Reasons for Cocaine Use

Why Do People Use Cocaine, if it Is So Destructive?

People use cocaine because it makes them feel in control, effective and powerful. Individuals who use cocaine feel empowered and invigorated by an appropriate dose. Cocaine is usually snorted, or injected, and in the freebase form, cocaine can be smoked.

Cocaine gives artificial
and ephemeral feelings of pleasure

People use cocaine for its positive "buzz", they feel energized and euphoric. Sometimes people will become more outgoing and confident - talkative, and "in touch" with their feelings, intensely aware of stimuli to the senses and feel sexually potent. Using cocaine makes people feel more alive and interactive.

For some cocaine users, cocaine produces a calming, confident feeling. Occasionally, due to overdose or because of a person's mood, after using cocaine a person will feel intensely nervous and agitated, suffer panic attacks or become paranoid. However, the reason why so many people use cocaine is that in most cases and most of the time, cocaine provides a reliable high and feelings of euphoria.

Dopamine and Cocaine

Cocaine is a powerful stimulant drug that specifically causes a flood of dopamine release in the brain. Dopamine is a biochemical regulator that enhances feelings of pleasure, and moderates feelings of pain.

A 2006 study by the University of Michigan discovered a role for dopamine as "an interface between stress, pain and emotions, or between physical and emotional events and that it is activated by both positive and negative events."

Whereas cocaine users often use cocaine as a recreational drug, associated with parties and having a good time, according to the Michigan study, many people are likely to acquire a drug habit when they are facing personal stress.

Addicted or Not?

It is of interest that of the many people who use opiates for pain relief, some will stop using the drugs as soon as the pain stops, others will go on to develop an addiction. In terms of substance abuse, there are many cocaine users who use cocaine frequently, sometimes heavily who do not consider themselves to be cocaine dependent, or addicted.

The consensus of research into cocaine use is that cocaine is primarily used for emotional and psychological reasons, and the view has been that cocaine is not physically addictive.

The Michigan research suggests that cocaine becomes addictive because it takes over control of the mechanisms in the brain that control stress, emotions and reward. A person learns that by using cocaine they can alleviate stressful feelings, and achieve a sense of reward. Cocaine replaces a need to resolve stress by more productive responses. With cocaine the pleasure response is evoked without any related effort.

Cocaine: Hiding a Camouflaged Hole

Using cocaine creates temporary feelings of empowerment. Upon withdrawal from cocaine, the body and mind need to recover from the overstimulation, a period of depression, ennui and emotional "flatness" can occur after cocaine use. This is actually a time of recovery, for healing from the stress inducing cocaine.

People who become dependent upon or addicted to cocaine, find the resultant depression, the post cocaine "blues" exacerbates any stress, depression or tension that they are already feeling. Instead of providing relief, cocaine withdrawal contributes to emotional problems and so a percentage of cocaine users will make use of cocaine again to restore the positive feelings.

As with all drug use, there is a physical component to cocaine addiction. However, no matter how intense are withdrawal effects, there is always a point in time, when the cocaine addict makes a decision to use cocaine again, instead of using better ways to deal with their emotional problems.

Losing Control

Resilience to cocaine addiction would appear to be at the level of emotional competence, and maturity. Cocaine makes people feel "as if" they are the person they would like to be. Cocaine effects are not always precise and reliable. The more a person uses cocaine to regulate both positive and negative emotions, the less in control they are, and the more dependent cocaine addicts become.

When people get to the stage of using cocaine to stay high for days at a time, it is clear that cocaine use is out of control, and has become a defense against dealing with the pressures and issues in the cocaine user’s life. Social problems and personal issues get worse and do not improve when a person starts to compulsively use cocaine.

Back in Control with Narconon

Narconon is a non-traditional alcohol and drug addiction recovery program that has the ability to get cocaine addicts off cocaine, and helps them to achieve a full emotional recovery. The Narconon program understands that cocaine use feels empowering, and that cocaine users might not want to connect with and feel some of their more negative emotions.

Coming to the Narconon program to recover from cocaine use involves recognition by the cocaine user that drugs is no solution to the issues of life, and that using cocaine has a cost, both social and financial.

Narconon Trois-Rivières provides a total residential environment in which cocaine users can feel safe and able to give up their cocaine use. We have a unique comprehensive program that enables people who use cocaine to resolve their emotional issues, and begin to deal with life's problems in a more constructive way.

Substance abuse and cocaine use can become a thing of the past when people use the Narconon program for complete cocaine addiction recovery.

More Information about the signs of crack addiction

Information about the Narconon Trois-Rivières Rehab Program