Can You Be Addicted Without Realising It? 7 Warning Signs to Know

One of the earliest and easiest-to-miss signs of addiction is when a substance quietly becomes your go-to object for relaxing or sleeping. The key is recognising how dependence forms incrementally. At first, you may rationalise with yourself, a drink after work, a cigarette before bed, or a sleeping pill just on the “stressful nights.” If you observe carefully, you may find a deepening correlation between obtaining that rest and needing more of the substance.

This is a clear but potent indicator of how your brain’s functioning is being altered by your addiction. The mind is incredibly adept at associating outside stimuli with a subsequent reward, yet you must wonder, as one example: Does a rush of nicotine really help the onset of satisfying sleep? This principle applies to many sources of addictive behaviours.

Imagine your “baseline” of how you feel in your mind, neither happy nor sad, just balanced in psychological homeostasis. We’ve mentioned how the brain will associate perceived increased happiness with substance use, driving addiction. Now consider the opposite: how functioning without the addictive object makes you irritated or uncomfortable, on the opposing side of your mental homeostasis.

You may feel like you’re unable to be your calm, collected self, able to multitask with ease. If your baseline mood feels off without the substance, you may be in the grip of a silent and surreptitious addiction.

If you’re wondering whether your use or consumption of an object or activity is becoming compulsive, think about whether you keep it secret from other people. Even further, question whether you are keeping aspects of it secret from yourself.

Have you ever gone to great lengths to conceal bottles before people visit, or choose to drink before meeting a friend? Is honesty out of the question when you talk to people about your behaviour?This kind of secrecy often overlaps with another misunderstood pattern. You may have wondered, “What is high-functioning addiction?” With this subtle sign, you will see how someone keeps up the appearance of doing well, while silently struggling behind closed doors. Inevitably, addiction will slowly start to disconnect this person from those who genuinely have their best interests at heart.

In addition to making substance use more and more secretive, there may also come times when new, strange reasons to take the substance come up. Generally speaking, you might start to desire the substance or use it with a new excuse.

Ominously, this may even start appearing jovially, masked in a joke used to ease your tense feelings. You may be sitting with a friend and playfully state, “Monday today, that’s as good a reason as any to drink.”

There is always some deeper form of truth when we use humour. Watch carefully for curious emergences of reasons to continue addictive behaviours.

More straightforward than many other signs, try to recount and recall times when you have clearly stated, or thought, I really want to stop. Perhaps it was at work, the day after heavy use, when you felt an air of uneasiness while carrying out your tasks. Perhaps you heard it in the voice of your child, when you were hungover and hiding under your sheets, as your child asks your partner, “Why is mommy/daddy sick again?”

These moments sometimes pass fleetingly and silently, but you know when they’re there. They will come when you ask yourself, “Am I drinking too much?” and you know when you’re brushing aside a genuine concern. If you want to stop, but feel unable, it’s a sign that professional help may be needed.

Similarly to keeping substance use secret, there may be times when you actively have to lie and downplay the frequency or quantity of what you’re doing to your friends or family.

You might notice a tendency to compare yourself to others who seem worse off, whether that’s someone you know personally or a famous person who seems to function well while still being addicted. “At least I’m not doing X in the morning,” or “Look at X person, they still seem to be doing well!”

In truth, comparison to others or avoiding admission of the truth will serve to hurt you in the long run. The truth serves as the omnipotent antidote to dispel the great barrier of denial and enables a person to get the help they need and deserve.

Finally, this sign will require a more long-winded reflection and is especially pertinent if addiction has been affecting you for a long time. Think back to 5, 10, 15, or 20 years ago, before you suspect the addiction had established deeper roots.

What was it that made you tick, first thing in the morning? What were your goals, ambitions and driving sources of happiness? Why were your previously enjoyed hobbies lost?

Addictions almost always drive a person away from previously enjoyed activities, as the solace found in a temporary high grows more appealing than the rush of enjoyment in healthier places. Be honest in your reflections, and question why you struggle to enjoy things you used to love.