If you’ve spotted some strange behaviour in your teenager, another family member or even a friend, you might be beginning to wonder if drugs are to blame.
It can be difficult to suspect your loved one is using, and you might have a lot of questions.
Harmful drug use doesn’t always involve illegal drugs – prescription drugs can be abused too.
A 2023 government report into adult substance misuse in the UK found that the number of adults entering drug and alcohol services has risen to 290,635.[1]
Drug use is often secretive, so it can be difficult to tell if and when someone is using.
However, there are a few tell-tale signs and symptoms you can look out for.
Determining if this person is on drugs can help you to establish how often they’re taking drugs, and if their usage has become a problem.
Signs of drug abuse can start small, but over time they tend to become more and more obvious as the person enters addiction.
It’s important to try to get help as soon as you notice the abuse.
Common signs of drug abuse can vary depending on the drug.
Drugs can interact with the body differently depending whether they’re a stimulant or a depressant, opioid or hallucinogen.
All of these different types of drugs result in different symptoms.
Someone on these drugs may:
Someone on these drugs may:
Someone on this drug may:
Meth, Cocaine and other Stimulants
Someone on these drugs may:
Someone on these drugs may:
Someone on these drugs may:
Someone on these drugs may:
Someone on these drugs may:
Studies show that 31% of young people have tried cannabis.[2]
Trying drugs doesn’t always turn sinister, but it’s normal to be concerned about your child’s safety.
Worrying drug use is when this usage becomes frequent, they’re using hard drugs, or the drugs begin to consume their life.
Consider:
People in addiction are often secretive and may hide drugs, but these hiding places may be easy to spot once you know what you’re looking for.
People in addiction are secretive, so they may stop you from entering their room, make excuses to go to places or generally seem deceptive.
They may also have problems at school or work like poor attendance, or a drop in grades or work performance.
People in addiction may struggle with money and fail to pay for bills and other important expenses.
A lack of interest in keeping themselves and their home clean or tidy.
Physical signs can include an unexplained decline in health, or major weight changes.
When a person is in addiction, it can be all-consuming.
This is a dark place where they may feel that the drug is the only way for them to gain pleasure in life.
They may feel:
People in addiction usually cannot see that they have a problem, and refuse to acknowledge they need help.
Interventions are designed to help the person see that they need to change.
It’s important to prepare for an intervention, as you want to be ready for whatever reaction your loved one has.
Interventions can be carried out under the supervision of an intervention specialist, or you could keep it simple with family members and friends.
Interventions can include coworkers, clergy, or other concerned close acquaintances if you feel this would be received well by the person you’re approaching.
During an intervention, you could take turns to tell your loved one how you feel their addiction is hurting them, and how they could benefit from recovery.
Prepare some treatment options to discuss if they’re willing, but also know that they may not respond well or be ready to change.
There are many NHS treatment clinics, non-profit organisations and private options available to help your loved one recover from drug addiction for good.
The NHS can offer referrals to private inpatient rehabs, which means your loved one will be able to go to rehab for free.
However, the waiting lists for these services are very long, as they’re overcrowded and underfunded.
There are many charities that offer help for drugs, such as:
Private rehab for drugs can offer an extra level of support. This can boost your loved one’s chances of a successful recovery.
Rehab options include:
Substance use disorder is the formal term for drug abuse, dependence, and addiction.
The DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders from the American Psychiatric Association) is a test used to tell if a person’s drug misuse has become an addiction.
This is often consulted in the UK.
The DSM defines substance use disorder as:
Harm reduction is about decreasing the negative effects of drugs in a person who is already using them.
This helps to keep people in drug misuse a little safer than they would otherwise be.
Release, a charity and national centre of expertise on drugs and drugs law, recommends that it’s important to keep in mind that illicit drugs are often cut and mixed with other substances, and that you can never truly be sure what’s in them.[4]
It can be helpful to remind your loved one of this, so that they can exercise caution.
Needle and syringe services (needle exchanges) are a way for people who inject any substances to keep safe.
Sharing needles can result in the spread of HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C.
Sterile injecting equipment helps people to prevent this, and keeps people safe from infections.[5]
Change Grow Live can help you to order needles to your home.
Drug addiction treatment comes in many shapes and sizes, so everyone can find the right fit for them.
Therapy and counselling for drug addiction is a big part of recovery treatment, as it can make you much more likely to successfully recover and stay out of relapse.
Physical addictions often require medical treatment, as withdrawal can cause unpleasant symptoms.
Detox is when a person stops taking drugs and goes through withdrawal.
The NHS website has lots of resources and links to free drug addiction help.
Non-profit organisations that can help you with addiction include:
Relapse prevention is a way to stay in sobriety after addiction treatment.
Rehab clinics teach relapse prevention techniques and coping skills.
Many rehabs also provide complimentary aftercare designed to check up on people and keep them on the right track.
Just like every other mental health disorder, there are risk factors that may increase a person’s likelihood of developing problems with drugs.
The main risk factors for addiction are:
When a person takes drugs regularly for a prolonged time, their brain goes through physical changes.
Addiction changes the way the brain feels pleasure by creating physical changes in the nerve cells (neurons).
Neurons use chemicals called neurotransmitters to communicate.
These changes can remain long after a person stops using drugs, so it can take some time to begin to feel normal again.[8]
At Rehab 4 Addiction, we offer referrals to top inpatient rehabs across the UK.
For help finding a rehab for your loved one, reach out to our 24/7, confidential hotline on 0800 140 4690.
[3] https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/addiction-support/drug-addiction-getting-help/
[4] https://www.release.org.uk/basic-harm-reduction
Boris is our editor-in-chief at Rehab 4 Addiction. Boris is an addiction expert with more than 20 years in the field. His expertise covers a broad of topics relating to addiction, rehab and recovery. Boris is an addiction therapist and assists in the alcohol detox and rehab process. Boris has been featured on a variety of websites, including the BBC, Verywell Mind and Healthline. You can connect with Boris online at LinkedIn or X.com.
