The 14 most common causes of drug addiction

The onset of drug dependence can occur in several possible ways. These are the most common ones.

Drug use is an increasingly widespread problem worldwide, and the consequences of drug use lead to numerous problems for people physically, psychologically and socially.

Therefore, the first step in the fight against drug addiction is to know its causes. In this article we will see 14 causes of drug addiction that have been shown to be common.The causes of drug addiction range from social and family influences to the action of neurotransmitters and genetics.

Are there factors that cause drug addiction?

Of course, both the onset of drug addiction habits and the maintenance of these habits do not appear spontaneously or randomly, but rather are the response or the result of a series of previous situations that predispose to it..

However, it is necessary to specify that each person is totally different when facing these situations, and that the experience of these does not necessarily have to end with a drug addiction habit. Even in those causes of genetic origin, the person must be influenced by many other predisposing factors.

This means that drug addiction does not have a single cause. In spite of the existence of numerous elements that influence in its appearance, two or more of these must appear together for the person to decide to start using drugs on a recurrent basis. in a recurrent way.

Most common causes of drug addiction.

Among the most common causes of drug addiction are the following.

1. Curiosity

Numerous investigations have led to the conclusion that curiosity is one of the main causes of drug addiction behaviors..

This factor occurs especially in the younger population, who are initiated into drug use influenced by information received from the environment or the media.

Traumatic experiences

Although not all people who have experienced traumatic or highly emotional experiences do not develop drug-taking behavior or habits. develop drug addiction behaviors or habits, many others find in drugs an escape route that helps them to cope with certain particularly complicated situations.

The objective of these behaviors is to forget certain memories that torture the person's mind. that torture the person's mind and thus distract the intellect from having to face them. In this way, there are many people who decide to experiment with drugs to achieve a state of relaxation or daze.

3. Stress relief

This point is closely related to the previous one. Those people whose rhythm of life entails a great pressure or stress, either at work, family or social level, can find in theWhether at work, family or social level, they may find in drugs a way to relax and relieve tension, even for a few moments.

However, the addiction itself will generate more and more the addiction itself will generate more and more tension between one use and the next.The addiction itself, however, will generate more and more tension between one use and another, so the person will need more and more doses and will do it more and more frequently.

4. Improve performance

In certain areas such as sports or academics, it is usual that some people resort to the consumption of some type of narcotic substance in an attempt to improve their performance..

What these people ignore or think they can avoid is that even if the drug is only consumed at specific times for a specific purpose, it is very likely to become an addiction.

5. Lack of motivation and goals

There are numerous cases of drug addiction of people who do not find any type of motivation in their life, therefore they look for in drugs the experience of pleasant sensations or euphoria..

6. Influence of the family context

Some studies have established that living in an unstable family environment an unstable family environmentThe influence of the family environment, being the child of drug-addicted parents or mental disorders in parents are factors that facilitate drug use in young people.

In a family environment where drug use is commonplace and even normalized, it is common for children to develop some type of addiction and for parents, as consumers, not to condemn these behaviors.

7. Pressure or influences from the circle of friends

One of the most frequent causes of drug addiction in adolescents is the pressure they receive from their peer group. the pressure they receive from their group of friends to start using drugs.. In groups where drug use is habitual or frequent, it is very possible that the minor initiates and maintains drug use with the intention of fitting in or integrating into the group.

8. Lack of social skills

The properties of certain drugs of abuse make it easier for the person to feel uninhibited and secure. Therefore, those with an introverted people with an introverted character or with poor social skills are more likely to use a substance at times when faced with social interaction.

9. Imitation by admiration

Especially at younger ages, the influence of certain well-known people or public figures can make some people want to imitate some of their behaviors, including experimentation with drugs.

10. Sleep problems

Sleep problems are increasingly common in many people, also those people who need to rest properly for any reason, or who work at night and need to sleep during the day, can start taking drugs or relaxing compounds to help them sleep..

However, if the person begins to become obstinate with the hours of sleep and tiredness, the repetitive consumption of these compounds or drugs can lead to a serious addiction.

11. Medical prescription

In most cases, when we think of an addiction, only all kinds of illegal substances or alcohol come to mind. However, those However, those drugs prescribed with the risk of addiction and administered in the wrong wayare susceptible to become potential drugs of abuse or, at least, to generate a lot of dependence.

12. Mental illnesses

There are certain disorders and mental illnesses whose symptomatology can instigate the person to consume some type of drug. Either to relieve Pain or to alleviate psychological discomfort.

The disorders most frequently associated with drug use are:

• Depression.
• Anxiety.
• Psychotic disordersSchizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
• Attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder.

13. Genetic factors

Although it cannot be considered a direct cause of drug addiction, there is an extensive debate among researchers who defend the existence of a genetic predisposition to drug addiction. a genetic predisposition to drug addiction and those that insist and those that insist that this association is really due to learning.

However, twin studies have found evidence pointing to a strong relationship between the partial relationship between drug addiction and genetics.

14. Neurochemical mechanisms

In most cases, the very mechanism of pleasure and reward carried out by different neurotransmitters involved in the processes of addiction, are what lead the person to want to to re-experience the pleasurable sensations they felt during the first consumption..

Thus, a person with an organism that is particularly sensitive to the action of certain substances may go from experimenting with drugs for the first time to developing an addiction that allows him or her to repeatedly experience the same sensations of pleasure.