The Role Self-Esteem Plays in Drug Addiction

There’s a series of commercials on television that end with “because you are worth it.” It’s that company’s way of telling you that you deserve the best, and that means buying their product.  What if you don’t feel like your worth it, and that you’re just not good enough to purchase their product or have anything good come your way?

That’s what having low self-esteem looks like, and it can lead to far worse problems. In fact, there is a link between low self-esteem and drug addiction. It’s that feeling of worthlessness that can have you turning to drugs as an escape. Eventually, it can all spin out of control and, ultimately, require a drug rehabilitation program to overcome it.

Self-esteem is the means by which a person evaluates themselves concerning how much confidence and happiness they have in their own life. Low self-esteem centers around the emotional and psychological belief that one will fail at everything, so there is no point in even trying. It’s a far cry from having a lack of confidence which places doubt in one’s ability to meet a challenge where the outcome doesn’t matter.

The cause of low self-esteem can be attributed to child abuse; lack of love and support from parents; intense criticisms from parents, teachers, and others; issues with body image; and that constant feeling of not belonging. These traumatic experiences stay with a person their whole life and slowly erode away at one’s self-esteem and cause long term damage.

Low self-esteem is a devastating condition and is characterized by the following signs:

• Negative view of life
• Takes criticism too personally
• Can’t take compliments
• Trust issues―even to those who show kindness and friendship
• Fear of taking risks
• Feelings of being unloved and unlovable
• Indecisive―letting others make decisions
• Fear of being ridiculed

Drug addiction can occur at any time for any number of reasons, but low self-esteem is one of the most common.  It, unfortunately, makes for a perfect scenario. The feelings of shame, guilt, and unworthiness drive a person to find ways to numb those feelings, so they turn to drugs.

The initial high the drugs offers is a relief, albeit a temporary one, and a quest ensues to sustain that feeling, so they end up using more and more drugs.  The increase in usage and knowing that what you are doing is wrong only makes you feel worse, thus lowering your self-esteem even more and leaving you with a serious drug habit. It’s a vicious cycle.

The good news is there is hope. With therapy, you can raise your self-esteem and learn to replace that inner critical voice with a more positive one and, in turn, that can lead to recovery from drug addiction.  If you are—or a loved one is—suffering from low self-esteem and have turned to drugs but are looking to start a more sober and happier life, call Florida Coast Recovery at 954-990-7101today.  Don’t wait another day to “be worth it.”

Sources:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/heartache-hope/201306/low-self-esteema-disposition-can-lead-addiction
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3905528/