Why do People Drink and Use Drugs?
It is clear from my previous blogs that alcohol and drugs are dangerous and at some level everyone knows it, then why do people drink alcohol and use drugs even though it causes them negative consequences? And even after people realize that mind altering substances are dangerous why do they continue using them? Why are they willing to take that risk? To answer these questions we have to look at why people start using alcohol and drugs in the first place and then why do they continue using them. People start using alcohol and other mood altering drugs for three reasons, namely, curiosity, social pressure and automatic cultural responses. People who start using out of curiosity want to see what drinking alcohol and using drugs does to them, so they experiment. They want to try it first hand and see what it does to them. They try to see if they like it and if they do, they tend to continue using them. Many young people do not trust the information given to them by other adults regarding alcohol and drugs. Many young people do not even have a trustworthy relationship with adults they can ask. Kids tend not to believe other sources of information like news or government sources. Kids generally tend to get their information from other users of alcohol and drugs and then decide to try it out for themselves. This is called experimental use of alcohol and drugs and many kids fall prey to it. People who start using because of social pressure wrongly believe that they have to drink alcohol and use other drugs to belong or fit in. They tend to see alcohol and drug use as a ticket to social belonging and social success. They falsely believe that drinking alcohol and using drugs will help them get along with other people. They also falsely believe that if they don’t use alcohol and drugs they will be rejected and left out. Fear of being left out and not belonging are two major fears of young people. These fears can override reason, risk of adverse and negative consequences and even personal knowledge and information. People who start using alcohol and other drugs out of an automatic cultural response are usually part of a subculture that views alcohol and drug use as normal. Drinking alcohol and using drugs becomes a part of everyday life because it is so common that most people do not even notice it. This is likely to happen to people who grow up with families and friends who regularly use alcohol and other drugs. Drinking alcohol and using drugs becomes a ‘normal’ thing. The problem happens if they become addicted to any substance. If they happen to go to any culture where addiction to any substance if considered wrong they become disoriented and want to go back to their original culture where it is not considered a problem. Drinking alcohol and using drugs becomes a part of life and they cannot even imagine a life without alcohol and drugs. They see drinking alcohol and using drugs as humdrum as breathing air. So, people start using alcohol and other drugs for three basic reasons:- 1) Curiosity 2) Social Pressure 3) Automatic Cultural Response People start using alcohol and other drugs for one of these
