How to Tell If Someone Is High

How to tell if someone is high can be very difficult for a multitude of reasons. Sometimes the signs of substance abuse are very subtle. Addiction is a progressive disease. If your child, spouse, or loved one is abusing substances, you want to be able to catch it as soon as possible. On the other hand, not knowing how to tell someone is high can bring about fights and resentments, especially if someone has gone to treatment and is trying to stay clean. Different substances have different effects, so knowing what to look for will be helpful. At Beaches Recovery, our counselors and therapists have extensive experience treating all kinds of drug and alcohol addiction. We can guide you through what to look for to determine if someone is struggling with substance use disorder. We can also give you the resources necessary to get the substance abuse treatment to heal and recover.

Signs of Being High on Depressants

The most popular types of substances people use are depressants. These types of substances can calm and mellow an individual. Many people turn to these types of substances because they feel anxious, fearful, or have other emotions they don’t know how to handle. Some of the most common depressants include:

• Alcohol: Because it is legal and easily available millions of people abuse this substance every year.
• Prescription painkillers: Even when someone follows their doctor’s directions to the letter, they can develop an addiction to prescription drugs. When this occurs, they need immediate support to heal.
• Benzodiazepines: For individuals with anxiety disorders, benzos can calm them and help them manage their condition. However, they can be easily abused without proper guidance.
• Heroin: One of the most potent drugs. Heroin has no medical value and is purely a drug used to achieve a euphoric high. But it can addict an individual after just one use and brings about severe health issues.

The physical signs to look for when it comes to depressants could be a person’s mood. If they’re beginning to withdraw from social activities and isolate, this could be an effect of substance addiction. The person’s pupils will often be dilated as well. One must also realize that people take drugs in different ways, like injecting or sniffing. If the person is sniffing a lot or has unexplainable bruises on their arms or legs or track marks, it may be a sign that they’re getting high.

Signs of Being High on Stimulants

The most common stimulants that people use are cocaine, methamphetamines, and medications for ADHD like Ritalin and Adderall. When a person takes these substances, they become very alert and have an unexplained amount of energy. The person’s thoughts race, so they might talk and ramble incoherently. Someone on stimulants also feels powerful, so they may have grandiose images of themselves. It’s also important to look for signs of withdrawal when a person is coming down. They may become very irritable, or they may sleep much longer than normal.

Getting Help for Substance Abuse and Addiction

If you think your loved one is having a problem with substance abuse addiction and the effects of drugs are turning their life inside out, allow Beaches Recovery to help you and your family begin the healing process. We’re a JCAHO accredited facility, and we work with some of the top insurance companies. While your loved one is in treatment, we’ll help them get to the bottom of why they’ve been turning to substances and how to live a better life. We also offer all of our clients family therapy so you can begin healing together. Take charge of addiction now by calling 866.605.0532.