initial studies have shown potential efficacy, followed up on how that treatment efficacy lasts, and followed up to understand which parts of the treatment helped and why to work on building a better program.

Unfortunately, you won’t know which a rehab center means unless you start asking questions. Or, if you do your own investigation into the treatment methods they use to see how well studied they are.

Here, most therapeutic interventions are well-studied and well-tested. In addition, any medication assisted program is actually regulated by the government, meaning that it is very well tested and proven. On the other hand, there are many complementary therapies, spiritual programs, and holistic programs that are not based on rigorous research at all.

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Do You Need an Evidence-Based Program?

Eventually, most studies show that any treatment is better than no treatment at all. Attending a 12-step program like AA or NA still gives you social accountability and motivation – which can empower you to quit and stay clean and sober. However, looking for and finding a scientifically tested and proven treatment option may improve your chances of recovery. For example:

Has this treatment method been tested on many people and been proven effective at a high level?
What is the program graduation rate?
What is the recovery rate at 6 months? A year? 5 years?
How much follow-up treatment is needed to achieve those success rates?
Are there rigorous and objective controls in place to ensure the quality of data from a study?

Evidence based treatment should be tested for:

Safety
Efficacy
Long-term results

That’s important for ensuring that you can easily move into treatment without questioning the treatment itself.

Eventually, most people looking for treatment don’t have the scientific expertise to determine if a treatment method is science-based. You also shouldn’t have to. However, looking for evidence-based treatments can help you to ensure that your program is based on research and evidence of success.

Choosing a Treatment Center

There’s no one best option for treatment for everyone. In fact, the best treatment programs are those that are tailored to the individual, updated as the individual progresses through treatment, and adapted to meet specific needs. However, some of the following include evidence-based treatment methods you can look for:

Medication-Assisted Treatment – Pharmacological interventions including acamprosate, buprenorphine, disulfiram, LAAM, methadone, and naltrexone.
Individual and group counseling
Interventions
Cognitive behavioral therapy
Motivational enhancement therapy
Multi-dimensional family therapy
Couples behavioral therapy
Family strategic therapy
Contingency management therapy
Relapse prevention therapy
12-step facilitation treatment
Problem-service matching for customized treatment

Other forms of behavioral therapy such as DBT and EMDR may have research-based and evidence-based claims as well. Many treatment centers also offer complementary therapy. However, this means that the treatment is added on to the primary treatment and will not, on its own, help you to get clean and sober. Instead, it may improve or enhance the primary therapy. They are almost always based on small scale studies rather than larger studies – which means they are not suitable primary treatments.

If you’re worried about the efficacy of treatment, there’s a lot to navigate. With over 16,000 treatment centers in the United States, there’s also a lot to choose from. Here, it’s important to take into account that CBT, family therapy, behavioral therapy, and medication-assisted treatments are the most proven treatment methods for recovering from a substance use disorder. However, counseling, 12-step, and other types of therapy can also be extremely effective – especially when used in conjunction with CBT. In addition, the best programs typically tailor their treatment to the individual, so you tackle your individual problems and overcome specific behaviors or issues. It can be extremely difficult to independently verify the efficacy of any therapy offered by a treatment center, however, asking about what methodology is used, how programs are built, and what you can expect in terms of treatment, counseling, and therapy, will put you on the right track to figuring out if the center uses evidence-based treatment or not.

If you or your loved-one struggles from alcoholism or other substance abuse please contact us today and speak with one of our experienced and professional intake advisors about our detox, partial hospitalization, and residential treatment programs. 10 Acre Ranch also has specialty tracks like our pet friendly drug rehab and couples substance abuse treatment programs. We’re here to help you recover.

