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Why are some people addicts and others arent?!?!

There are clear indicators into why people develop addictions and the process, but the truth is we do not know enough about the disease addiction to explain specifically why some people do and other's don't because of XY factor. We can certainly say these things lead to addiction, but that's the scope of our understanding.
 
cire113 said:
i think addiction is more complex than "choice" ... Why would people choose to use when they know if they do they will loose their family and go to prison? just an example..

i feel like its on the physiological level with the body and brain .. etc
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I think it's a mistake to assume that people do not assent to addiction because of its destructive effects. It takes a while for any addiction to progress to the 'destructive' stage; it's all roses at the beginning. And the beginning is when choice operates, because later there is a physiological component and volition and agency are minimised. Or even when a person is subjectively convinced that their addiction will lead to ruin, there is a wonderful sort of self deception that comes into play, and addicts are great at convincing themselves that they are somehow unique, or that they will just be able to stop. In the face of such awesome pleasure it is hard - but, I think, possible - to make genuine 'choices'.

'Ryand123' - did you get better relief for your OCD from anti-psychotics or from SSRI's? Certain SSRI's are indicated for OCD whereas others are not. I have a similar sort of OCD to what you describe and also feel like benzos and opiates are the only things that ever completely eliminatd it. But I see now that they only make things worse in the long run.
 
withoutawire said:
There are clear indicators into why people develop addictions and the process, but the truth is we do not know enough about the disease addiction to explain specifically why some people do and other's don't because of XY factor. We can certainly say these things lead to addiction, but that's the scope of our understanding.
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We DO know quite a bit, actually, but it's just not something that can be tidied into some "XY factor". We have a lot to learn about the actual neurochemistry behind it, but there's certain, basic attributes that're tremendously indicative of the whole "addictive personality" idea.
 
suessmayr said:
I think it's a mistake to assume that people do not assent to addiction because of its destructive effects. It takes a while for any addiction to progress to the 'destructive' stage; it's all roses at the beginning. And the beginning is when choice operates, because later there is a physiological component and volition and agency are minimised. Or even when a person is subjectively convinced that their addiction will lead to ruin, there is a wonderful sort of self deception that comes into play, and addicts are great at convincing themselves that they are somehow unique, or that they will just be able to stop. In the face of such awesome pleasure it is hard - but, I think, possible - to make genuine 'choices'.

'Ryand123' - did you get better relief for your OCD from anti-psychotics or from SSRI's? Certain SSRI's are indicated for OCD whereas others are not. I have a similar sort of OCD to what you describe and also feel like benzos and opiates are the only things that ever completely eliminatd it. But I see now that they only make things worse in the long run.
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I would have to say that the SSRI's worked better for me. The anti-psychotics made me feel sedated constantly, made me gain about 20 lbs. (which i needed, but the skys the limit for weight gain), and the Seroquel had an occasional paradoxical effect (hearing s**t, paranoid).

But the SSRI's really did work, especially fluoxetine! The only problem with that was it stopped working after a while so they had to up my dose several times before the doc decided to ween me off it. That was the first SSRI i had. He gave me Lexapro too after that but that didnt work for me either after a few months.

My votes on the SSRI's though.
 
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I feel like I was able to use drugs w control when i was using it for fun and exploration. When I began using to cover up feelings and as a coping mechanism, I got addicted (to opiates). Also, having had built up confidence in doing alot of drugs wo any addiction or negative consequences for years before made me fearlessly stupid when I got into opiates to stop grief. It took me 2.5 years to get physically addicted to opiates, and now, i'm on year 8 (at least).

According to research, I don't seem to have many risk factors for addiction, but like Captain H. says, it is the choices that I made.

I wonder if I hadn't been spoiled, hadn't been sheltered, stupidly courageous, and saw a doctor when I was grieving, would I not be an addict today?
 
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