No one takes drugs intending to become an addict, addiction is a complex concept. All drugs have addictive properties that make it difficult to stop using. Research today is used to better understand the addiction process and to show how much a substance can affect the abuser’s psychological, medical, physical and social state. There are different theories for why this occurs; causes of addiction are also related and molded to the personality of the ones who use. Understanding the components underlying why these individuals use the substance is key to giving them the right type of treatment.
Cocaine, a powerful stimulant drug, for instance, is one of the most known drugs used today. It was not seen as a dangerous substance …show more content…
There is no specific type of person who is more vulnerable to the use of cocaine, there has been countless studies on whom these drugs have the most effect on. So studies have been pushed to look towards the personalities and environments of those who use. "Human studies have shown that crack cocaine users are marked by greater levels of impulsivity and risk-taking propensity than healthy controls" Cocaine users, like most drugs users, try to self-medicate. Anxiety, for instance is seen as a predisposition to high cocaine use because users try to self-medicate their anxiety issues. This brings up the case of co-occurring disorders and how to treat someone who has an anxiety issue or if it is just a symptom of cocaine use. The impulsive personality trait, may also just be a consequence of the drug use in the brain. Environment is a factor to why certain individuals are more prone to drug use. Comparing a positive and negative environment, individuals who had an enriched childhood or youths who had a more disconnected social life were seen as less likely to seek a substance during adolescents. “In humans, (early-life) adverse events have been associated with the later development of mood and anxiety disorders, and likely increase risk for cocaine addiction” (Homberg, J. R. etc.,