It is crucial to understand addiction before examining many variables that affect a person’s risk of addiction. A chronic, recurring illness is called addiction. It shows up by obsessive drug seeking and usage. It involves functional abnormalities in brain circuitry related to reward, stress, self-control, and regarded as a brain condition. Even, after a person stops using drugs or alcohol, the alterations could last for longer. 

Drugs have a variety of effects on the brain. They enhance dopamine levels while interfering with nerve cells’ ability to interact. The brain releases dopamine when a person participates in their addiction. Due to the additional dopamine released, the person will want to experience the high repeatedly. 

Multiple factors that can contribute to addiction to oneself. Here are a few main aspects of addiction that can have different influences on the addicts.

Factors affecting Addiction Issues 

1. Human Genetics: This does not mean that if someone in your family has previously struggled with drug or alcohol addiction that you will too. However, if you decide to use drugs, you have a higher chance of developing an addiction because a family member of yours did. According to statistics, genetics may account for 40–60% of the risk for drug addiction (among other reasons).
   
2. Gender: Men are prone to use marijuana and alcohol while women are more likely to use and become addicted to medicines that reduce anxiety, even though there are distinctions in how drugs affect men’s versus women’s bodies. In general, men statistically use and abuse drugs more than women, however, this has been shifting recently.
   
3. Mental Illnesses: For several reasons, people with mental conditions are more likely to use and abuse drugs. Using drugs or alcohol makes people feel happy and euphoric. The same brain regions that are affected by drugs are also affected by mental diseases, which increases the risk of misuse.
   
4. Influence of others: While older members of society may frequently use the phrase “getting in with a bad crowd,” they are not far off the mark when thinking about how choosing one’s companions can affect the likelihood of becoming a drug user. It may be challenging to abstain from drug usage and be the only one not using if friends are using and promoting drugs or alcohol addiction.
   
5. Stress: Several different circumstances can lead to stress. Someone may experience stress due to their living conditions, such as poverty, or they may experience pressure to perform perfectly. In addition, stress can manifest as any kind of abuse, including physical, sexual, and psychological abuse. Stress-related factors may increase a person’s likelihood of using drugs.
   
6. Stages of Development: A person is more likely to develop an addiction later in life the earlier they start using drugs. The fact that the teenage years are a crucial time for brain growth is one of the major causes. Drug usage throughout these years can hurt one’s ability to resist addiction as one ages. According to National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, adults between 18 to 24 years are most likely to suffer from alcohol use disorders and other drug addictions.
   
7. Ethnic groups: According to studies, different ethnic groups metabolize medications at varying rates, making some populations are more sensitive to particular medications than others. In addition, research suggests that white Americans use drugs more frequently than African-Americans or Hispanics, even if the influence of culture can also affect drug usage. Additionally, minority populations are more affected by the harmful consequences of drug usage, such as AIDS.
   
8. Stable Home Environment: There is a lower likelihood that the kids will use or abuse drugs if the parents are very involved and have given them structure. It is more likely that the kids will use and abuse drugs if the home environment is unstable, the parents are addicts, or if they suffer from a mental disease.
   
9. Medications: Since many prescription medicines are highly addictive, they provide a very high risk for drug addiction. By overwhelming the brain’s dopamine receptors, prescription sedatives, antidepressants, and many other medicines can quickly cause physical and mental dependence. Prescription medications have the potential to result in long-term drug addiction if not properly monitored.
   
10. Career Factors: Certain occupations are more prone to addiction issues than others. Professions with high levels of stress or risk; it’s also possible that it’s true for industries where young adults predominate. Military personnel in particular are susceptible to alcohol use disorders. Alcohol consumption is typically influenced by employment.

Ending Note: 

Drug usage carries several risks, and those risks might differ greatly from person to person. It’s crucial to keep in mind that addiction is not the user’s fault because no one chooses to become an addict. To get users clean and receive assistance, they need to recognize the addiction.

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