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Drug use is a difficult topic to tackle. Often times what begins out of curiosity but has the potential to take a turn for the worst. For the most part, people begin using drugs at age 21 or younger, though there is drug use across the generations and it can start at any point in someone’s life. There, however, has been a recent trend of decline of substance abuse in high schoolers in Generation Z as opposed to previous generations.
There are a number of reasons why people begin using drugs at a young age: succumbing to peer pressure, mimicking popular media, self-medicating for emotional struggles, out of boredom or rebellion, improving low-confidence, or being misinformed. Other reasons people start using is as an attempt to self-medicate for physical pain and after becoming addicted to prescription medication.
In a recent survey, over half of respondents (which were made up of millennials, gen x and baby boomers) reported that they began using drugs as a social activity, which explains why peer pressure is such a large contributor in people’s choice to use drugs. Interestingly, men are less likely to have felt peer-pressured to use drugs as well as less likely to report that they have peer pressured others than women, but 59.3% of male drug users began using as a social activity compared to 54% of females. Most people surveyed (74.1%) reported that the first illicit drug they used was marijuana, though that leaves almost 26% beginning drug use with cocaine, opioids, methamphetamines, shrooms, LSD, etc.
Drug use for many is so closely tied to the social and emotional aspects of people’s lives, which makes quitting difficult. A majority of men (40.9%) who use or have used drugs reported being addicted for 5 or more years (compared to 34.9% of women). Drug use becomes an intrinsic part of people’s lives and can be all-consuming. Quitting can be almost as scary (for some) as the negative effects of addiction. However, people do quit for as many reasons as to why they start. For men, getting a new job is a huge deterrent from continuing drug use, while women are more inclined to quit if they have a baby. The second most common reason for quitting for both genders, however, is that the physical effects became too much.
Drug use can be burdensome: it costs a lot of money and can take a toll on both your body and your relationships. If you are trying to quit and don’t have the support around you that you feel is needed, considering rehab can be life-changing. Rehab has an unwarranted and unfortunate negative connotation, but it can be a great positive change in your life.
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The post Here Is How It Starts: Drug Addiction appeared first on The Good Men Project.