What Can You Do To Prevent This?

Drug abuse is definitely preventable, and many efforts to raise awareness on this issue are already happening. For example, "Results from NIDA-funded research have shown that prevention programs involving families, schools, communities, and the media are effective for preventing or reducing drug use and addiction" (National Institute on Drug Abuse, Understanding Drug Use and Addiction). When young people learn that drug use is dangerous, they tend to decrease their intake of any harmful substances. Having a trusted adult, such as a parent or teacher, to speak about these type of topics is crucial for young people to be educated on the dangers of substance abuse.

There are five tips given by the American Addiction Centers to help prevent substance abuse, which are:

1. Understand how substance abuse develops.

  • Using addictive drugs (illicit or prescribed) for recreational purposes
  • Seeking out intoxication every time you use
  • Abusing prescription medication

2. Avoid Temptation and Peer Pressure

  • Develop friendships and relationships with people who will not encourage you to use any harmful substance. Also develop a good way to say no to drugs or alcohol.

3. Seek help for mental illness

  • If you are struggling with mental illnesses such as anxiety and depression, it could often result in substance abuse as a coping method for those issues. Seek professional help from a therapist or counselor, and let them provide you with healthy coping skills without using drugs or alcohol.

4. Examine the risk factors

  • Examine your family history for past struggles with mental illness or addiction. Similarly to many diseases, addiction and substance abuse tend to run in families. The more one is aware of their biological, environmental and physical risk factors the more likely they are to overcome something like substance abuse.

5. Keep a well-balanced life

  • Drugs and alcohol are often used by people whose things in life feel like they are missing or not working. Practicing stress management skills can help one overcome temptation to use any harmful substances and keep a healthy, well-balanced life.

(American Addiction Centers, Can You Prevent Substance Abuse?)

No factor can predict whether someone will become addicted or not.

Although many don't believe that something like substance abuse could happen to them, it is important to know and examine the risk factors, which was a point made previously. The more risk factor somebody has, the higher the chance they have of taking drugs and potentially abusing them. Some of these risk factors include:

  • Biology: The genes that a person has account for half of their risk for addiction. Gender, ethnicity, and mental illness can influence one's risk of drug use that can lead to addiction.
  • Environment: Peer pressure, any sort of abuse, early exposure to harmful substances, stress, and parental guidance can affect someone's likelihood of addiction.
  • Development: No matter at what age exposure to drugs occurs, someone could become addicted. However, the risk of drug use is especially dangerous for someone in their teenage years. That is because areas in their brains that control decision-making, judgment, and self-control are still developing, and teens may be more prone to making risky decisions, such as taking drugs.