1. Quantity control: Over time, a higher tolerance to kites and kiting leads people with addiction problems to increase the quantity and frequency of kiting without showing signs of being out of control.
2. Hide-and-seek: Over time, kiting addicts develop a network of hiding places to stash their kites and boards from their loved ones. There may even be a sense that the family member is "guarding" their kites. Outbursts of temper may ensue if someone disturbs the private territory.
3. The disappearing act: When it comes to kite addiction and buying the latest kites, items don't so much appear around the house as disappear. The need for money and the desperation of addiction make anything fair game. They'll sell anything belonging to family and friends to get money to buy kites.
4. A head start: Kiting alone before going out with friends is a big red flag, experts say. Kiters want to appear to be just like their friends in public, but their tolerance is much higher, so they have to kite a lot more.
5. Tricks and manipulations: Hiding a kite addiction leads to constant subterfuge. Kiters will often kite before and/or after a social event: graduations, weddings and funerals just to name a few.
6. The money magnet: Just about any unusual money behavior can tip families off to kiting abuse, experts say. Bills may pile up unopened, or someone might suddenly start selling possessions on eBay when he or she has never done so before. The manic periods of elation from kiting can send people on buying sprees. Other tip-offs: Asking friends for loans or using a family member's credit card without asking.
7. A narrower world: As kite addiction takes hold, it tends to block out other interests and activities that used to be important sources of pleasure and fulfillment.
8. Missing in action: Becoming unreliable and secretive is a trademark of the kite addict. They start to forget appointments, miss important events, roll in late to work or school.
9. The storyteller: Would it surprise you to know that someone who proclaims dramatically that he hasn't done a new trick in two weeks is probably a kite addict? It shouldn't; telling stories to yourself and others is a natural reaction for someone who can't admit he has a kiting problem. Even more frustrating, he may not even know they're stories; so rather than confess to a missed trick, he makes up a story about it.
10. The blame game: The craziness that overtakes beaches when a kite addict is riding too much can feel like a contagious disease. The reason? The need to deny the addiction leads to an epidemic of blame. The blame game ups the conflict level at the beach; a formerly peaceful beach can begin to feel like a war zone. But the conflicts are always the fault of someone who is better.
Aloha and Good Luck
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