Drug Addiction: A Preventable Disease

There are a lot of protective factors can help prevent the development of a drug addiction. It is important to differentiate between drug abuse and drug addiction. Abuse is when your using drugs frequently but you can still stop use if you needed to or desired to. Addiction, however, is when quitting without assistance is impossible or in some cases even lethal. A lot of individuals begin drug or alcohol use as recreational and then find themselves caught in a vicious cycle of cravings for drugs or alcohol that they cannot control despite the negative consequences addiction may be having on their lives. 1. Creating a positive social environment The people we surround ourselves with play a major role in our decision making and what we view as normal or acceptable behavior. If your social environment tolerates substance use or encourages frequent drug use then you are more likely to develop an addiction to substances. You may lose touch with reality in your use and be deeper in a