Do I have a drug / alcohol problem?

Most people, at some stage, experiment with drink and / or drugs. Similarly, most people, at some stage, get a bit bored with everyday life. Everybody needs something to give them a bit of a pick-up from time to time. For some of us it's shopping, for some of us food, for some of us gaming, for some of us sex. And for some of us, it's drink or drugs. Just a little treat to get us through a dull week or a bad day, right? And with most of those things, they're fairly harmless in themselves (in moderation). But you can have too much of a good thing, and it stops being the positive thing it used to be…. somehow you've stopped controlling it and it's started controlling you. When you get to that point, you're addicted.

An addiction is a overwhelming need or compulsion to do something (be it shop, smoke, drink, take drugs, or anything else you can think of). If the thing you're doing is constantly in your thoughts, or if you find you're needing more and more of it to get to that same happy / relaxed place, or you're having to do it more and more often and beginning to depend on it… warning bells should start ringing.

Addictions vary in their nature depending on what you're addicted to and what sort to person you are. We've outlined some of the more common aspects of addiction below.

Physical Addiction:

Some drugs cause a physical addiction in your body, either by changing your body chemistry or by making you crave them. Some examples of these are alcohol and tranquillisers, but many drugs are habit forming. Sometimes this habit may form over a period of time and sometimes it is almost instantaneous, as with heroin.

Psychological Addiction:

If you are using an activity or substance to help you cope with life, you may find that you gradually begin to feel that you can't manage without it and can't imagine how life was before it. You've tried using will-power to stop but you just can't stay strong enough. Psychological addiction can feel every bit as real as physical addiction, and in some cases can play a part in physically addictive drug habits.

What are the Signs?

Ask yourself these questions about the thing you use:

• Is it one of the most important parts of your life?
• Do you hide the fact you do it from other people?
• Does the prospect of quitting scare or upset you?
• Has anyone ever suggested to you it is a problem?
• If so, did you react badly?
• Do you spend a large part of your day thinking about or doing it?
• Do you do it to run away from anything or change the way you're feeling?

If you've answered yes to any of the above, it might be time to take a good long look at whether you or your habit are in control and look into getting some help. The truth is that addiction doesn't happen overnight, but it takes time (and guts) to face the fact you may have lost control.

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