Why We Use Drugs: The Power of Addictive Tendencies
Why do people use and abuse substances and what makes these reasons so compelling?
Mainstream thinking about these questions has offered little understanding, instead often blindly adopting an attitude of moral contempt toward people with addictions, seeing them as irresponsible, weak, and having a problem that “other people” have, even though most people have various addictive tendencies. Further, we have learned to treat addictions like malignant tumors— things to be removed, as if their expression has no meaning for the person or the culture. Popular psychology hasn’t gone much further in demonstrating an understanding of the powerful motivations that fuel addictions. Typical reasons found in magazines and books, as well as on Internet sites, include the avoidance of unwanted feelings, self-medication due to stress, dealing with boredom, curiosity, or the desire to feel good—reasons that are devoid of critical thinking and reflect preconceived notions about substance use.