How to Tell if Someone is on Meth

thoughful man struggling from meth addiction

How to Tell if Someone is on Meth

If you expect that a loved one is abusing methamphetamine, it can be difficult to verify. For example, most people won’t be truthful if you attempt to sit down and have a conversation. Instead, drug abusers lie, throw back accusations, and use deception, even to the point of deceiving themselves. Yet, some 2.5 million Americans use methamphetamine, and an estimated 1.6 million of those are addicted to the drug. With almost 1 in 100 Americans using meth, it’s not unlikely that your suspicions of drug abuse are founded on something – so you can look for symptoms and take steps to get your loved one help.

Importantly, if your loved one is abusing drugs, it’s important to be gentle, non-judgmental, and caring. That starts with your investigation into whether they’re using or not. Your loved one should always be treated as a person with an illness, not someone making bad decisions or someone deliberately doing the wrong thing. The more you use judgment and anger, the more likely it is that you’ll have trouble getting them into treatment.

In most cases, you can start with three basic things. Looking for symptoms of your loved one being high, looking at long-term side-effects of meth, and looking for paraphernalia and other signs of drug abuse.

Symptoms of Being High

Methamphetamine is a stimulant which rapidly acts on the body, resulting in increases in energy, alertness, motivation, and mania. Normally, these symptoms last for about 12 hours or more, with a defined “manic” period followed by a crash. Initially, people act like they are suddenly excited and full of energy, are agitated, breathe more heavily, and may have dilated pupils. These symptoms can kick in within 15 minutes of taking a dose and can result in a period of being agitated and energetic that lasts up to 36 hours. Afterwards, people tend to crash, sleeping for tens of hours at a time and sometimes for a full 24-hour period.

That after-effect or “Crash” also often comes with cold and flu symptoms like redness around the eyes, runny nose, fatigue, and depression. They might be unable to sleep, but while being tired. And, that will happen cyclically, every time they use and crash.

Of course, people with manic disorders tend to have similar symptoms, minus the cold and flu symptoms. That’s also problematic considering people with bipolar disorders tend to struggle with substance abuse. So, it can be much harder to notice methamphetamine use in someone who already has manic episodes.

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Understand the Symptoms of Long-Term Meth Abuse

The longer your loved one uses methamphetamine, the more noticeable the side-effects will be. Methamphetamine has a significant effect on users, with an estimated 18% of all users and up to 70% of regular users suffering from psychotic episodes and psychosis. Unfortunately, longer-term symptoms can be difficult to notice, because they often happen gradually. People don’t go from one state to the next but instead gradually slide into being worse and worse. You might look up one day to realize that your loved one is doing really badly, even if you’ve been seeing them every day.

That’s a natural result of being around someone everyday and gradual change. You just get used to it. But, if you notice the following symptoms affecting your loved one, they are symptoms of meth use.

They have difficulty feeling happy or showing happiness at things they used to like. They might just not be excited for anything or they might be “meh” at everything. This is known as emotional blunting and happens when serotonin and dopamine channels are overloaded and the brain stops or reduces producing both.
They have out of character periods of depression, which might last for weeks at a time. That’s especially true if the first few days of this always come with cold and flu symptoms. However, this could also be a symptom of bipolar disorder or depression.
They struggle to sleep or maintain a healthy sleeping schedule. For example, they might sleep for several days at a time and then not sleep for several days.
They start to show physical symptoms of meth use such as tooth decay, muscle tics, or jumps.
They start to be paranoid or irrational behavior and may think people are out to get them, may take hunches to extremes, and may jump at every shadow.
They might start to be more manipulative, even showing completely different personality traits. For example, they might deliberately lash out and try to hurt you. They might also deliberately try to manipulate you to feel bad so you stop asking questions. They might guilt trip you, lash out, or use righteous anger to make you feel bad. And while those reactions and behaviors can be justifiable in some circumstances, in others, they are not. People who are abusing methamphetamine will likely to start to use them indiscriminately to get what they want.
They lose a significant and worrying amount of weight, to the point where they look unhealthy. They might also lose hair and teeth if they lose enough weight. This can be difficult to tell, especially if they were overweight, but sudden and rapid weight loss without dramatically changing diet and exercise is unlikely without an illness or drug abuse.
They show symptoms of psychosis like hallucinations, talking about things that aren’t there, having trouble telling what’s real or not, itching or scratching at things crawling on their skin, having irrational beliefs, etc.
They show increases in aggression and irritability and may lash out at even small provocations.
They have memory problems and might not be able to clearly put an event together, even if it was a day or two ago.
They “tweak” or stay awake for extremely long periods, sometimes as long as 2 weeks, with agitated and jerky movement, extreme irrationality, and difficulty functioning.

