Stress and Addiction: Can Stress Lead to Drug Abuse?

If you’ve ever experienced stress, you know how hard it can be to put that feeling aside. It has a way of creeping into your life and taking over everything. Stress is a part of life, and avoiding it’s not always possible. But when stress starts to get the better of you, then that’s when things start going downhill. It can lead to a failed relationship, an addiction, or even worse. The New Horizon Counseling Center has come across many people across the country who have gone through stress and drug-using patterns, which can be very hard and mentally draining.

 

  1. What is Stress, and What Causes It?

Stress is a feeling that causes an individual to experience anxiety or nervousness, as well as pressure. This feeling can mainly be caused by an event in mind or sometimes by the person. A person may feel anger towards themselves for having depression, which will cause more of these feelings in that situation. Or something that happened in the past may cause stress. It all depends on how a person feels inside.

 

  1. Can Stress Cause Addiction? 

With so many pressures hitting us each day, it’s no wonder why so many people are addicted to drugs or other kinds of substances. When individuals find themselves in a situation that causes stress and cannot cope, they may resort to substance use that can help make them feel better about themselves. New Horizon Counseling Center says that these substances may calm down their minds but do not solve the problem that is causing these feelings. This leads to addiction in the individuals and can be dangerous as it causes a person to lose focus, become angry, and not concentrate.

 

  1. How To Handle Stress

By finding counselors like New Horizon Counseling Center that understand what is going on in the individual’s mind and know how to handle it, the individual will be able to learn coping skills. When dealing with stressful situations, the first step is to ask for help. Whether it be from friends, family members, or a therapist, they can help you cope with your situation. You can also find a hobby that you may enjoy, something to take your mind off your stress for a little while.

 

Stress can be a complicated situation to handle. It can cause one to go left in their mind and do things they usually wouldn’t think of doing. Avoid substance use as it will only lead to more stress, and you may end up with an addiction to just about anything. The New Horizon Counseling Center knows how to help keep individuals from making the worst decision regarding drugs and alcohol, that of losing themselves in it all.

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