Causes of Substance Abuse

If there is a dark side to the human nature, it is probably the ability to fall into the trap of substance abuse. Sometimes, people tend to forget that too much of a good thing may actually be bad for them. This feeling of enjoying something too much is one of the causes of substance abuse. Basically, substance abuse is defined as one's dependence to a legal or an illegal drug which causes harm to an individual's mental, emotional and physical capabilities. The types of drugs which are abused include narcotics, stimulants, hallucinogens and depressants. Specifically, marijuana, heroin, cocaine, methamphetamines and club drugs like Ecstasy are the ones which are subject to abuse.

Now, to have a deeper understanding of addiction itself, it helps to know about the causes of substance abuse. Although it is quite difficult to pinpoint each individual circumstance which may lead to a person abusing drugs, the general causes are easy to define. Drug abuse may be the effect of peer pressure, a low self-esteem, family problems, inability to cope with stress – whether it is in school, at home or at work – and curiosity on how using these illegal substances would make them feel.

In addition to these causes, substance abuse may be a result of being overly dependent to other people. Substance abusers can also be the effect of a person having no avenue to vent their frustrations. Since illegal substances make the abusers temporarily forget their problems, drugs become a way for them to cope. By learning about the causes of substance abuse, it will be much easier to get to the root of the problem of substance abuse even before it occurs.