Why Do People Do Drugs? Essay Examples

There are many different theories to explain this phenomenon. The reasons are also quite varied, and the major two reasons are usually called genetic factors and personality. It would be naive to think that drug addiction is just an addiction to any particular substance. This is a special state of mind. And since we are all concerned about the fate of our children, husbands or wives, relatives, friends or acquaintances, must understand the causes leading to drugs. Doctors, psychologists and sociologists examine these reasons in detail.
One of the major reasons of drug abuse is a will of a drug addict to calm down his nervous system. Person aspires to mitigate or eliminate the pain, its unpleasant emotional feelings and state of their own well being, appearing as a result of various situations. By taking drugs, people temporarily get rid of negative emotions and, as it seems, relieve stress. However, increased emotional sensitivity to the surrounding circumstances causes a defensive response, expressed in aggression, tendency to depression, which contribute to opt for the easiest solution to the problem that is the use of drugs and alcohol. («Reasons for Substance Abuse - Alcohol Rehab.»)
Another one reason of why people do drugs is their will to achieve satisfaction and full enjoyment of life. Using drugs, a person experiences feelings of joy and satisfaction, which is especially noticeable and reflected on the background of usual everyday mood. As a result, there is a tendency to look for drugs, and escape from reality into the world of emotions, that gives him real pleasure.
Great value for the drug addict person has a sensation seeking, which he can not reach in everyday life. The substances used by these people include: marijuana, opium, morphine, codeine, cocaine, LSD, ether and others.
As soon as the person continues to use these substances, together with the euphoric effect, there is a change of mentality, often expressed in psychopathic seizures. Drug addicts cease to govern themselves and commit uncontrollable actions, the cause of which they can not understand or explain. As a result, a person falls into the trap of the so-called "vicious circle": reality is so frightening and painful for them, that they tend to the feelings of weightlessness, stopping the time, or vice versa its rapid flow, to color, and to vivid hallucinations. Often, the world is changing in size, color and consistency.(«Reasons for Substance Abuse - Alcohol Rehab.»)
Pressure from the entourage is also a very strong motivation to get involved into drugs abuse. In the case when a person's character is dominated such traits as timidity, shyness, anxiety it is very difficult to refuse offers of drugs to take drugs in the company. Failure to take yourself, low self-esteem, and dependence on other people's opinions do not allow to resist pressure from the entourage. True values of the feeling of being an individual personality, self-love and self-esteem are replaced by the desire to "be like everyone else" or to be like someone else. Fear of being out of the team, to be expelled from it for the "wrong" behavior, to become a "black sheep" are the basis for the use of substances that alter consciousness.(«Reasons for Substance Abuse - Alcohol Rehab.»)
On of the reasons that should also be mentioned is the substitution of universal human values by a drug addict. The base and motive in this case are false notions about the culture and aesthetic behavior. Man considers the use of drugs through the prism of "refinement of taste", fashion, and involvement in the circle of the selected connoisseurs.

Works Cited

"Reasons for Substance Abuse - Alcohol Rehab." Alcohol Rehab. 25 Aug. 2011. Web. 4 Feb. 2015. <http://alcoholrehab.com/drug-addiction/reasons-for-substance-abuse/>.