Methamphetamine can be subtle in small doses. However, heavy abusers often change so drastically, physically and psychologically, that the people who love them barely recognize them. They can become aggressive, mean, paranoid, manipulative, and irritable. They might have memory problems, they might not show love or excitement for anything, and they might even look completely different. But, when that happens, your loved one is very obviously and very heavily addicted to meth.

Physical Signs

There are always going to be non-health and behavior related signs of drug use. Here, you can actively look for some of the following:

Paraphernalia such as glass pipes
Needles
Ropes or hoses
Unexplained blood
They constantly run out of money or things happen that require money
They manipulate you to get money
Things go missing or are stollen

If you find drug use paraphernalia, it’s a pretty strong sign your loved one is using. That’s true even if they deny it or say that their friend was using and they did not.

Getting Help

Millions of Americans use stimulants like methamphetamine. Unfortunately, these drugs are never safe and run high risks of physical and psychological harm, with up to 70% of methamphetamine users experiencing significant psychosis. The sooner you quit, the less likely you are to have lifelong side effects and problems.

Unfortunately, it can be extremely difficult to talk someone into going to treatment and therapy. That can take time, building trust that you really want to help. And, it can mean convincing that person that life is better without meth. Good luck getting your loved one into treatment.

If you or your loved-one struggles from alcoholism or other substance abuse please contact us today and speak with one of our experienced and professional intake advisors about our detox, partial hospitalization, and residential treatment programs. 10 Acre Ranch also has specialty tracks like our pet friendly drug rehab and couples substance abuse treatment programs. We’re here to help you recover.

Signs of Substance Use in Your Loved One

Signs of Substance Use in Your Loved One

If you suspect your loved one is abusing drugs or alcohol, it’s unfortunately common. In 2021, some 46.3 million Americans qualified for a diagnosis for a substance use disorder, or 16.5% of the population. Of those, some 29.5 million had an alcohol use disorder and 24 million had a drug use disorder or a drug use and alcohol use disorder. But, it means that 4 out of every 25 people have a substance use disorder, and that means that one in two Americans knows someone with a drug or alcohol use disorder.

Recognizing the signs and symptoms of substance abuse is one of the first steps to getting your loved one treatment and help. However, those signs can vary from person to person. In addition, people often try to hide drug abuse and use. In some cases, your loved one may be high functioning or show very few outward signs of substance abuse – but may have no money, unexplainable absences, and deteriorating health.

People use substances to cope with life, stress, and pain. Getting help is about getting treatment and improving quality of life. Hopefully, recognizing these signs in your loved one makes it easier for you to throw out a lifeline and help them get their life back.

Constant Stress and Mood Swings

People who abuse drugs and alcohol are not generally chipper and happy when they are not using. Instead, they’ll be stressed, paranoid, irritable, and may have significant mood swings. That’s in part because of the change in hormones and neurotransmitters in the brain because substance abuse changes how the brain regulates chemicals like dopamine, serotonin, and opioids. Substance abuse makes you feel good in the moment, but tired, hungover, and cranky.

If your loved one is having mood swings they didn’t used to have, it could be a sign of increased stress or a mental health disorder. But, if that’s paired with substance use, it might just be a hangover.

