Psychology drug addiction

Question

Why do you feel people are so attracted to altered states of consciousness? In your answer discuss both the physiological and psychological effects of drug use. Why do you think drug addiction is such a huge problem in our society? Why do you think it is such a huge problem in the college population? Be detailed in your response.

Answer 1

First, what is the reason individuals do things like drink or use drugs that alter their state of consciousness? Most of the time the reason has to do with self-medicating some underlying problem. For example, if someone is depressed alcohol might make them feel better for a short amount of time. The other questions are asking for your opinion. I think drug addiction is a problem due to the lack of mental health care. Treatment is expensive. A person must look inside themselves to discover what it is the drugs or alcohol is doing for them. This can take time and money. As for the college population, what is your best guess? I can think of several reasons. For the first time ever young adults have some freedom living on campus and being independent. Along with this comes the responsibility of keep up with school and work and discovering who you are and what you want to do. For the first time, you are exposed to alcohol and drugs in excess and they can help us forget these stressors and give uf a feeling of euphoria. For someone prone to addiction this can become a problem as they cannot stop and begin to drink more in order to achieve the same euphoria as before.