In most cases, there isn’t just one reason for drug addiction – there is a combination of different reasons, whether they be personal, environmental, or genetic.
Your genetics can increase the chances of you developing a drug addiction, as can your parent’s or caregivers’ behaviours with drugs whilst you were growing up. Addiction can be hereditary – the National Institute on Drug Abuse suggests that almost half of the risk of alcohol, drug or nicotine addiction can be down to genetics.
This means that if your parents have experienced drug addiction, there’s a higher chance of you having drug addiction problems too. This is because the chemical reactions that occur in the brain can vary from person to person – which is down to genetics.
However, it isn’t just genetics that can increase the likelihood of you developing an addiction – your environment can play a big factor.
Some environmental risk factors for addiction include peer pressure, having substances to hand, parental difficulties and family issues, neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, as well as the company you keep.
For example, if your friends all take drugs and have drug problems, then you may be more likely to develop a drug addiction than somebody who doesn’t know anybody who takes drugs.
If you believe one of the reasons that you got addicted to drugs was because of your surroundings, your social circles, or other environmental factors, you may benefit more from residential rehab. This is because you may experience drug cravings in your existing environment and struggle to detox effectively.
Another risk factor is having a dual diagnosis – which means having another medical health condition such as depression as well as an addictive disorder. Mental health issues, particularly underlying mental health issues, can increase the chances of you developing a drug addiction.
However, this relationship can work both ways – and having a drug addiction can worsen your existing mental health conditions.
This can create a cycle, worsening both your addiction and your mental health. Some people will take drugs to ease their mental health symptoms, which only worsens the vicious cycle. This is one of the reasons that therapy is an integral part of drug rehabilitation.
Having another medical condition can also be a risk factor – especially if you are prescribed painkillers or opiates to treat the pain or the condition. This can lead to you developing a prescription drug addiction.
A risk factor that often gets overlooked is the age at which you begin drinking alcohol or taking drugs.
According to a survey conducted by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, if a person begins taking drugs at an early age, their brain development can be affected making them more likely to develop mental health disorders in later life.