It is hard to tell the line or difference between regular drug use, the abuse of drugs and their addiction. Not many people who are already addicts are able to tell when and how they got addicted and may not even recognize that they are addicts. A number of drug and alcohol use may mean or lead to drug addiction. However, the rate at which one uses drugs or also the amount of the substance consumed may not necessarily be called abuse of drugs or just addiction. Becoming addicted to drugs or alcohol takes a long time and this may just be one of the indicators of problems that are associated with drug abuse.
How Does Drug Abuse Start?
The use of drugs and alcohol in most cases start as a way of connecting with friends. It all starts in social gatherings where you meet your friends as well as acquaintances and the urge to fit in to these groups makes you feel like the use of alcohol or drugs being used by these friends is the only way to fit in to the group.
What Causes Drug or Alcohol Addiction?
Problems may start to catch up with you as the urge and use of drugs and alcohol gradually increase with time. Just the single smoking or use of drugs or alcohol with friends at a social place that mostly happened during the weekends or just having the ecstasy at a joint or use of hard substance like cocaine that happened occasionally at a joint or social party may change from the single use to using the drugs for a few more days in the week and then graduate to using them on a daily basis. With time, the use of these substance gradually increase and you start becoming dependent on the drugs.
What Follows the Regular Use of Drugs?
The regular use of these drugs or alcohol may lead to a habit and you will start feeling like it is fulfilling a certain valuable need in your life and thus find yourself becoming very reliant on these drugs and alcohol. The drugs may make you feel like they are helping you solve a certain need like energize, calm your body or just make you feel more confident. Individuals start by abusing prescription drugs just to try to cope with things like panic attacks or just to have that chronic pain relieved. This with time may continue and lead to drug misuse and later addiction. For those who use drugs to fill a certain void in their lives may find it more difficult to stop the habit. It is wise noting that for you to maintain a good and healthy body balance, you are supposed to acquire a positive habit and develop the feel good attribute in your life and this should be without the use of any drugs or alcohol.
As the drugs take toll of you, there are certain negative aspects that start sneaking in to your life such as deterioration of the performance in your job, neglecting your family and social responsibilities among others. If not controlled on time, the drugs and alcohol addiction then slowly starts consuming your life.