Your grandfather was an alcoholic. You were emotionally mistreated as a child. And your dysfunctional family continues to complicate your life on a daily basis. With this many risk factors, the odds of avoiding addiction certainly aren’t the most favorable. While you can’t control your genes, your past or the family you come from, getting hooked on drugs is not inevitable. Here are a few simple behaviors you can change now to help avoid a lifetime battle with addiction:
#1 Experimenting with Drugs
The only surefire way to avoid drug or alcohol addiction is to refrain from experimenting in the first place. However, as we know from the failed War on Drugs, this “just say no” approach simply doesn’t work. People are curious, bored and in pain, and have always looked to drugs and alcohol to feel better.
Still, understanding your personal risk factors can help you make an educated decision. Do you have a family history of drug or alcohol problems? Have you struggled with depression, anxiety or other mental health issues? If you’re at high risk for addiction, don’t take the chance – invest your energies in finding healthier ways to feel good.
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Excellent list of suggestions Dr. Sack. It’s so important people understand that addiction is a developmental disease that always begins with substance abuse. It is the substance abuse which sets up the chemical and structural brain changes, which in turn makes a person’s brain more vulnerable to his/her risk factors (namely: genetics, social environment, early use, mental illness and childhood trauma). By following your suggestions, a person can stop the progression before it moves from abuse to addiction.
I like this post, simple, to the point, and stresses common sense perspectives and interventions.
Psychotropic medications, especially controlled substances benzodiazepines and stimulants, are going to eclipse the percentages that alcohol and cocaine use averages to now, if Rxs haven’t already.
And prescribers are oblivious to this epidemic.