A substance abuse disorder is when you lose your ability to control the use of drugs or alcohol. While experimentation is what initially causes someone to take a drug, new research has found there are other causes of drug addiction. ¹

Throughout this article, we’ll highlight these causes to better understand this complex issue.

Biological Causes of Drug Addiction

While medical research has confirmed biology plays a major role in addiction, there’s still a lot we don’t know. We do know substance abuse directly affects the brain’s processes for thoughts and behaviors. ² More specifically, neurological rewiring occurs with serious drugs, such as:

• Cocaine
• Heroin
• Meth
• Some prescription medication

This rewiring differs depending on the drug. For example, stimulants (i.e. cocaine and methamphetamine) will overload the brain with dopamine, a naturally occurring hormone in our brain’s pleasure center. ³ With enough stimulant use, the brain forgets how to process dopamine itself. Therefore, it relies on the substance to carry the leg work.

These biological effects can lead to problems with: ⁴

• Attention
• Learning
• Memory retention
• Mood control
• Pain processing

Out of all these, pain processing is the most notable. When you use a drug to treat pain, it can permanently damage the pain centers in the brain. This will change the way you feel and handle pain without a substance. ⁵

Psychological Causes of Drug Addiction

It’s common for people with mental health conditions to use drugs and alcohol as a means of self-medication. Beyond the fact that it’s unhealthy to cope with mental illness through a substance, this can naturally lead to addiction. ⁶

Still, to understand the psychological processes of addiction, it’s important to know where mental illness comes from. While not always the case, most develop psychological disturbances through varying types of trauma. ⁷ For example, a child who was physically abused may develop an anxiety disorder, living in fear of the abuse returning.

Of course, there can be other causes of mental health issues, including: ⁸

• Bereavement (losing someone close to you)
• Discrimination and stigma
• Physical health condition
• Severe or long-term stress
• Social disadvantages (i.e. poverty, debt)
• Social isolation and loneliness

These issues make it easy for someone to be swayed into taking a substance. If that substance provides you with relief, you’ll naturally want more. This will eventually lead to physical dependence (as described above).

Social Causes of Drug Addiction

As discussed above, some social pressures can lead to drug and alcohol abuse. And we’re not talking about adolescent peer pressure. We’re talking about financial and community pressures.

For example, you’re more likely to abuse substances if you struggle with poverty or homelessness. ⁹ What leads to these situations varies from person to person. One friend may tell you job market pressures got the best of them. Another will assert their divorce led to a lack of financial stability. Not to mention, some grow up in poverty and are immediately displaced when entering adulthood.

Similarly to the psychological process of addiction, most people in this category use it as a means of self-medication. However, what they’re medicating is very personal. Therefore, there’s no “one-size-fits-all” approach when it comes to treatment.

Spiritual Causes of Drug Addiction

When a person is spiritually sound, they’re less likely to take a substance. This is why drug rehabilitation organizations, such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), place importance on spirituality. ¹⁰

As life has it, there can be several reasons why a person isn’t spiritually sound. You may struggle with stress, dissociation, or excommunication from previous religious organizations/your own spiritual beliefs. Under such circumstances, it can be easy to use a substance to self-medicate.

In fact, drug use may make you feel more spiritually in tune with yourself. Some people use drugs as a means of reconnecting with their minds and bodies. ¹¹

In some instances, this is okay. For example, psychedelic drugs (such as psilocybin) have been found to help people through spiritual matters. ¹² More so, these compounds have actually helped people come clean from other addictions (such as opioids). ¹³

However, if your spiritual pursuits lead to addictive tendencies, it may be time to reconsider your faith.

How To Find Treatment for Drug Addiction

If you’re addicted to a substance, help is available. There are many detox and treatment facilities throughout the country to help you with the path to recovery.

However, it’s important to have a desire for treatment. Without the willpower to cure this disease, relapse is inevitable.

If you’re looking for direct treatment, we recommend using the resources of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). On their Find Help page, you’ll be directed towards various options depending on your circumstances.

You can also talk to your healthcare provider about finding the right options. They will have a better idea of your local area and the resources available there.

References

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² Leshner AI, Koob GF. Drugs of abuse and the brain. Proc Assoc Am Physicians. 1999 Mar-Apr;111(2):99-108. doi: 10.1046/j.1525-1381.1999.09218.x. PMID: 10220804.

³ Proebstl L, Kamp F, Manz K, Krause D, Adorjan K, Pogarell O, Koller G, Soyka M, Falkai P, Kambeitz J. Effects of stimulant drug use on the dopaminergic system: A systematic review and meta-analysis of in vivo neuroimaging studies. Eur Psychiatry. 2019 Jun;59:15-24. doi: 10.1016/j.eurpsy.2019.03.003. Epub 2019 Apr 11. PMID: 30981746.

⁴ Wise RA, Robble MA. Dopamine and Addiction. Annu Rev Psychol. 2020 Jan 4;71:79-106. doi: 10.1146/annurev-psych-010418-103337. PMID: 31905114.

⁵ Wachholtz A, Gonzalez G, Ziedonis D. Psycho-physiological response to pain among individuals with comorbid pain and opioid use disorder: Implications for patients with prolonged abstinence. Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse. 2019;45(5):495-505. doi: 10.1080/00952990.2019.1620260. Epub 2019 Jun 27. PMID: 31246117; PMCID: PMC6684104.

⁶ Harris KM, Edlund MJ. Self-medication of mental health problems: new evidence from a national survey. Health Serv Res. 2005 Feb;40(1):117-34. doi: 10.1111/j.1475-6773.2005.00345.x. PMID: 15663705; PMCID: PMC1361129.

⁷ Kleber RJ. Trauma and Public Mental Health: A Focused Review. Front Psychiatry. 2019 Jun 25;10:451. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00451. PMID: 31293461; PMCID: PMC6603306.

⁸ McINNES RG. Causes of mental illness. Health Educ J (Los Angel). 1949 Apr;7(2):60-5. doi: 10.1177/001789694900700204. PMID: 18144661.

⁹ Gelberg L, Linn LS, Usatine RP, Smith MH. Health, homelessness, and poverty. A study of clinic users. Arch Intern Med. 1990 Nov;150(11):2325-30. PMID: 2241441.

¹⁰ Grim BJ, Grim ME. Belief, Behavior, and Belonging: How Faith is Indispensable in Preventing and Recovering from Substance Abuse. J Relig Health. 2019 Oct;58(5):1713-1750. doi: 10.1007/s10943-019-00876-w. Erratum in: J Relig Health. 2019 Aug 21;: PMID: 31359242; PMCID: PMC6759672.

¹¹ Galanter M, White WL, Khalsa J, Hansen H. A scoping review of spirituality in relation to substance use disorders: Psychological, biological, and cultural issues. J Addict Dis. 2023 Feb 11:1-9. doi: 10.1080/10550887.2023.2174785. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36772834.

¹² Lerner M, Lyvers M. Values and beliefs of psychedelic drug users: a cross-cultural study. J Psychoactive Drugs. 2006 Jun;38(2):143-7. doi: 10.1080/02791072.2006.10399838. PMID: 16903453.

¹³ Jones G, Ricard JA, Lipson J, Nock MK. Associations between classic psychedelics and opioid use disorder in a nationally-representative U.S. adult sample. Sci Rep. 2022 Apr 7;12(1):4099. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-08085-4. PMID: 35393455; PMCID: PMC8990065.