When dating a recovering drug addict or alcoholic, we want to offer them as much sympathy, help and support as we can. Trust, on the other hand, can sometimes be in short supply. What you need to remember when dealing with an addict is that you're not dealing with your loved one anymore; you're dealing with an addict. You wouldn't steal your grandmother's jewelry, but your addiction would. It's very important, for your sake and for theirs, that you know the signs and how to spot them. Now, these signs aren't proof positive of drug abuse, but they may help you to determine whether you're right to be suspicious. Double Lives Most addicts do not put on face masks and capes like superheroes, but they do tend to lead double lives, maintaining a group of friends completely separate from their family. An addict doesn't want their wife or husband or children to know what they're doing in their time off, so a group of friends that they never want to talk about may suggest that they've fallen off the wagon. Secretive Nature Everyone is entitled to their privacy. We want to be left alone just to get our thoughts together at times, but days on end without contact, an insistence that you don't look in the dresser, any sort of obsessively secretive habits may be a sign of addiction. Uncharacteristically Irresponsible Behavior Some people just don't like to show up to work on time, some people are forgetful. Others tend to be responsible until something gets in the way, like a need for a fix. Abnormal behavior means different things for different people. You know what's typical of your boyfriend or girlfriend, so you know what's atypical of them as well. Use your intuition and judgment.