Getting to the Bottom of Addiction Myths

There are many myths about addictions. This is my attempt to clear a few of them up. One myth that is pretty popular is the one claiming that positive addictions are good for you. There is no such thing as a positive addiction, addictions are self-destructive and always lead to negitive effects. Myth number 2 and probably the biggest is; Certain substances are addictive. Well this is true if you change that sentence to; Certain substances *can* or *might* be addictive. Ill explain. After surgery, patients are sometimes allowed to self-administer morphine. Morphine is the medical form of heroin. Yet most people who rely on morphine after surgery, don't get addicted to it. Millons of people smoked marijuana. Relatively few who use it, use it to the point of abuse. Almost everyone has had a drink before. But few acually become alcoholics because if it. Or what about sex? 99 percent of us have sex at one time in our lives, and many of us have sex constantly but we dont develop an addiction. And finally millions of people have experimented with cocaine, crack and other har d drugs. Many become addicts, but not everyone. The point is that people dont nessacarly become addicted to a substance becasue of the substance, but becasue of thier choice. We all have made a choice about substances. Most of us have tried one form or another of an 'addictive' substance or activity, but yet many of us remain addiction free. Although our brains develop addictions becasue of a dependance created by our brains. This dependence is because certian drugs and activities produce iregular levels of chemicals that make us feel good. Then over time, our bodys stop producing it naturally, and then we crave the drug that re-administers it. Will power and self respect and control are more powerful in the beginning than any addiction. And we all have the ability to change our behaviours. Substances don't take you over and make you act in an addictive fashion any more than: Cars make you drive, and books make you read. Will anyone who uses an addictive substance too much become addicted? Not nessacarly, resent studies have proven that addiction can be hereditary. We know this does not occur in everyone, any more than diabetes occurs in everyone who eats to much sugar or food. In many cases, genetics is one factor for determining who develops the disorder. Check here for drug abuse rehab information. Addiction can be hereditary. This myth is slightly true. It is proven that some people have an 'addictive personality' or have certain personality traits that an addict might have. We have linked certain characteristics of genes to addictions and have proven that certain genes are hereditary. Does this mean that addiction IS hereditary? Maybe. There is thousands of people who have had addictions and thier parents have never. Many people have severe addictions and have children, and the children never form any addictions. This being said, ill let you decide if addictions are hereditary.