Drug abuse is a disease that devastates millions of lives each and every year. People who struggle with addiction cause pain not only for themselves but also for their loved ones.
There are plenty of causes of drug addiction. Everyone has their own story, and each story is as heartbreaking as the next.
In this article, we take a look at some of the leading reasons drug addiction occurs. Keep reading to learn how more and more people continue to fall into this trap.
1. Loneliness
Loneliness is a condition that is common to the human experience. Everyone feels lonely at different times in life for a variety of reasons. It can painful, thus the desire to numb the pain.
This is one of the most common stepping stones to the world of drugs and addiction. Loneliness is a pain that often feels inescapable. It can be difficult to verbalize what this pain feels like, and yet it’s very real and can cause the individual to be willing to do anything to make the discomfort go away.
Drugs often help with the pain at first by satiating the brain. But this isn’t a permanent solution and only leads to much larger pain and more complicated problems.
2. Family History
Another leading cause of addiction is family history and genetics. Many people grow up in homes where they are exposed to drugs and addiction. And others have it in their DNA because their mother or father abused drugs and passed the addiction down to their children genetically.
Growing up in a household where drugs are present is often too much for a child to deal with. And this exposure is often the key to a young person falling into a life of addiction themselves.
3. Peer Pressure
It’s no secret that peer pressure is one of the most powerful forces in the world. This is especially true for young people. Everyone wanted to feel liked and to be accepted into certain peer groups, thus they are often willing to participate in activities that aren’t healthy.
Peer pressure can be blamed for a large percentage of addiction in teenagers. This is unfortunate but true. Young people want so desperately to fit in and to look cool that they often make poor decisions that will haunt them for years to come.
4. Escape from Emotional Pain
There are many forms of emotional pain. We mentioned loneliness earlier, but that’s only the tip of the iceberg. Many people struggle with sadness, depression, anger, heartbreak, anxiety, fear, among other things.
And for many of these people, drugs represent an escape that will provide a reprieve for the emotional discomfort they experience on a daily basis.
Again, drugs can be a trap and provide on a temporary reprieve from the internal storms that most people experience at one time or another. But most addicts who use drugs in order to deal with emotional pain find out too late that drugs only serve to create even more pain.
5. It’s a Form of Rebellion
Young people have always rebelled against their parents or authority figures, for a number of reasons and to various extremes. Perhaps they want attention. Or they want to break free of their family’s belief system or social structure.
Rebellion can take many forms, from the way they dress, types of behavior, to abusing drugs and alcohol. Abusing drugs is also a weapon they use in an attempt to cause pain to their family, to punish their parents.
Unfortunately, this form of rebellion ultimately hurts themselves the most, and they are forced to deal with the consequences of suffering a life of addiction.
6. Prescription Drugs
Believe it or not, many people find themselves addicted to drugs as a result of legal drugs prescribed to them by their doctor. This is typical because they’ve suffered an injury or undergone a surgical procedure and need prescription drugs to help cope with the physical pain while they heal.
This has actually become a bigger and bigger problem in recent years. People who take prescription drugs often begin to depend on the relief they provide and thus become addicted to the drug-related euphoria.
The sad truth is that drug rehab facilities are filled with addicts who never sought out drugs, but yet became addicted because of the carelessness of the medical community.
7. Recreational Experimentation
Ultimately, many people fall into addiction because they simply wanted to have fun. Recreational drug use remains responsible for much of the addiction in this country and around the world.
8. Stress
No one is immune to stress. We experience it in many forms, both in our personal and professional lives. Stress can be debilitating, thus many people turn to drugs and alcohol as a way to deal with the everyday mental and physical stress of life.
9. Trauma
Trauma can be physical or psychological. Mental trauma can cause tremendous anxiety and make a person feel out of control. Perhaps you witnessed the death of a loved one. Or you were the victim of abuse. Or you witnessed an event that left you in a constant state of anxiety.
For a victim of trauma, drugs represent an escape, a way to numb the pain so that you don’t have to think about it anymore or deal with it in a more healthy way.
10. Pain From Physical Injury
As discussed previously, many doctors prescribe prescription drugs for pain following an injury or medical procedure, which can lead to addiction. And yet often people self-medicate, turning to a life of addiction rather than relying on their doctor for proper pain management.
Common Causes of Drug Addiction
No one ever expects to become addicted to drugs, and yet it happens every single day, in every corner of the world. As you can see, there are many causes of drug addiction. That’s why it’s so important to avoid the temptation of experimentation or seeking refuge from personal pain through drugs.
Remember, if you or someone you love has developed an addiction to drugs, it’s never too late to get help.