Who believes that there is justification for ATOD?

it is an escape for some people. we all have our own way of dealing with stressful situations. most of us can manage it without anything. people who do any type of drugs as in alcohol or smoking or weed etc…they do it because it makes them feel that they are getting thru something. its a false sense tho. now cutting is a different story, that is someone who is in trouble and tries to look for a way out. cutting believe it or now does take the stress away falsely tho but it truly makes you feel better for one reason. when you cut chemicals are released and they make you forget about the stress and anything else in life. my opinion on it is that the people are stupid, scared, and have little will power. you need to be resilient with the problems we face every single day. granted some people have it worse than others but it isnt an excuse. stupid I mean they try to find the easy way out with shit. and scared is because since they found a way to cover up stress and problems they wont try to face their problems head on and instead run away.

There are plenty of people who have been through stuff, without having to resort to ATOD, so I don’t get it?

Alright. So then what makes the differences between people. And there’s many ways in life to look at people and look at situations. You can label them. They’re ‘weak’. They’re ‘selfish’. They’re ‘stupid’. Or you could try and be a little more nuanced and see what the differences are. You think the difference between someone who has killed themselves or hurt themselves and someone who doesnt is a matter of will power? Perhaps it is a matter of hope. And why are some people capable of surviving through horrors and coming out with hope and others arent, is something we’re still studying. It’s easy to sit on a high horse and judge others. I could label you as being judgmental (or anyone else really). And it would be so simple to do that. Because then I dont have to give you a second thought. I’ve labelled you, I now feel oh superior because I’m better than that, and hey, it’s not my problem, because that’s just who you are. Or I could simply say that not having experienced pain to that degree it is not something you could possibly understand. As for addiction, that’s a matter of brain chemistry. People who are addicted to certain things simply have brains that work differently. I could get into the reward pathways and inhibitory systems, but I wont bore you. Suffice to say, most of the medical professionals who research and work with addiction believe that the brain is simply wired differently.

My opinion, perhaps you need to learn what empathy means.

Agreed, overdramatic and ‘cool’.