It is worth wondering that why does addiction make some people its victims while it can hardly phase others? You might wonder if it is due to any sort of personal weakness or a lack of will. Well, it is not the case. No matter what size or age of a person you are, addiction can affect you and turn your life upside down. Thanks to new researches and studies carried out by scientists and clinicians, the misconception of addiction being a choice made by irresponsible and reckless individuals is taken care of, as we have a deeper understanding of the building blocks that result in addiction. There are many treatment centers that deal with drug addiction recovery process in order to help the addicted individuals to go back to drug-free norms and life.

What is addiction?

Addiction can be defined as a chronic condition in which the body compulsively craves a substance or sensation. This chronic condition can manifest itself in the brain of the user through neurotic drug use or irregular conduct. When the body is exposed to the drug repeatedly, the function of certain brain circuits tends to alter. These changes in the brain create a dysfunction that tends to respond to the obsessive pursuit of the body for a “reward”.

Due to the fact that each individual is as unique as the other, the roots and building blocks of addiction cannot be simply put in a box. The following are some of the sections that the building blocks of addiction can be broken into, to understand this complicated process.

  • Genetics and the environment of the individual:
    It is known that genetic factors make up for around 40 to 60% if an individual will develop an addiction of some sorts. The individuals who are born into a family with a rich history of substance abuse are more likely to follow the footsteps of their ancestors. However, genetics aren’t the sole influencing factors; even the environment in which an individual gets raised up such as easy access to drugs, toxic families, and so on, plays a vital role in determining their vulnerability.
  • Risk factors:
    An individual’s chances of developing a substance abuse disorder increase due to certain potential risk factors. These factors can happen to people of any ages and the effects can vary depending on the person. If not addressed appropriately, these risk factors have the tendency to lead to a risk of intensive drug abuse. Some of the potential risk factors are time and frequency of use, mental health issues, trauma, family, genetics, peers, poverty, age of onset, and so on. An individual who is exposed to more of these risk factors is more likely to develop an addiction as they are more vulnerable.

These were just a couple of pieces of a much larger picture, which needs to be acknowledged by more people. Instead of blaming the victims, it is important to lend a helping hand and try to make them get back on the right path. Drug addiction recovery is a long road but thanks to many treatment centres that the addicted individuals have a safe place to hope and work towards a better life.