Addiction - Diagnosis

Diagnosis of an addiction may be made by a medical doctor or by a mental health professional. Often, patients go for help because they feel they can no longer deal with their addictive behavior by themselves. Sometimes family or friends intervene and bring the patient for diagnosis and treatment. In some cases, individuals are brought to the attention of professionals because of legal problems related to their addiction.

The standards used for diagnosing addiction include the three symptoms listed under Symptoms. A person who displays these three symptoms is diagnosed as being addicted to some substance or type of behavior.