Why do people start using drugs?
If you’re close with an addict, then you know how hard it is for them to kick their habit. But, how did they get addicted in the first place? What was lacking in their life that forced them to turn to other substances?
The reasons behind substance abuse are different for everyone, but there are some common causes that are all too familiar when it comes to drug and alcohol abuse. In this post, we’re going to talk about five typical causes of drug abuse.
Some of them will evoke sympathy and some will make you angry. All of them, however, requires patience and understanding to deal with in the correct way. Let’s gain a little more insight into drug and alcohol addiction.
Why Do People Start Using Drugs?
Often, there are deep-rooted reasons why someone starts using drugs. No one ever intends to become an addict, and many get away with prolonged drug use, but there are those that get sucked into the black hole and need help to get out.
1. Genes
According to the American Psychological Association, genetics can account for a lot of one’s tendency towards addiction. We know that genes don’t account for everything because there are so many cases of siblings leading very disparate lifestyles.
It’s thought that addict genes allow users to feel the effects of a drug more instantaneously with a decreased feeling of the negative effects. They account for what we would call an “addictive personality”.
2. Surrounded By It
If you’re in an environment where drugs and alcohol are being abused, you’re far more likely to get involved in it yourself. When your friends, parents, siblings, or acquaintances are abusing drugs, you’re then exposed to it and become desensitized to them.
When they’re always around, one of two things will happen. Either you’ll see signs of the damage that drugs do to those that take them and swear them off, or you’ll be more likely to partake.
3. Gateways
When you try one thing, you’re automatically more likely to try other things. The more different types of drugs that you do, the more susceptible you are to addiction.
One of the biggest problems in America right now is the opioid epidemic. Much of this is the result of the US healthcare system. Intense, but legal drugs are being prescribed to those that don’t necessarily need them.
Drugs like OxyContin get prescribed for pain, but when the prescription runs out is where we run into problems. During the time that the medication is prescribed, people are getting hooked on Oxy. Once the prescription runs out, they still crave it and turn to street drugs like heroin to get their fix.
4. Trauma
Traumatic events in one’s life can leave lasting scars on their psyche. Things like childhood neglect, physical or verbal abuse, or hyper-stressful events like war, experience with terrorism, and natural disasters can stay with people for a very long time.
Often, people self-medicate to push the thoughts associated with these events to the back of their minds. This creates a snowball effect that leads to addiction.
5. Mental Illness
The link between mental illness and addiction is a strong one. Mental health treatment, like other forms of medical care, is very expensive in the US. There’s also a stigma attached to mental illness that prevents people from seeking treatment.
Instead, people use street drugs to deal with the pain and confusion that comes out of mental illness. In some cases, using the drugs can actually trigger mental illness or worsen what might be manageable otherwise.
Help Those Around You
If you see signs that someone close to you might be abusing drugs, don’t judge them. There are many answers to the question of why do people start using drugs. Now that you know that there could be a deep-rooted issue that’s led them down this path of self-destruction, you can try to help.
You should always be there for them and try to push them towards recovery. There are facilities all over the country that are available to help people realize what drugs are doing to them and their relationships.
Prolonged addiction has dire consequences that are usually irreversible, so the quicker they can get help, the more they can mitigate the damage that abusing drugs does.
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