Life comes with all kinds of challenges, and addiction is one of the most difficult of all to navigate. Despite progress in modern healthcare, addiction remains a complex and often misunderstood challenge. Whether it’s substance use or behavioural patterns, it can massively impact quality of life, relationships, and overall well-being.
So how can you spot the signs of addiction in yourself or someone you care about? And what steps can you take to prevent it from developing? In this article, we’ll explore the common signs of addiction and share tips for strengthening your well-being and lowering addiction risk.
What is addiction?
Addiction is a long-term condition that involves compulsive seeking and taking of a substance or performing an activity despite harmful consequences. Research by The Forward Trust reveals that 45% of UK adults aged 18-75 have either directly experienced addiction themselves with a dependency on alcohol, drugs, medication, gambling or sex, or know someone close to them who has.
There are two main groups of addiction:
Substance addictions
Substance addiction is characterised by a recurring desire to continue taking a substance despite harmful consequences. While substances such as alcohol, drugs, and tobacco are different from each other, they all strongly activate the brain’s reward centre and produce feelings of pleasure. Use of these substances can lead to substance use disorders (SUDs) — but not always. SUDs can be mild, moderate or severe, with addiction classifying as the most severe form.
Substance addiction involves the compulsive use of substances like:
- Alcohol
- Cannabis
- Opioids (both prescription and illegal)
- Stimulants (like cocaine or amphetamines)
- Tobacco/nicotine
Behavioural addictions (non-substance addictions)
Behavioural addictions, or non-substance-related disorders are a form of addiction that involves a compulsion to engage in a behaviour despite any negative consequences to physical, mental, social or financial well-being. Behavioural addictions mirror substance addictions in the way that they stimulate the brain’s reward system. As renowned addiction expert Gabor Maté explains it: ‘’All addictions—whether to drugs or non-drug behaviours—share the same brain circuits and brain chemicals. ’’However, in cases of behavioural addiction, the individual is not addicted to a substance but to the behaviour or the feeling brought about by the action. In addition, the physical signs of substance addiction are absent in behavioural addiction.
Behavioural addiction can include the following activities:
- Gambling
- Eating
- Exercising or dieting
- Shopping
- Shoplifting or other risky behaviours
- Sex
What are the signs of addiction?
Signs of addiction vary from person to person and based on the substance or activity. In general, signs include:
- Inability to stop: People may use a substance or engage in harmful addictive behaviour even if they want to stop. They may have tried multiple times to reduce substance use or behaviour.
- Increased tolerance: Over time, they may need more of the substance or behaviour to feel the same euphoric effects as they did before.
- Intense focus on the substance or behaviour: People experiencing addiction become preoccupied with the substance or activity. They may feel that the addiction has taken over their lives, as they spend more and more time craving and thinking about it.
- Lack of control: A feeling of losing control over the substance use or activity is common. People experiencing addiction may often feel guilty, depressed, and overwhelmed by their addiction and how much it’s impacting their lives.
- Personal challenges: Addiction often impacts all life aspects, including physical and mental well-being, personal relationships and careers. Consequently, people experiencing addiction may struggle to fulfil responsibilities at work, school, or home.
What causes addiction?
Addiction is a complex condition influenced by biological, psychological, and social factors.
In his book, Chasing the Scream, Johann Hari discusses how ‘’addiction is an adaptation’’ to the individual’s environment — consisting of external circumstances, such as trauma, stress, isolation, or lack of support, all forming a complex web in the fabric of addiction. In a similar vein, Gabor Maté’s work centres around the effects of early stress or adverse experiences directly shaping the neurobiology of addiction in the brain.
A significant part of how addiction develops is through changes in brain chemistry, with certain substances and behaviours affecting and altering the reward centre of the brain, which causes the release of a feel-good chemical called dopamine.
Although a healthy amount of dopamine contributes to a good mood and cognitive functions, irregular levels can create an unhealthy drive to seek more pleasure from the substance or behaviour and less from healthier behaviours. This results in a cycle of reward-seeking to get a hit of feel-good chemicals. Over time, the substances or behaviour alters brain chemistry, resulting in desensitisation —needing more of the substance or behaviour to feel the same effect. In her book Dopamine Nation, Dr Anna Lembke explains this effect: “With prolonged and repeated exposure to pleasurable stimuli, our capacity to tolerate pain decreases, and our threshold for experiencing pleasure increases.”
Factors that contribute to the development of addictions are multifaceted. These include:
- Genetics: Studies show that genetic factors are responsible for 40% to 60% of vulnerability to addiction. If you have a first-degree relative (biological sibling or parent) with a substance abuse disorder, you may be more likely to develop one. However, this genetic predisposition does not guarantee you’ll develop an addiction. There are preventative measures you can take to minimise your risk, which we’ll later explore.
- Mental health conditions: There’s a strong link between addiction and mental health conditions, such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and bipolar disorder. About half of the people who experience a mental health condition will also experience a substance abuse disorder SUD and vice versa.
