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Drug addiction among young people - common reasons

Drug addiction is becoming more and more appalling among young people like adolescents and people under 25 years of age. It is considered that this group is characterized by episodic drug use without dependency. That is, young people try different types of substances such as alcohol, hallucinogens, hashish, and as they get older, there are fewer episodes. However, it should be remembered that some adolescents develop persistent systematic use of psychoactive substances. Such cases have become more frequent in recent days, which goes hand in hand with the drug "market".

Today’s "manufacturers" of drugs have learned to get around the legislation: as soon as the formula of a drug is revealed and the substance is entered into the register of prohibited ones, a new formula is developed. The so-called designer drugs are cheap and these are not only smoking mixes, new marijuana impregnations, etc. This type of drug can form instant addiction, from the very first drug use episode. Unfortunately, this ailment fits perfectly in an unformed psyche of a teenager or an immature young human being.

Features of the psyche of adolescents and young people


The beginning of pre-adolescence and adolescence is characterized by specific features. The most important and characteristic for all is the desire to be self-dependent, i.e. to be independent of parents, combined with a thirst for communication with peers. The adolescent period is a time of rapid development of cognitive processes.

A lot of experts believe that the feeling of adulthood is the key feature of a teenager's personality: a young man strongly denies his belonging to children, but, of course, he does not yet feel like being an adult. He seeks to find himself who he actually is, see what he is able to do and find similarities with other people. He tries to self-examine for the first time and forms a system of ideas about himself and a complex self-evaluation system. The child risks acquiring an unfavorable self-identity, i.e. lose faith in himself, go through the consequences of low self-esteem and fear to be rejected. This is the main risk for dysfunctional behavior, including drug addiction.

There is another scenario: an unformed personality will begin to aim for conformism, i.e. adapt to meet the needs of the environment. Such young people quickly fall under the influence of the group, which is also the main risk factor for addiction development.

Possible reasons for drug use


There are several additional risk factors for drug addiction in young people and pre-adolescents:

●      traumatic events: loss of a loved one, relocation, parents’ divorce, etc.;
●      drug addiction or alcoholism in one of the parents or close relatives;
●      low self-esteem, self-doubt;
●      depression;
●      difficulties in finding sexual identity;
●      peer violence, school bullying;
●      rigid or permissive parenting style in the family;
●      discrimination, stigmatization;
●      social isolation.

We are certain that even in the absence of these reasons, drug addiction cannot be ruled out, since a young age is already a risk factor for the development of chemical addictions. Nevertheless, these risk factors exacerbate the problem.

Treatment strategy


The key to effective treatment of drug addiction in adolescents and young people is a competent selection of an expert. The younger the addict, the easier it is to cope with the disease, especially with a short history of drug use. But to succeed, you need to find an addiction expert who has the appropriate competencies and will be able to provide qualified assistance. As a rule, treatment consists of three stages: age-appropriate detoxification therapy, psychotherapeutic treatment, and rehabilitation, as well as adaptation assistance.

You can ask any questions about treatment and psychosocial rehabilitation to a specialist: contact us at the indicated phone number or use a callback option through a special form on our website.