How to Spot an Addict

Here is an interesting little article called 4 Ways to Spot an Addiction. Of course, there are many, many ways to spot an addict, but this list is a bit short because it only covers universal signs.

Meaning that it may be true that there are perhaps 50 ways to spot a cocaine addict, or 20 ways to spot a marijuana addict, but these four ways apply across the board. Whether the addiction is heroin or World of Warcraft, you should be able to spot these behaviors.

They are:


Separation from close family and friends. Someone with an addiction will often become more reserved and avoid family and close friends. Part of the reason behind this is that they are embarrassed of the addiction, and they are afraid a loved one will be disappointed if they find out.

Dependence on a substance or activity. Someone with an addiction will not be able to go long without the substance. If you suspect a friend is an alcoholic because they are always talking about drinking, but they can go for days without a drink, they are not dependent on alcohol. They might very well have a problem with alcohol abuse, but not alcoholism yet. In the same way, anorexic and bulimic individuals cannot turn their disease on and off for a day any more than a drug addict can go more than a day without their drug. However, anyone that is abusing a substance like a drug or alcohol, or is experimenting with harmful activities needs help too. Addiction has to start somewhere, and it often begins when people are just “trying” the substance to see what it’s like. Getting help early, before an addiction has taken hold, is the best chance for recovery.

Loss of interest and focus. Addicts lose interest in things they used to care about. As the addiction takes over their life, nothing else will seem as important to them, including the basic necessities of life. In the same way, they will become irresponsible with things like family commitments or work, as they devote all their time and energy to the addiction.

Change in daily patterns. Addicts may show a change in eating and sleeping patterns. They know their addiction is wrong and hurting their lives and the lives of those close to them, but once the addiction has taken hold, it can’t easily be stopped. Sleepless nights, lack of desire to eat, and depression are all common results of many addictions.

Body Language Tips for the President and You

Here is a very short article from Carol Kinsey Goman at Forbes.com called Body Language Tips for President Obama, Governor Romney, and You. The article took specific instances from recent presidential elections and pulls important tips from them regarding non-verbal communication.

She briefly covers the following points:

1. With nonverbal communication, it’s not how the sender feels that’s most important; it’s how the observer perceives the sender feels.
2. Watch those facial expressions.
3. Don’t underestimate the power of touch.
4. When your body language is out of sync with your words, people believe what they see.
5. Remember – you are never “off camera.”

READ FULL ARTICLE HERE

Spot a Liar at a Glance

Many people think that if you ask someone a question and they look away, then they're lying, or if they glance to the left, then they are lying, or whatever other direction.

The truth is that there is a connection between which way they look does have a connection to whether or not they are sincere. However, it's not a single, simple indicator that you're looking for. In fact, it's so complex that you almost need a chart to understand it.

So here's a chart to understand it. The first time "Visual Accessing Cues" were discussed was by Richard Bandler and John Grinder in their book "Frogs into Princes: Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) " From their experiments this is what they found.

A person looking straight ahead is passively taking in information. If they are looking straight ahead with their eyes defocused and unmoving, as if they are "zoning out," this is also a sign of visual accessing. They are likely telling the truth.

If a right-handed person glances to the right, they are remembering something which actually happened. Therefore, the answer they give you will most likely be true.

If they look to the left, it indicates that they are constructing a new, false memory, rather than recalling a genuine one. They are probably lying.

For a left-handed person, this chart is flipped. A person will usually look, from your perspective, in the direction of their dominant hand if they are telling the truth. A right-handed person will look to the right, left-handed to the left.

Some experts think that this method is a load of crap, so when attempting to use this method, remember that it is never wise to come to a conclusion based on a single sign. Nevertheless, the general consensus is that this is reliable enough that it should prove accurate more often than not.

Unless they're in God Mode.

The Dead Fish

The common understanding of a weak handshake is that it signals a weak or submissive personality. While this can be true, this is one of many cases in which you should be careful not to draw conclusions from a single sign.

This is because there are many, many reasons why a person may give a weak handshake other than having a submissive personality. For example, weak handshakes can be due to various aspects of personality, mood, etc. People who use their hands in their profession, for example, musicians, artists, surgeons, etc., can have quite gentle sensitive handshakes. Strong but passive people can have gentle handshakes. Old people can have weak handshakes, regardless of personality. A weak handshake might be due to arthritis. Young people unaccustomed to handshaking can have weak handshakes.

If you get the dead fish, keep in mind that it is a misleading sign and the common stigma against it is inaccurate. Keep "submissiveness" as a possibility, but do some more observing before you come to any conclusion.