If you suspect that a loved one is dealing with an addiction or behaving in self-destructive addictive behavior, look at this list of questions, which signal an addiction, and answer yes or no. Does your loved one . . .
Turn up late for functions or dates?
No longer follow-through on his/her commitments?
Have more trouble with illness than usual?
Have more problems at work than usual?
Appear to be withdrawing from intimate contacts?
Have unexplained absences from or inconsistencies in his/her usual schedule?
Appear to have a new set of friends who he/she is highly involved with but who you don’t get to meet?
Have major financial fluctuations (like carrying more or considerably less money than usual)?
Have lapses of concentration or memory?
Stay up later at night and sleep in more during the day?
Have more trouble than usual getting it together in the morning?
Appear surprisingly secretive about specific aspects of his/her life?
While this checklist cannot diagnose an addiction in a loved one, the more “yes” answers you produce, the greater the chances are that your loved one is suffering from an addiction.
