What Causes Drug Addiction

We hear mixed messages about the use of chemical substances, whether it is drugs or alcohol. Drug use is sometimes glamorized in the media, while opinions on usage vary from region to region. All of this makes it easier for people to accept drug use as "normal". The fact of the matter is most teenager start to use drugs out of boredom. No person thinks in their mind, when I grow up I want to be addicted to drugs. Although this action is not premeditated, individuals do go on to abuse drugs and become addicted for a number of different reasons, many times known only to the individual that chooses to do so. The most commonly asked question is simply - how? How could my son, daughter, father, sister, or brother become a liar, a thief, someone who cannot be trusted? How could this happen? And why won't they stop?

Several causes of drug addiction may include:

Family instability (as in a teen's parents' getting divorced)
Inability to deal with crisis or loss
Having feelings of rejection and loneliness.
Other emotional problems that make you feel intense pain, grief or anger.
Depression.
Peer pressure.
Using the drug as an upper when you're always on the go.

The first thing to understand about addiction is that alcohol and addictive drugs are basically painkillers. They chemically kill physical or emotional pain and alter the mind's perception of reality. They make people numb. In some cases of drug addiction, it can start when a person encounters a problem or discomfort and does not know how to deal with it. This could be problems such as difficulty "fitting in" as a child or teenager, anxiety due to peer pressure or feeling inadequate regarding expectations in the workplace. The causes of addiction can also include physical discomfort, such as an injury or chronic pain. The person experiencing the discomfort has a real problem. He is having difficulty living with his problem. Everyone has experienced this in life to a greater or lesser degree. The difference between an addict and the non-addict is that the addict has chosen drugs or alcohol as a solution to the unwanted problem or discomfort.

Now that drugs or alcohol appear to solve her problem, the individual feels better. Because she now 'seems' better able to deal with life, the drugs become of value to her. Their painkilling effects become a solution to the discomfort that she feels. This release is the main reason a person uses drugs or drinks a second, third or fourth time. Like an adolescent child with his first love, the use of drugs or alcohol becomes obsessive. The addicted person is now trapped. Whatever problem he was initially trying to solve by using drugs fades from their memory. At this point, all he can think about is getting and using drugs. He loses the ability to control his drug or alcohol usage and totally disregards the horrible consequences of his actions. The drugs are now the most important things in his life. Ironically, the addict's ability to get "high" from the alcohol or drug gradually decreases as his body adapts to the presence of foreign chemicals. He must take more and more, not just to get an effect but often just to function at all and to not be physically sick from withdrawal symptoms. It is at this point, that the drug that is being abused becomes the problem.

Drug addiction can lead you down the wrong path and even worse, it can kill you. But things don't have to go that far. Drug addiction is difficult to break but it is not impossible. Support from your family, friends and other people is very important to help you on the road to recovery. Drug rehab can be the most essential thing to a recovering addict as they can interact with people who suffer from the same thing as they do. So if you feel that your loved one needs help, don't hesitate to help them get it. Help them to get into a drug treatment center with a proven track record in treating drug addiction.