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Genetics, personality play major roles in addictions

Justin McIntosh
Special to The Times

While the saying “idle hands are the devil’s workshop” may be an old one, there is still some amount of truth in it that rings clear today. And with present concerns in Marietta over rising youth drug use, trying to find a solution, or at least the root of the problem itself, has proven to be difficult.

What starts out as “innocent” experimentation can quickly lead to an addiction. The small glimmer of hope is that although drug and alcohol use crosses boundaries of race, religion, gender and social class, there are some definable factors which make a person more likely to use.

Dr. Gail Rymer, a psychologist at Gail J. Rymer and Associates, said genetics are more likely to contribute to abuse than is experimentation, explaining that alcoholism in a person’s family history can make them more susceptible to abuse.

And while quick to describe peer pressure as “almost too simplistic,” Rymer seems to suggest it does play a definite role in youths experimenting with drugs and alcohol.

“The beer industry is one of the biggest industries in the country. We (as a country) push it. We have a pain, we fix it. We have a pill for everything, for sleep, energy and even hair growth. There certainly is an amount of peer pressure and curiosity,” Rymer said.

Rymer sees boredom, or a lack of stimulation as a more likely culprit, pointing toward a lack of identity, (youths not involved in sports, band, school or work), not peer pressure.

Anna Prince, a psychologist with a doctorate degree, agrees: “Assuming genetics are identical, different personalities would develop with attention and stimulation, as a person is much more likely to blossom under those conditions than without.”

Warren High School senior Erica Metts said drugs and alcohol are very easy to come by as a high school senior. Metts finds keeping herself busy with work and sports, and hanging out with the right people are the best combative measures against any temptation.

“Drugs have a certain amount of excitement. When we are void of that natural high or excitement, we tend to look elsewhere,” Rymer said.

Experimentation is dangerous because it easily can lead to regular usage. What may start out as a social thing only at parties, can swiftly become a need as the fruit of usage is a further void of a real, natural stimulus.

“If you’re using at a young age, you’re not fulfilling the normal behaviors associated with that age. For example, when someone dies, the grief process won’t happen. You essentially have to go back and start over. Your emotional level stops at the point (at) which you began,” Rymer said.

Metts knows firsthand. Having grown up with many of the same friends since grade school, Metts said she can see that what started as a social thing has turned into a way to reduce stress for some. Metts said she thinks it’s a problem for many that interferes with school, work and after-school activities. She’s also seen many of her friends become less caring and empathetic toward other’s feelings.

Eventually, but only after a certain period of soberness, does a person’s ability to understand another person’s needs come back, Rymer said.

“Personalities can be impaired over a long period of time. It not only can change personalities, but how the brain can function,” Rymer said. “How do we teach people to have that extra, or awesome, natural high? What excites them about life? Unfortunately today, it’s often sex and drugs.”

Ironically, a lack of stimulation leads many to seek out excitement in drugs and alcohol, only to find a greater need for stimulus.