Causes of Substance Abuse & Addiction | Addictions
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Learn about common causes of substance abuse and addiction from Dr. Paul Hokemeyer in this Howcast video.
So substance abuse and addiction is a very common problem in our society. The most common risk factors and problems that lead up to it are basically threefold. We know that addictions are what we call biological, psychological and a social disease. The biological thing, factor has to deal with the fact that addictions tend to run in families so that if your father or your grandfather or your mother or your grandmother suffer, or even an aunt, suffer from an addiction, the chances of you developing an addiction issue are greatly increased. We also know that there are certain psychological conditions that people who suffer from addictions and who suffer from substance abuse have. These typically are, number one is anxiety, that people have a sense of anxiety in their life. They feel uncomfortable in their skin. There’s also a huge number of people who suffer from depression. They feel like they’re walking through a fog. They don’t really feel engaged in the world. They’re, they’re sad, they’re lethargic, they’re tired. They use substances and become addicted to substances to change the way that they feel. We also know that there’s a sociological aspect to addiction, and that has to do with the society and the culture that we live in. It also has to deal with the family that we grew up in because if dad comes home from work and pours himself a drink to deal with a stressful day, then junior learns that alcohol is the way that I manage stress and uncomfortable feelings. So again, it’s a biological, psychological and social condition and we need to take a look at each and every one of those and we need to take a look at each and every one of those in order to figure out, not just where the addiction came from, but how we can find a solution to it.