Drug abuse is a multi-factorial problem with individual, family and social repercussions. While each case is different, some commonalities can be found upon examination. Drug abuse is generally considered to be drug use that involves either the use of an illegal substance or the misuse of a legal substance. Drug abuse often leads to physical and psychological addiction. Successful treatments exist for all forms of drug abuse.
Genetics
MedlinePlus states that your genes can play a role in drug abuse. People who have a parent or sibling with drug abuse issues should be particularly wary of misusing drugs.
The Nature of the Drug
Drugs of abuse can cause you to experience temporary, pleasurable feelings. When these feelings diminish, your body may seek to have that experience again. When this cycle continues for a period of time, your body may stop producing chemicals on its own that cause pleasurable feelings, leaving you dependent on the drug to feel happy or normal. You are usually unaware this is happening until you realize you cannot get through the day without taking the drug.
Physical Pain
Many drug abuse cases begin as treatment for physical pain. This pain may be acute, as occurs with surgery or a broken bone, or it may be chronic, as occurs with back pain or a significant burn. Prescribed pain medication may be ordered and the patient may notice she needs to take a larger quantity of the drug or take the drug more often. These circumstances are referred to as drug tolerance. This tolerance can lead to drug diversion and abuse, due to physical or psychological addiction.
Mental Condition
Anxiety, depression and other mental conditions can predispose someone to abuse of drugs to ease emotional pain or deal with fear. Occasionally, this happens to someone with medication that has been appropriately prescribed, but it is often someone who has never had his mental condition diagnosed or treated. This type of self-medication can easily lead to drug addiction.
Peer Pressure
The Mayo Clinic lists peer pressure as one potential cause for drug abuse. This is more common among teenagers and young adults, but you can fall victim to this at any age. The people most vulnerable to negative peer influence are those with low self-esteem.
Home Exposure
Exposure to drug or alcohol abuse in the home predisposes a child to later abuse drugs. As with all behaviors, seeing one's parents or other authority figures engage in a particular activity ingrains in us that it is acceptable or even appropriate behavior.
High Stress Level
A high level of stress can cause a person to begin taking drugs. This type of coping mechanism is more common among people who have not developed healthier strategies to deal with stress. Common stressors include job loss, marital difficulties and serious financial problems.
