How to fight addiction to drugs
Drug abuse also called substance abuse is a kind of disorder that affects the person’s brain and behaviour. They are unable to control their usage or intake of legal and illegal drugs.
Drug addicts do not care about the effects of the consistent use of these drugs on their systems. The drugs that are commonly abused are tobacco, marijuana, cocaine, stimulants, heroin, etc.
How to fight addiction to drugs
Several factors lead to drug addiction and they are.
- Peer pressure
- Physical and sexual abuse
- Early exposure to drugs
- Stress
- Lack of parental guidance.
- Genetic inclination to drugs
Peer pressure: this is the most common among young adults and less common among older adults. Most people fall victim to drug abuse due to peer pressure. The urge to show that that they belong, or they are worthy or they can do what their mates are doing. This makes them undertake dangerous stuff because they want to show that they can do it. Negative peer pressure has been known to be linked with drug abuse.
Sexual abuse; sexually abused people often end up with traumas. If their trauma does untreated they are likely to turn to drugs as coping mechanism.
Here is what rehab.com has to say about the link between sexual abuse and drug abuse
Drug or alcohol use disorders.
Sexual assault victims may turn to drugs and alcohol to cope with the emotional aftermath of the event. Sexual assault victims are up to 10 times more likely than people who have not experienced sexual assault to use drugs.
Rehab.com
Physical abuse: Adults who experienced abuse while they were younger are more likely to abuse drugs as a coping mechanism. Physical abuse involves hitting a child at the slightest provocation. The American addiction centre.com offers more insight into drug abuse.
Childhood abuse is a strong indicator of substance abuse and addiction later in life. Adults who were abused or neglected during childhood often turn to drugs and alcohol for self-medicated coping. Along with the development of substance abuse problems, these adults are at increased risk for abusing their own children; increased stressors such as poverty, loss of employment, and illness only make things more difficult. These factors often result in a vicious cycle of child maltreatment and substance abuse across generations of family.
https://americanaddictioncenters.org/blog/the-link-between-child-abuse-and-substance-abuse
Early exposure to drugs: This is one of the worst factors. Some people who are addicted to drugs have been exposed to drugs at an early age. Either by the kind of environment they’ve lived in which is mostly in the slums and ghettos. Some grew up watching their parents take drugs. This singular factor is a strong indicator of drug abuse.
Stress: Stress deals with physical or emotional tension. It emanates from any event that makes you feel angry, sad or frustrated. Stress can come from the following
- Death of someone that you love
- Divorcing a partner
- A serious illness
- Increase in responsibilities and financial obligations.
- The thought of being married soon
- Moving to a new place
- Failure in studies or tasks.
Lack of parental guidance: Children who grow up with parents figure that abuse drugs are more likely to abuse them when they are older. Most end up doing drugs are a result of parental influence.
How to deal with drug or substance abuse
One of the best and most effective methods for dealing with drug abuse is seeing a therapist. Sometimes the drug abuse itself is not the issue, there are underlying factors that sponsor the irrational use of drugs. Seeing a therapist will help deal with the root cause whilst dealing with the effect.
How to stop addiction to drugs
- Accept the fact that you have an addiction
- Decide to change
- Get a therapist.
- Cut off enablers and triggers.
What helps drug addiction
Several factors help with drug addiction. The primary helper of drug addiction is the family. This is in the case where the child grows up watching the parents’ abuse drugs, there is a likelihood that the child would abuse drugs. Also, in the case where the child is exposed to substance abuse not necessarily by the parents but by those around the child whom the child is likely to come in contact with daily. Peer pressure plays a role, either in aiding the individual to build that addiction or in aiding the individual to continue in the addiction. Stressors such as the death of someone that you love, divorcing a partner, a serious illness, an increase in responsibilities and financial obligations, the thought of being married soon, moving to a new place, or failure in studies or tasks. Most times to deal with these stressors most people turn to drugs as a coping mechanism.
How to avoid addiction to drugs?
The best way to avoid addiction is to stop taking it. It is easier to think that you cannot be addicted until you find yourself struggling to stop taking it. Drugs make you feel good, and you always want to feel good even if it means overusing them.
