Can You Get Addicted to a GLP-1?

About one in eight American adults say they’ve used a GLP-1 receptor agonist medication like Ozempic or Wegovy at some point, making this a very popular drug class. While these drugs can be used to treat type 2 diabetes, they’ve really taken off for their weight loss potential—this probably isn’t news to you.

But there seems to be a wave of people who struggle to stop using these medications once they start. Model and reality star Brooks Nader has spoken openly about what she calls her “addiction” to using GLP-1s. In a September 2025 episode of her show, Love Thy Nader, the 28-year-old’s sisters stage an intervention over her use of GLP-1 medication and eating habits after they found her nearly unconscious in the bathtub. (Her sisters shared at the time that Nader was mostly consuming bone broth.)

“The thing that I was so shocked about with the show was that I had so many people reach out to me saying, ‘I’m also addicted to GLP-1. I’m ashamed to talk about it because there’s such a stigma around it. It’s a crutch for me,’” Nader later told Bustle. But she also told the magazine that she’s still taking the medication, adding, “it’s a crutch for me too. It’s not healthy. I should get off it; I’ll be honest about that.”

Nader recently told Us Weekly that she’s heard from many people who have had the similar experiences. “I’ve had moms come up to me, I’ve had girls in college come up to me and have similar struggles,” she said. “And I’m hoping that through using my voice, we can all band together and find a solution.”

Weight loss is a complicated topic that often has deep emotional undercurrents, making it understandable that some people may feel dependent on these medications after reaching their goal weight, Thea Gallagher, PsyD, clinical associate professor at NYU Langone Health and cohost of the Mind in View podcast, tells SELF. Here’s why medical professionals say people may feel hooked on these drugs, plus what a physician who prescribes these medications recommends doing once you hit your goal weight.

People don’t get addicted to these medications, but they can become emotionally reliant on them.

This is a slightly complicated thing to explain, so bear with us for a moment here. An addiction can be physiological, which means it alters your body in a way that attempting to stop or cut down can cause a physical withdrawal, Gail Saltz, MD, associate professor of psychiatry at the NY Presbyterian Hospital Weill-Cornell School of Medicine, tells SELF. “These are drugs with addiction potential such as heroin, cocaine, opioids, alcohol, even nicotine,” she says.” The sudden removal of the drug causes physical withdrawal.”