Does everyone with a drug problem have underlying issues?

[ScoobySnax30]

I'm just curious what other people think of this. It seems like drug addiction and past/present life issues are always connected by people outside the drug world (maybe that was a bad way to put it but you get the idea). I have had some things happen to me in the past but I don't think they led to me using drugs.

 

[rbbohio]

ADHD, BiPolar, Major Depression, and PTSD... Never knew any of that when I was 21 (1997), so started drinking, then using drugs a few years later... So in 2010, I got those 4 diagnosis's, plus substance abuse added on as well!!

 

[TheLostBoys]

Who knows, but there are people in the world that gave never touched drugs or alcohol & have serious problems.

We all have some sort of issue, to some people, certain issues stand out more depending on the problem.

 

[Jabberwocky]

I have noticed that the majority of addicts have had some form of trauma

 

[Cosmic Trigger]

I'm just curious what other people think of this. It seems like drug addiction and past/present life issues are always connected by people outside the drug world (maybe that was a bad way to put it but you get the idea). I have had some things happen to me in the past but I don't think they led to me using drugs.

Everyone has underlying issues. Drugs are just one way that people cope with them.

 

[Man in the Dark]

I would say the majority do.

 

[starting_over]

Why face your issues when you can just take a pill and be in a totally different state of consciousness

Sigh... those days are over for now at least

Edit: there's a great book by Dr Gabor Mate called "In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts" -- highly recommended.

He's a doctor who worked with patients in Vancouver's downtown eastside. Goes a bit in depth about their childhood experiences, self esteem, etc.

 

[Phil.McKeer]

There are no absolutes in this, but in general, people with past unresolved traumas will attempt to compensate with something, sometimes that something is drugs.

For instance, people who were sexually abused will often become promiscuous later in life. People who were exposed to corporal punishment as a child will often batter their own children or wives later in life. In these cases these people are compensating using sex or violence rather than drugs, but others may use drugs to compensate for the same issues. Some people may be able to avoid compensating in any way whatsoever.

I had an excellent childhood and still got into smoking weed, dropping acid and MDMA at 13, and got to opioids and coke etc by the time I was 16ish. So I'm proof that past trauma is only a sufficient condition, not a necessary condition, to use/abuse drugs.

 

[Cosmic Trigger]

Depends on how one defines trauma. I'm not saying anything about you inparticular but I've had friends who have told me that their childhood was excellent. As I came to know them over time and heard bits and pieces over the years I myself came to the conclusion that their childhood had been anything but excellent. No they had not been sexually abused or beaten but something else was missing. Something fundamental for ultimate wellbeing.

Now take that with a grain of salt. I'm of the opinion that it's a rare person indeed that get the kind of support on all levels that make for a truly healthy individual. My standards are high. They are high due to a somewhat in depth study of human psychology and a jaundiced eye to the culture that we have created and why we created it in the way we did. So really very few might agree with my POV on this subject.

And btw I was sexually abused and ended up a sex addict along with many other addictions so you are spot on in that observation. Yet in many ways I'm not nearly as bad off as some of my friends who had it easier in those kinds of ways. They are shut down in ways that are pretty serious for getting the most out of life. Yet they had it good by cultural standards and most would agree with that assessment. There is more to this than meets the eye it may be.

But like I said these could be the ravings of a madman.

 

[IMtrying]

I never had a single problem growing up; great child hood, was "cool" in school, never any problems w/ girls or anything.

but boy do I LOVEEEEEEEEEE HEROINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!

had nothing to do w/ growing up; growing up I drank/weed in highschool, moved on to party drugs/club drugs 18-21 (E, K, Crystal, GHB, etc), and eventually got arrested for selling Oxys in the early years 01-04 - went away in 04 for the arrest and released in 05; was out of the system by 07/08 and addicted to heroin by 09. again, nothing to do w/ childhood but a lot to do w/ the places the system brought me. yes, my own fault for selling drugs but I was addicted to the money not the drugs at the time. only reason I got out early was because I told them I'd do a 6 month in-house program and then a year at a sober house. well, it was that program and those people that made me want to try/do the dope. well, I dont blame anybody but myself but that was my introduction and since those days I've been using. nowadays I am on Suboxone but still have the days where I "fuck up" and go back to what brought me here.

 

[manboychef]

I have found that most people that end up with the diagnosis of substance abuse disorder, generally have co-occurring disorders. I for one self medicated...it actually worked to keep my mind in shape until it stopped working. The problem is once they stop working you generally have a habit that needs to be maintained, so now your high and crazy.

 

[deos68]

IMO i say 80 percent of users have some underlying issues and the rest just like drugs lol

me personally great childhood, was cool in school, financial stability nothing to complain about, but i somehow turned to booze
started off as typical teenager partying that escalated into what eventually turned into abuse
when anxiety took its toll i really started abusing alcohol..self medicate if you will(dumbest shit to do i know)

think the worst is when you're abusing something its hard to trust someone with your dark secret
funny thing is with my background and environment abusing alcohol isnt a thing lol