People start taking substances I believe as an escape from their lives, that can be from a homeless person who wants to forget they have nowhere to sleep that night, all the way through to a millionaire who isn't happy they've only got 6 bedrooms in their mansion. I think most people start taking substances due to being unhappy, and as a way to enrich their happy lifestyle, if your happy with your lot, then why would you take drugs? People will take and abuse any substance, it doesn't have to be the 'usual' drugs, from sniffing gas and smoking marijuana to snorting coke and injecting heroin.
I know that I used drugs as an escape, but I'm not sure that's the case for everybody. I'm trying to think of other potential reasons...I'd say social acceptance could be a big one, although in order for it to develop into an addiction I can't imagine escape not coming into the picture at some point. Any one else have any ideas?
Peer pressure I guess would be another reason, especially when we're talking about smoking tobacco and maybe marijuana, I think people start taking these because their friends are and people want to fit in. As for the harder drugs I think everybody will have their own reasons, like I said my main reason was to get some form of escape form my daily life. Life wasn't great and I needed a release, something to help me forget.
I drank because of a I drank because of a traumatic event in my childhood and it hurt every single day, I drank to try and numb the pain and drink helped me to stop caring that I had to live in the same house as my abuser. It worked whilst I was actually drunk, but as soon as I sobered up, it hurt again, so I stopped sobering up.
I think that you bring up a good point, many people begin using substances for a wide variety of reasons, sometimes for reasons we don't really think about. Sometimes it's because they feel it will provide an escape like you said, other times it may just be for the perceived fun.
For me the reason behind it all it was boredom and lack of guidance. Literally my life was easy and I had nothing better to do. Was I doing sports and most likely I would have never tried drugs.
Unhappiness can sometimes arise from sheer boredom. Take for example rich people who died from drug overdose. They virtually had money few of us could spend in a lifetime. It's like life was a game for them and they beat the final level. Suddenly, the excitement disappeared so they sought other ways of entertainment. And that's how most of them end up using which, in turn, could prove to be fatal. It's kind of silly, come to think of it but it's only logical.
I think that's the case for a lot of people, but I think it's not quite that black and white overall. Some people try things out of genuine curiosity or just wanting to see how it feels/pressure from others/etc. and don't think that addiction would happen to them. Some people take things (prescribed or otherwise) to deal with legitimate, physical pain and then get addicted, etc.
I used out of boredom. I was stuck in a rut of working 10 hour days, six days a week and needing to let of steam big time during my time off. Of course, this led to me using coke. I ended up in a cycle of going out partying on Saturday night, staying up until Sunday night and feeling so dreadful on the Monday at work that I'd end up doing a couple of lines just to get me through.
That is why it's so important to have stuff we like to do, healthy things that will not lead us to drug ways. Where are our parents at that point? Where is society at that point?
I think each person has a different reason but yeah generally I think most people turn to obsessions and addictions due to some sort of mental or emotional difficulties. It's why people give up living traditional lives and turn to obsessing over their interests, whether they be substances or even video games and food.
I believe this is one of the reason why a person may take illegal drugs. Other possible reason could be to experiment, to fit in, to escape, to relax or to relieve boredom. Some thinks that drugs is the solution to their problem, only to find out in the end that it is already their problem and is much worse than their original one.
There are different reasons why people take drugs. In my experience, children take drugs to fit in, to succumb to peer pressure, to feel grown up, to rebel, and out of curiosity. Adults who take drugs do it usually to relax, escape some present disturbance, get relief from boredom, to experiment, and for pleasure.
There are a lot of reasons why some people get addicted to specific substances. It really depends on their individual experiences and personalities. It is just sad that others who were not able to cope and fight the urge of 'using' end up tragically. That's why support system is very important for them. It doesn't really matter what their reason for abusing may be but what matters is their willingness to change and the presence of someone to cheer for them.