What Are the Three Causes of Addiction?

Addiction – despite being as all-encompassing as it is – is surprisingly foreign to many people. Sure, they know it exists, but a vast number of people don’t know the intricacies, such as what it looks like or – more importantly – what causes it. It’s good to be alert when looking for warning signs but searching in the wrong places does no good to anyone. There are a number of different causes if one were to either expand their scope or look into intricacies, but here are three major ones to know.

Boredom

It may seem almost too simple to believe, but yes, boredom is a very real leading factor in addiction. Whether it be due to an excess of free time, lack of structure, or curiosity combined with that feeling of “missing something” in life, drug use or alcohol abuse quickly “solves” this issue for some by making it their focus. The adage of busy hands keeping people out of trouble has more merit than many would be led to believe.

Trauma

Trauma is verifiably proven to have a direct link to substance use disorder, with each adverse childhood experience increasing the risk of early drug use in adolescents and subsequent abuse later in life.  Either to forget about the pain they endured or dull its impact, trauma, unfortunately, goes hand in hand with addiction, and is yet another factor to keep an eye on.

Coping Skills

Finally, there’s a lack of appropriate coping skills. Healthy coping mechanisms are criminally undertaught in modern society and often the result is people rushing to the quick and easy solutions. Fast food, excess sleep, and abusing their substance of choice. It can seem like one’s only option at times, and as a result, can act as a destructive crutch.

If you’ve identified any of these issues in a friend or loved one, it’s worth reaching out and asking if they’re OK! If not to prevent a serious problem, then just to establish that you care about them. Call us at Sober on Demand today for help with one of our sober companions or sober coaches!