Addiction

This is a question that has been asked for more years than any of us reading this have been alive.  Since some of the first written works about addiction in the 1500’s, the concept has grown and morphed into many definitions.  Many of us know these definitions and the effects of addiction, but what are the addiction causes?

Some of the first theories around this question were plain and simple.  A person must have a weak nature.  This belief about the cause has been around since before the first written word associated with addiction.  And amazingly, this “cause” of weak moral nature is still widely believed in the general public.  However, the professional community of researchers and treatment facilitators no longer accept this as one of the addiction causes.

What they have found to be one of the direct causes of addiction to be is genetics or rather, from the father and mother.  They have found that there is a strong hereditary element to addiction.  And although no specific gene has been identified as the culprit, the fact still remains that a child of an addict is three to four times more likely to also become addicted.  However, hereditary reasons are not the only addiction causes found.

It has been found that some people may have deficiencies in their brain that cause them to need to replace it.  For example, those addicted to opiates may have a deficiency in their brain reward system.  These addicts find that they cannot reach a ‘natural high’ or pleasure without the use of these opiates.  However, regardless of the reasons, these people then find themselves in worse trouble as years of abuse further desensitizes these receptors, making the addiction causes worse.

While the cause above was to simply feel pleasure, others have a more extreme reason for using and abusing drugs.  It has been found that among substance abuse users, many are suffering from underlying psychological issues like schizophrenia.  These people have gone years being misunderstood and/or ignored, and have used drugs like ‘heroin’ to help them feel more normal.  These addiction causes can also include lesser issues like ADD or even depression in general.   For these people, the addiction itself is a side effect to the underlying problem.

To better understand these issues, the psychiatric world has also formulated theories and studies based on their experiences.  They have added to the addiction causes like ‘self medicating’, and have looked into some of the reasons behind it.  For example, they have found that many of the people they see have had trouble learning how to regulate their moods.

They believe that such actins are normally learned at a very early age and that they lacked the proper direction of this from one or both parents. In other words, a child learns how to calm themselves down when emotions run high.  However, with parents that are substance abusers, the children are often left unattended or uncared for in these instances.

Therefore, it is addition causes like this that result in such behaviors as overeating.  Eating disorders are just one example of the way a child self learns how to cope with emotions.  The child will find comfort in food and continue on with this throughout their lives whenever life becomes complicated or stressful. They have in essence learned to control their emotions in this way.  Furthermore, this form of ‘control’ can be seen in many other causes.

Whether you feel the need to comfort yourself or to just gain control of your life, addiction can quickly become a real danger. Understanding the causes is just one way to help prevent it in the future.