3 Ways to Prevent Drug Abuse

Written by Chloe Nicosia

Drug abuse can quickly lead to addiction, and preventing substance abuse is crucial for young people and older adults alike. This how to prevent drug abuse essay offers three major ways to prevent drug abuse.

How to prevent substance abuse in youth is the subject of a large body of research. Studies show that the younger you are when you begin using drugs or alcohol, the more likely you are to abuse them and become addicted. Preventing young people from using drugs and alcohol is a major focus of the government and many community organizations, but it’s not just young people for whom prevention works. Regardless of your age, here are three important ways to prevent drug abuse.

  1. Learn about drug abuse and addiction.

Education is extremely important in preventing drug abuse. Understanding how drug abuse leads to addiction, and evaluating your risk of becoming addicted, can help you make more informed, careful choices when it comes to using drugs and alcohol.

Drug abuse is the act of using legal, illegal, or prescription medications in a way that causes problems in your life. These problems may be related to your health, finances, or relationships. They may stem from the risks you take while under the influence, including having unsafe sex or driving a motor vehicle.

There are many risks associated with drug abuse, but perhaps the most important is the risk of developing an addiction, which is different from drug abuse. Addiction is characterized by the inability to stop using drugs or alcohol compulsively, even though they’re causing problems in your life. Addiction almost always has underlying causes, including mental illness and stress, and understanding the risk factors and addressing these early on in your own life is one of the best ways to prevent drug abuse.

  1. Address mental health issues.

Mental illness commonly co-occurs with addiction. That’s because many people use drugs or alcohol to self-medicate symptoms of a mental disorder like anxiety or depression. But while drugs and alcohol may seem to help initially, they almost always make a mental illness worse due to the way they act on the chemical function of the brain. Additionally, drugs and alcohol can cause the onset of a mental illness where one didn’t exist before.

One of the most effective ways to prevent drug abuse is to get professional help for a mental illness. Through medication and talk therapy, people with a mental illness can live symptom-free and improve their life in countless ways. This is particularly important when discussing how to prevent substance abuse in youth, since rates of mental illness in adolescents and young people are on the rise.

  1. Reduce stress.

Stress is another powerful trigger for substance abuse, and among the ways to prevent drug abuse, reducing stress is among the most important.

Chronic stress that results from poverty, illness, family dysfunction, a history of trauma, and other stressors takes a major toll on your physical and mental health. In addition to increasing your risk of developing a number of mental illnesses and chronic diseases, long-term stress leaves you more vulnerable to drug abuse and addiction.

Make changes where you can in your life to reduce your stress. Learn how to cope with the stressors you can’t control. By learning deep breathing and visualization exercises, practicing daily meditation, and getting plenty of exercise, you can dramatically reduce your body’s unpleasant response to stress without drugs or alcohol.

Help is Available

This how to prevent substance abuse essay is only the tip of the iceberg. Reducing your risk factors for substance abuse is crucial for preventing substance abuse and addiction. If you abuse drugs or alcohol and want to reduce your chances of becoming addicted, or if you’ve developed an addiction and need help restoring your life, Better Addiction Care can help you find a high quality treatment program. Professional treatment works, and it can work for you.