Why do people take drugs?
A large number of factors influence the person's decision to take drugs. Below we list some of them:
Need for Adventure ("adventure seeking") - Some people are more attracted to risky and potentially dangerous behaviors than others. It is about people who need more incentives to feel good and to achieve optimal levels of functioning, and this is achieved through inclusion in extreme activities (for example, bungee jumping, parachuting jumping, psychostimulants). Such people are known as "adrenaline addicts" and because of the way their body functions, at a greater risk that they will enjoy taking drugs.
The need to meet the psychological needs - Every person has the inborn need for belonging, entertainment, freedom and autonomy. Although all people share the same needs, everyone chooses to satisfy them. Some will choose positive, constructive ways to meet the needs - socializing with people, engaging in activities that meet them, and the like. Others choose negative, destructive ways, such as taking drugs. Drugs can provide the current sense of satisfaction and remedy discomfort, but it is likely to cause more harm than good for a long time.
Experimentation - Some people take drugs once, as an experiment, because they are curious or their friends are taking drugs, so they want to share the experience. Experimenting with drugs is more and more common among young people, which does not mean that it is less dangerous. Young people often experiment with unknown drugs and more different types of drugs. It's important to remember that experimenting with small amounts of drugs is not safe and can cause serious health problems (breathing problems, epileptic attack, vomiting, blackout, overdose).
Gender and age - Younger age and male sex are risk factors for taking drugs. People beginning to take psychoactive substances (including alcohol) at an earlier age have a higher risk of developing drug addiction later on. It has been shown that younger men are taking drugs more than girls, but on the other hand taking drugs can cause more difficult problems for girls than for young men.
Hedonism - the sense of pleasure that occurs when drugging is a significant factor influencing a person's decision to take drugs. It is unavoidable that drugs can cause positive effects, such as relaxation, enthusiasm, enthusiasm and the like, but it is important to know that taking drugs often causes numerous negative consequences such as heart failure, excessive body temperature, breathing difficulties, epileptic seizures, vomiting, unconsciousness, and in the most severe cases, and death.
Peak pressure - a lot of people are taking drugs because of peer pressure and the fear that they will be dropped by peers if they do not take drugs. It is important for young people to build values of empathy and develop their skills of assertiveness in order to be able to respect other decisions that disagree with them and at the same time to express their disagreement with other people in an acceptable way. Developing social and emotional skills can significantly influence the risk of taking drugs in young people.
availability - Drug availability can greatly affect someone's readiness to take drugs. It is clear that a person will probably take the drug if it can come to her without much difficulty. Availability can also affect the type of drug a person will take, following a "lower resistance line". For this reason, it is important to influence the reduction of the drug's drug market in general, which is achieved by implementing successful drugs-reduction policies.
Family, social and environmental factors - adverse living conditions, exposure to numerous risk factors and a lack of protective factors affect the risk of drug abuse and addiction development. Significant risk factors include exposure to addictive behavior of family members or other close persons, and negative relationships within the family (communication full of negative messages or lack of communication at all, domestic violence). A family that works harmoniously, is stable and family members mutually support and love a protective factor that reduces the likelihood of problematic behaviors in general, including drug addiction.
Taking advantage of - Some people take drugs because they help them maintain or lower their body weight or help them focus on a particular task, such as learning. Also, in some cases, people themselves are setting up a diagnosis related to their psychological condition and determining therapy based on information they receive from unforeseen sources (such as the Internet). This way of misuse of legal remedies is extremely dangerous because because of the low availability of medicines and the fact that they buy them in pharmacists, their behavior is not perceived as problematic. It is important to know that, in the event that a person does not feel well because of stress or other factors and believes that pharmacotherapy is needed, surely seek the help of an expert.
