Three Signs You are in Denial About your Drug Addiction

Denial can make it impossible for even the most desperate drug addicts to seek help and get clean. Addicts will deny that they have drug problems, and they will deny their lack of control. They will even deny the consequences of their addictive behaviors as their families, careers, finances, and friendships fall apart. Addressing denial is often the first step in addicts’ recoveries. Before a person can fix any problem, they must admit that problem exists. If you find yourself frequently turning to drugs to relieve stress or escape reality, you may have a problem of your own. Here are three signs you are in denial about your drug addiction:

1. Rationalizing Constant Drug Use

People begin to use drugs for a variety of reasons. Some get high for recreational purposes or because they want to fit in with a certain crowd. Other people turn to drugs to relieve stress caused by work, relationships, or other pressures. In any of these cases, drug use can quickly develop into an uncontrollable habit.

Those who develop full-blown addictions almost always rationalize their frequent use. They may point to their constant stress as their main reason for getting high, assuring themselves and others that they could stop if they wanted to. They may endure their addictions for years before they come to terms with their lack of control.

If you find yourself making similar justifications for your own drug use, you have probably developed an addiction. Also, if you cannot physically endure an entire day or week without getting high, then you are certainly not in control of your habit. Physical drug dependencies require detoxification followed by long-term counseling and other treatments.

2. Avoiding Your Friends and Family

Friends and family members can often tell when addicts are in denial. In order to hide their problems from others – and uphold the lies they tell themselves – addicts will sometimes avoid the people closest to them. In attempt to maintain healthy public images, they will drink or get high in private, only congregating with loved ones during brief moments of sobriety.

If you find yourself managing your social time according to when and where you get high, you are likely in denial about your drug addiction. The people who know you best can tell when something is amiss, and your efforts to avoid them show that you have something to hide.

3. Destructive Life Consequences

The most glaring display of denial is continuing to use drugs in the face of devastating consequences. Addicts will squander all of their time, money, and energy to get high – even while they lose their friends, alienate their families, and destroy their futures. Denial is a truly powerful defense mechanism, and even those who have lost everything will continue to assert that they are in control.

If your drug use has caused your life to spiral out of control, then you are probably in denial. The only way to improve your situation is to admit that you have an addiction and seek help by calling the number at the top of your screen right now. We can help you regardless of what time it is or where you are. We can provide a cost-free consultation to help guide you down the path to recovery. There’s nothing to lose and your whole life to gain with just a simple phone call.

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