What Are the Causes of Addiction? In society nowadays there is an increase globally in the number of people seeking help for addiction. This can be addiction to alcohol, prescription drugs or illegal drugs. And although there are more and more facilities that can help individuals overcome their addiction the question needs to be asked what causes addiction in the first place. Why do some people become addicted to substances when others do not? In today’s article we will dive into what the main causes of addiction are. How does addiction start? Well people often become addicted to substances due to the “high” that they feel as a result of taking that substance. Users can experience a physical and psychological high which of course will vary depending on the substance they have taken. As users get used to this “high” their body will get used to that amount of the substance and they will typically have to take more of the substance to achieve the desired “high”. Due to this increase in the amount of the substance required the user’s dosage of the substance and frequency of use will typically increase making it very difficult for the user to stop taking the substance and therefore become addicted to the pleasurable feeling or “high”. Where does it begin? Addiction begins and ends in the brain. Some people may take a substance once and never return to it whereas some may become addicted instantly and this is down to the brain. When a user takes a drug for example cocaine it tricks the brain into releasing pleasurable feelings around the body and creating almost a euphoric feeling on demand as the use of this drug intensifies the brain adapts and is tricked into thinking this is normal and will reward the taking of said substance with a pleasurable feeling. This occurs in the frontal lobe part of the brain there isn’t a lot of science behind why some people become addicted to things faster than others but what we do know is that it all begins with the frontal lobes in the brain giving immediate rewards for taking a pleasure inducing substance. It is possible that addiction can come from a chemical imbalance present in the user’s brain which is intensified with the use of stimulant drugs. In lay mans terms addiction will grow for want of a better word in the brain of the user because the brain will associate taking said substance with a reward this is not an instant reaction and will happen over time as the user takes more and more of the substance and the brain recognizes this as common practice which of course it is not. Exposure There is an argument that addiction can begin in individuals from an early age not caused by them directly taking addictive substances but by being exposed to them. Studies have shown that individuals exposed to addictive substances be it drugs or alcohol from an early age are more likely to become addicted to substances themselves as they grow older. Now this doesn’t mean that every child that comes from a background with exposure to substances will automatically become addicted to them, but it definitely increases the likelihood of it. We also have to consider the environment in which an individual is raised as this can play a big part in how they perceive alcohol and substance abuse. An individual who is raised around substance users has a higher chance of experiencing other issues that can lead them towards substance abuse later in life. Trauma can also be a huge factor, individuals who suffer trauma at an early age are more likely to become addicted to substances as they seek for an escape from their ill feelings/hurt they have experienced. In short, the best path to reduce the chance of someone ever becoming addicted to alcohol or drugs is to limit the exposure and make sure a correlation doesn’t develop where the view these things as essential. Summary In summary the jury is still out on what causes addiction specifically it can be traced to many areas and many theories can be formulated from this information but why does one individual become addicted to something when another with the same set of circumstances doesn’t no one knows. What we do know is that addiction is a crippling debilitating illness that if allowed to enter someone’s life can tear it to pieces from the inside out that is why it is imperative we protect our loved ones from exposure to addiction as best we can.