Can Anyone Become Addicted to Drugs or Alcohol or Does One Have to Have an “Addictive Personality?”?

Question by ~Shiva~: Can anyone become addicted to drugs or alcohol or does one have to have an “addictive personality?”?
Is there such a thing as an “addictive personality?” If so, I wonder what makes them different from non-addictive personalities? I also wonder if the same is true for other kinds of addictions, like: sex addiction, food addiction, spending addiction, gambling addiction? I often think: if society stopped fighting this hopeless “war on drugs,” and condoned drug use for people who choose to use them, would they still become addicts in the classic sense? Would we still see the same frequencies of drug-related crimes and babies born dependent on opiates or cocaine? Lastly, I wonder about drug treatment in that scenario? Would treatment, and groups like AA, still be touted as necessary programs; or, would “getting clean” become a fading concept? Curious to know what other think about his…

Best answer:

Answer by elyse
Good question, and one I myself am often thinking about. I work as a substance abuse counselor is a residential clinic with probationers and parolees who are in there to avoid jail/prison, or to shorten their sentence.

I can tell you, I have not met one person yet (keep in mind these are people who have gotten into major problems with chemicals) who uses simply because it’s so darn fun, there is always and underlying reason in my experience.

The idea of an ‘addictive personality’ is a little misleading. It basically states that some people will become obessed with things that make them feel good instantly. While this is true, many of us forget to ask ‘why?’. People who are said to have an addictive personality are people who are living a life that is far to painful for them, they are people who have suffered horrible hardships and have never been taught adaquate coping skills.

Think of it this way: If someone is is chronic physical pain, they are going to be much more likely to become addicted to pain killers than someone who is not in chronic pain. The same is true for mental anguish, people who use are people who are trying to numb reality.

Most of the people I work with have been abused mentally, sexually and physically as children. Many of them have had their children taken from them. Many have had their children die. Many have been told that they are nothing.

You can call it whatever you want, but all addictive personality really is, is the idea that people in pain will be more likely to take pain killers than people not in pain.

I used to think that it would be a good idea to condone drug use, and still, it might be. The real issue isn’t the drugs, it’s the horrible conditions that lead people to become dependent on them.

Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!