When It’s Time to Seek Treatment

“Maybe I need help…”

How to Know When It’s Time to Seek Treatment

Do you find yourself wondering if you are addicted? Are you thinking that maybe it’s time you talked to someone about what is happening? Here’s the thing: if you’re here reading this and thinking about it, it’s time. We are proud of you for getting this far.

There’s a common belief that folks have to “hit rock bottom” before they can be ready to change, that is not always true. Most of us don’t wait until we are on death’s doorstep before we go to the doctor for a medical illness. If we have a fever, our throat is sore, and we don’t go to work, we generally seek professional help to find out what’s going on. We go to the doctor. We don’t allow our sore throat to blossom into a full-blown infection that can kill us.

The same can be true for substance use disorders. If you’re having “sore spots” or disarray in your life because of using any substance, it’s time to take a good look at your relationship with that substance. How is that substance and your dependence on it impacting your everyday life?

Consider a few of the common clues that tell us we may be suffering from an addiction:

1. Someone in our life is telling us we have a problem.

The first things to suffer are usually our relationships. Family members, employers, coworkers, or friends may be expressing concern. We may find we don’t spend as much time with certain people as we once did, or we are hiding our substance use from them.

If you’re hiding it, it’s time to seek help!

2. Our finances begin to suffer.

This usually results from missed work or spending a lot of money on substances.

If it’s affecting you financially, it’s time to seek help!

3. We find we don’t feel OK without it.

Emotionally or physically, we struggle to make it through a period of time without that substance.

If you can’t feel normal without it, it’s time to seek help!

4. We really really crave it.

We may begin to spend large amounts of time thinking about it or thinking about getting the substance.

When it begins to consume your thoughts, it’s time to seek help!

5. Legal issues start to pop up.

When we’ve had a legal charge related to substance use, that’s a big red flag.

If you do illegal things because of your substance use, it’s time to seek help!

6. We just can’t stop.

We start the day telling ourselves (or someone else) that we just won’t do it today, but we end up doing it anyway.

If you just can’t stop, it’s time to seek help!

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There’s no magic list. You may experience all of the above or perhaps you just know you’re sick of it and you want to stop but can’t. If you sit down and really get honest with yourself, you can create your own list. How is your dependence on this substance impacting your life?

Is it time to seek help? Our Access Center team is ready to guide you through the process. We will help you determine the best program and treatment plan for your addiction. We want you to succeed.

Call our team today at 1-800-545-9031.