What's Causing Drug Addiction? And Why Do We Keep Missing The Point?
- Scraper
- Apr 10
- 4 min read
''The Opposite of addiction is not sobriety. It's connection.'' – Johann Hari
You've Heard The Narrative
We aren't 'Addicted to Drugs'. We're addicted to Escaping Reality. and personally anything that distracts me from being alive is a plus.
Most young people today don't start using because they're thrill seeking. They do it because they're curious about the hype glorified by older generation. The same generations that introduced it though pop culture, family trauma, or normalized stress responses. We're chasing the very thing they glamazoied: relief, rebellion, and reinvention.
In a world choking on burnout, perfection, capitalism, loneliness, and emotional repression, it makes sense why people use. and before you know it, they're not just experimenting, they're coping.
As a client at Alpha Healing Center phrased it, ''I didn't even realize I was addicted. I just didn't want to feel anything anymore.''
Addiction Is Not A Moral Failure. Its a Human Response.
Now before you go judging about. Think about this, many would consider working to be a human response and not even just a responsibility to earn a living. But do you see every single individual in the economy thriving? Nope, there's plenty of poverty to go around and then same. The earth is in debt, Brother TO WHOM?
So Let's stop acting like addition is some alien force, Air is addictive too, but try telling that to someone who thinks the conversation ends at, ''you stop breathing, you die.''
Addiction is human. It's our biology misfiring in an overstimulated, under supported world. The National Institute on Drug Abuse states that substance use disorder involve changes to the brain that affect self control and decision making, making quitting not just difficult, but neurologically resistant.
And yet, Indian society still often treats addiction like a personal failing. According to UNODC, India faces one of the steepest increases in youth drug dependency across South Asia, with a widening treatment gap in both rural and urban centers.
It's Not Just One Thing. It's Everything
Genetics: Some People are biologically more vulnerable.
Trauma: Abuse, neglect, loss. All create mental pain people try to escape.
Environment: Peer pressure, accessibility, urban stress.
Mental Health Disorders: Depression and anxiety often co-occur with addiction. (PubMed)
Culture & Stigma: In India, denial and shame delay diagnosis and treatment (Psychological Science)
And while some are lucky enough to have families (huh must be nice) who notice and intervene, many suffer silently until it's too far gone. As AdCare explain, long term drug use doesn't just destroy mental clarity, It invites a host of illnesses from cardiovascular diseases to neurological damage.
What Happens To The Body?
Drug Addiction isn't just mental, Its physical warfare.
Liver damage, especially with alcohol and prescription drug use.
Brain shrinkage and Memory loss. (NCBI)
Respiratory Infections from smoking drugs
Heart failure and stroke
Heightened risk of cancer due to contaminated substances
According to American Addiction Centers, consistent substance misuse severely weakens the immune systems, making users more susceptible to infectious diseases and chronic health issues.
Treatment Is Not A One Size FIts All Detox
You can't just 'flush it out'. True recovery takes time, care and holistic healing.
That's why high quality rehabilitation centers are changing the game. Places like Alpha Healing Center in vadodara approach addiction not with isolation, but with connection, blending medical care, mindfulness therapy, rTMS, yoga, and neurofeedback to treat both the mind and body.
They're also one of the few centers in India focusing on adult recovery, understanding how age specific triggers and identity crisis influence dependency. Learn more on their testimonial and info content on instagram to explore how these new models are helping individuals rebuild from the inside out.
Other notable and personal favorite approaches include:
Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy
Expressive Arts Therapy
Dual Diagnosis Care for co-existing mental health conditions.
Society Needs To Do Better
There will be a man passed out on the road at 9 AM in peak traffic and no one will stop. Because we're too busy? too scared? Nope, Just desensitized.
As long as someone's not poking at the societal structure, society doesn't care. That's the cold truth. Addiction isn't rebellion anymore. It's a consequence of unprocessed burnout and emotional silence. And the more we pretend this doesn;t exist, the more we fail people who need someone to help them feel seen.
There Is No 'Cure'. But There Is Clarity
Recovery doesn't mean your life becomes perfect. It means you're no longer ruled by the thing that was silently killing you.
Holistic healing is a lifelong investment. Centers like Alpha Healing Center do not perform miracles. They offer space, science and support. The threee things most people never got before they slipped down.
So if you're reading this still, whether for yourself or someone else, remember:
Addiction isn't weakness.
Recovery isn't linear
And support begins when we drop the shame.
References:
NIDA. "Addiction and Health." National Institute on Drug Abuse, 6 Jul. 2020, Accessed 30 Mar. 2025.
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) – World Drug Report 2022
American Addiction Centers – Health Complications of Addiction
AdCare Recovery – Health Conditions Caused by Substance Abuse
PubMed (NIH) – Biopsychosocial Model of Addiction Recovery
NCBI – Trauma and Substance Use Disorders
NCBI – Dual Diagnosis: Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Psychological Science – Shame and Relapse in Recovering Alcoholics
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Psychology Today – The Shame Barrier in Addiction Treatment
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