Changes in Behavior

People who regularly abuse substances get very adept at hiding their effects. That’s especially true as they increase tolerance and the drugs or alcohol have less effect. However, if they’re binging on any substance, you should be able to tell. For example, someone with an alcohol use disorder may loosen up, they may have more trouble articulating thought or words, they may act dizzy or woozy, they may act in an exaggerated fashion, etc. And, if they’re using other drugs, there will be other signs. For example, pain pill and opioid abuse typically results in longer periods of lethargy or increased sleeping – sometimes even passing out on a couch or acting extremely fatigued.

That is the same story if they constantly have withdrawal symptoms. For example, someone without a hay fever diagnosis should not have constant puffy eyes and runny nose or a cough. And hay fever does not come with fever and excessive sweating.

Manipulative Behavior

If your loved one is lying, stealing, or manipulating others into giving them money or breaks from their responsibilities, it’s a good sign that something is wrong. Someone who frequently needs larger sums of money for no reason or for similar reasons like frequent car accidents, not being able to make the rent for unexplained reasons, etc., are being suspicious. People who frequently ask for money, who steal valuables, or who manipulate others into paying for things may be using their own money for substance abuse.

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Unexplained Disappearances

People who abuse substances need time to use those substances and that often means taking hours or even days out of their week. Some will use on their own in a room, others will go out to meet people to use with. This symptom is less visible with alcohol use disorder, because many people have no problems drinking around friends and family. However, they may get blackout drunk or may be unable to remember conversations where you thought they were sober.

Waste and Trash

It’s often relatively easy to find waste and trash from drug or alcohol abuse. For example, most alcohol requires buying bottles, which means receipts, bottles or cans, etc. If your loved one is drinking a lot, they are hiding bottles somewhere and sneaking them out of the house. That’s especially important if you find things like very strong alcohol that you wouldn’t normally buy. People hide bottles behind couches, in the bottom of the trash can, in garages, and under their beds – although some may simply make sure they do their drinking outside of the home.

Drug paraphernalia is also relatively easy to spot and typically includes pill containers, small pipes, burnt tinfoil, spoons, pipes, etc.,

These will vary significantly depending on what kinds of substances your loved one is using. But, if you suspect they are, taking time to look for signs is a good idea.

Lying

If you know your loved one has been using or drinking and ask them about it, and they lie or show guilt, it’s usually a bad sign. For example, if your loved one has a prescription for pain medication and they start hiding usage or lying about it, it’s a good sign that something has gone wrong. Similarly, if someone always underexaggerates how much they’ve had to drink, even though you know they’ve had more, it’s a sign that they might have a problem.

People who have a good relationship with substances do not try to hide drinking or using. They also won’t show or react with guilt when asked about those substances.

Getting Help

If your loved one is struggling with drug or alcohol abuse, it’s important to reach out and get help. Substance abuse is bad at any level, simply because it causes stress to mental and physical health, resulting in permanent damage to the liver and the gut, and what can be permanent damage to the way the brain functions. The more substances someone uses, the worse the effects are. A substance use disorder or addiction means that person has lost control over their substance abuse and will seek out substances regardless of their impact on social, career, or personal life. People become addicted for different reasons, but there is always a way to treat that addiction.

A rehab center can help your loved one to recover by treating the addiction and its symptoms and then treating the underlying causes of that addiction. People use to mask pain, to destress, to fit in, to hide mental health problems, and to feel good. Modern treatment includes behavioral therapy like CBT to help uncover behaviors that contribute to needing medication and to help people build new and better coping mechanisms, social behavior, and to improve their life – so they don’t need drugs or alcohol.

If you or your loved-one struggles from alcoholism or other substance abuse please contact us today and speak with one of our experienced and professional intake advisors about our detox, partial hospitalization, and residential treatment programs. 10 Acre Ranch also has specialty tracks like our pet friendly drug rehab and couples substance abuse treatment programs. We’re here to help you recover.