It is important to point out the differences between normal and chronic stress. Moderate and challenging stressors with limited duration are perceived as pleasant. In fact, some individuals seek “stressful” situations that promote the release of stress hormones. However, intense and prolonged stressors (e.g., interpersonal conflict, debt, unemployment) produce helplessness and depressive-like symptoms. The higher the number of stressors an individual is exposed to, the greater the chances of addiction. Nobel Laureate Angus Deaton, a professor of economics at Princeton University has observed that less-educated white Americans who struggle in the job market in early adulthood are likely to experience a “cumulative disadvantage” over time, with health and personal problems that often lead to drug overdoses, alcohol-related liver disease, and suicide. Drugs can trigger chemical changes in the brain by activating some of the brain’s chemical messengers involved in emotional regulation, memory and learning, impulse control, decision-making, happiness, and stress management.

Central nervous system depressant drugs, such as opioids (prescription painkillers and heroin) and benzodiazepines (prescription sleep aids and anti-anxiety medications), slow down heart and respiration rate, body temperature, and blood pressure, enhancing relaxation, and reducing stress and anxiety, making these substances a potential target of abuse.