Stereotyping Problems with Drug and Alcohol Abuse

Currently, it seems that a majority of society tends to characterize people who have problems with drug and alcohol abuse as people who tend to be criminals, are morally weak, and are people who simply choose to abuse drugs, and could stop if they wanted to. Unfortunately it’s not that simple. Drug and alcohol abuse is not just a social problem that can be simply willed away by the drug abuser himself. Drug addiction is in some cases, a disease that was genetically passed down making the individual predisposed to a higher risk of developing a drug addiction. Of course, this does not mean that anyone who has a family history of drug and alcohol abuse or addiction will automatically develop a drug addiction. There are also many external factors that play a role in the development of drug addiction including drug and alcohol abuse.

Drug and alcohol abuse differs from drug and alcohol addiction because if an individual abuses drugs or alcohol, it does not necessarily mean that they are driven to do so by an overwhelming compulsion, regardless of the consistent negative consequences. A drug addiction is driven by a mental and physical dependency on a substance, and without it, the person is unable to function, and will do anything to achieve their desired high. An individual’s drug addiction may start out as drug abuse, but eventually, after consistent drug or alcohol abuse, an addiction is likely to occur. There are a few key characteristic differences between drug abuse and drug addiction. They are listed as follows:

Characteristics of Drug Abuse:

- The individual will abuse drugs and alcohol in an attempt to change the way they feel about themselves, or in an attempt to change the way they feel about a part of their life

 

- The individual will experience some of the problems that are usually connected with drug and alcohol abuse, but they will use those experiences in order to set limits for themselves as to how often they abuse drugs, and how much of the drug they abuse

 

- An individual who is abusing drugs and alcohol will rarely, if ever, replicate the drug abuse-related behaviors that may have been found to cause them trouble in the past

 

- The individual will receive complaints about their drug and alcohol abuse and will take into consideration the thoughts of others on their drug abuse as concern for them and their welfare

Characteristics of Drug and Alcohol Abuse:

- An individual with a drug and alcohol addiction will encounter many negative consequences related to their drug addiction, but will continue their behavior regardless of these penalties

 

- An individual with a drug addiction will attempt to set boundaries on the quantity and the frequency that they abuse drugs, but will find themselves consistently unexpectedly surpassing these set boundaries

 

- An individual with a drug addiction will make promises to themselves and others around them that they will abuse drugs less frequently, but continuously break those promises

 

- An individual with a drug addiction will tend to feel guilty or regretful about their habitual drug abuse, but are still unable to alter the behavior and end the cycle of drug abuse

 

- An individual with a drug and alcohol addiction will receive complaints about their drug abuse, and instead of taking other’s concern into consideration, they will tend to be offended by these comments or complaints and simply disregard them while continuing with their destructive behavior.

 

These characteristics are general assumptions regarding noted common behaviors among individuals with a drug addiction or a problem with drug and alcohol abuse. They do not necessarily mean that everyone who abuses drugs will act this way, nor will everyone who has a drug addiction.