- Environmental factors: Access to substances is a particularly significant environmental risk factor. Factors that increase the extent of exposure and the opportunity for substance use include the use of substances by a member of your household or your peers and being prescribed medications that can be misused, such as opioids or stimulants. Trauma and stress in early developmental years, known as adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) also play a significant role.
📝 Preventing addiction: tips to strengthen your well-being
As previously mentioned, the factors that contribute to addiction are complex — and while there is no one-size-fits-all solution to prevention, there are proactive steps you can take to strengthen your well-being and decrease your chances of developing an addiction.
1. Develop emotional self-regulation skills
Our emotions often dictate our actions, decisions, and behaviours, and this connection is particularly evident in addiction. Developing emotional self-regulation — the ability to modify or control your thoughts, emotions, and actions — is a crucial preventative tool. To develop stronger self-regulation skills, consistent practice is a must. We recommend starting with a mindfulness technique such as the RAIN method to deal with strong emotions. You can also explore further mindfulness techniques here. And remember, you may need to experiment with various methods before finding what works best for you.
🪷 Want to keep practising mastering your emotions at your own pace? Take our course Mastering Emotional Self-Regulation
2. Manage your stress
Effectively managing stress is a crucial preventative measure against addiction, as chronic or unchecked stress can often lead to unhealthy coping mechanisms. To effectively manage stress, practise regular self-check-ins to become more attuned with your body and breathing exercises to calm your nervous system. Find activities that recharge you, such as nature walks or creative hobbies. And remember, consider speaking to an expert if you’re having challenges managing your stress.
🧘🏾♀️ Explore more resources about managing stress here
3. Build your resilience
The risk of addiction increases greatly during times of stress and change, which is why resilience — the process of successfully adapting to challenging life experiences is essential. Resilience is not about constantly being happy and not feeling affected by tough times. Conversely, it is centred around the core belief that you will get through those difficult times, which can enhance your self-confidence. Building resilience includes developing a growth mindset, facing your fears, and focusing on what you can control.
🗒️ Download this handout to learn more about resilience.
4. Focus on healthy daily habits
Minimising potential triggers for addiction and replacing them with healthier habits is a highly effective prevention method. This approach leverages the concept of synaptic pruning. In this process, the brain strengthens frequently used connections and ‘’prunes away’’ those that are rarely used, which plays a significant role in habit formation. As you consistently practise healthy habits, your brain reinforces these behaviours, making them more automatic.
➡️ Example: If you drink wine every night, your brain strengthens those neural connections, making the habit harder to break. Conversely, if you practise a skill every night, such as playing an instrument, your brain will reinforce these positive behaviours instead.
Another tool to implement is habit stacking, where you pair a new healthy habit with an existing one. Habit stacking is an effective strategy for building new habits because it builds up the existing neural networks in the brain.
➡️ Example: If you already have a morning routine that includes making coffee, you can add a new habit, such as meditating for five minutes after pouring your coffee. This method takes advantage of the strong neural connections you already have with your existing habit, making it easier to incorporate and stick to new, healthier behaviours.
5. Familiarise yourself with your family history
We previously shared a statistic that if you have a family history of substance use disorders or behavioural addictions, you may be more vulnerable. However, your genes do not fully determine your destiny and there are preventative measures you can take to lower your risk. Gather as much information as possible about addiction within your family. As this subject is sensitive to discuss, reach out to a professional or your support network for guidance. And remember, if you have been exposed to second-hand addiction via a family member, seeking psychological guidance is a highly recommended tool for dealing with difficult emotions.
Compassion and addiction: supporting a loved one
Extending compassion to a loved one when dealing with addiction can be a transformative step — one that brings hope and healing. Below you’ll find some practical tips on compassionately supporting a loved one through addiction. If you are currently struggling with addiction challenges, you can also apply these tips to yourself.
- Speak up sooner rather than later: The earlier a person experiencing addiction receives treatment, the better. Address your concerns and help your loved one to find the right treatment or guidance as soon as possible.
- Offer support: Addiction is often extremely isolating, so being there for the affected person is important. Simply letting them know you’re there to listen and spend time together can have a greatly positive impact. And remember, supporting your loved one does not mean enabling their addiction. This requires a delicate balance between showing kindness and having firm boundaries that reflect your desire for them to overcome their addiction.
- Be patient: Don’t expect a single conversation or action to fix the addiction. Substance abuse disorders and behavioural addictions are deeply complex, and there’s no quick fix to overcoming them. Be patient and acknowledge any milestone or win — no matter how small.
- Take care of yourself: The friends and family members of people with addiction often experience stress, grief and isolation. It’s important to take care of your mental well-being and seek professional guidance if you’re experiencing difficult emotions. Also, consider joining a support group in your community.
Understanding and addressing addiction requires a compassionate and informed approach. Recognising that addiction is often a response to environmental factors and emotional pain can help you extend compassion to yourself and others. If you are looking for additional guidance, book a 1:1 session with an expert.
Additional support resources
- Mind: Includes a list of organisations that offer support for recreational drug and alcohol addiction, including organisations that can help if you are supporting someone else.
- Recovery ORG UK: Includes a helpline with immediate and confidential advice.
- Talk to Frank: Local and national services in the UK that provide confidential information, advice and support.
