What causes drug abuse and addiction?

What causes drug abuse and addiction?

What makes one person abuse drugs to the point of losing their home, their family and their job, while another does not? There is no one simple reason. Drug abuse and addiction is due to many factors. A powerful force in addiction is the inability to self- soothe or get relief from untreated mental or physical pain. Without the self-resilience and support to handle stress, loneliness or depression, drugs can be a tempting way to deal with the situation. Unfortunately, due to the changes drugs make to the brain, it can only take a few times or even one time to be on the road to addiction. Some other risk factors include:

• Family history of addiction. While the interplay between genetics and environment is not entirely clear, if you have a family history of addiction, you are at higher risk for abusing drugs.
• History of mental illness. Drug abuse can worsen mental illness or even create new symptoms. See dual diagnosis for more information on mental illness and drug abuse.
• Untreated physical pain. Without medical supervision, pain medications or illegal drugs like heroin can rapidly become addictive.
• Peer pressure. If people around you are doing drugs, it can be difficult to resist the pressure to try them, especially if you are a teenager.