It can be challenging to understand the causes of addiction if it has burdened you for so long. After using substances for an extended amount of time, it is possible to feel like life is blurred and without intention.
There are many reasons why addiction is a struggle. Aside from the substances themselves, some of the main reasons include your environment, genetics, trauma, and stress. These are key factors that can dictate the course of addiction and explain why it can be troubling to get and stay sober.
Substances Are Addictive
When you use a substance and experience pleasure and enjoyment from a rise of dopamine in your brain, the likelihood of using it again rises. Addiction can be possible even after one time using any substance if your mind favors it.
Your body naturally produces dopamine, but some substances make your body create an abnormal amount of it. When you experience surges of dopamine, a vast amount of enjoyment comes with it. The brain changes immediately after.
When your body receives immense amounts of pleasure, you might experience a craving for the substance again. After continuous use, a habit can form and make you want to repetitively indulge in more substances to receive the same amount of gratification. As a result, you will experience adverse effects and develop an addiction.
What Causes Addiction?
There is no single cause of addiction. Instead, various factors can make someone more likely to develop an addiction.
#1 Your Environment
You might struggle with addiction depending on where you live, who you spend your time with, and where you spend your time. It might be hard to become conscious of your situation in your whereabouts if it is toxic. Having access and opportunity to substances makes you more likely to engage with them. This can lead you to believe substance use and abuse are normal.
If you have family members and friends that use substances, you will likely do the same. It can be normal for you not to recognize harmful behavior if your surroundings include substances and people that could potentially put you in harm’s way. As a result, you might feel pressured by those around you.
#2 Genetics
Your family history may have an impact on the likelihood of developing an addiction. You are more susceptible to addiction by 40 to 60% if your family members have struggled before you. If your parents or grandparents dealt with substance abuse, your genes could be more prone to it.
However, this does not mean that it is a guarantee you’ll have an addiction. If you have wondered why you cannot grasp the concept of your addiction, it is important to know that some genes within your body can raise your dopamine levels, especially when using substances. This can create poor judgment and control within the mind if trying to remain substance-free.
#3 Trauma
No matter how small or large you might deem your trauma, it can remain a significant influence on addiction. Your body can hold conscious and unconscious trauma, which can influence the brain’s thought process and ways of coping with it.
If you did not receive support for your trauma, substances might be a means for you to numb the pain of that experience. Using substances to self-medicate can create various mental health issues, more trauma, and a likely cause of addiction.
#4 Mental Health Disorders
As a child, you might not always have been shown healthy mechanisms of self-care and the importance of taking care of yourself. If you have difficulty with your mental health, substances may play a role in attempts to de-stress your nervous system.
However, this can later cause more issues when a dependency on substances forms as your body and mind associate relieving mental health symptoms with using substances. An untreated mental health disorder like anxiety or depression can lead to self-medicating with substances and continued use, then addiction.
#5 Stress
Stress is a significant contributor to multiple health problems, especially addiction. Although stress doesn’t cause addiction, the lack of stress management can. This is why you need to recognize how you react in stressful situations and what your brain tells you to do. If you seek out a substance when things in life become difficult, you are more likely to develop an addiction.
Becoming stimulated or more relaxed after partaking in substance use can lead to your mind and body learning new habits. As a result, you may not know how to react without substances. As you continue to seek out substances to relieve stress, you reinforce the habit, pushing you closer to addiction.
It might be challenging to understand a way out of addiction if you never learned where it all began. When you start to realize the causes of your addiction, you can discover how to recover from it and live a life without substances. Substance abuse and addiction can create many negatives in your life and put you at risk for loss and even death. However, there is hope in achieving a life that is absent from substances. You can create the life you truly want to live.
At Villa Oasis San Diego, we believe you can find your best self with support from our facility. We know how hard it can be to execute a life free from substances. Villa Oasis San Diego is where you can rebuild, start fresh, and be truly happy. Call us today at (323) 739-8673 for support.
