What Makes One Person a Casual User and Another An Addict? Though it could be explained by a variety of factors including genetic make-up, early formative experiences, especially around breast-feeding, and character composition, it would seem to boil down on the cognitive level to how much presence of mind a person is willing to exercise in any single moment. With sufficient self-awareness, you are mindful of your options at every turn and are able to choose what you do rather than be compelled. The pain of life on an existential level is a huge burden to bear and we each have our own complex of coping methods. The more positive, healthy ones in the mix (positive thinking, relaxation ability, exercise, dance, martial arts, meditation etc), the less room there'll be for the negative, harmful ones). So it could all boil down to how much positive influence there was around you as a child. But it's extremely hard to pinpoint the precise reason why one person becomes addicted and another stays clear even when exposed to the substance on a regular basis. However, whatever the root cause, the only viable long term antidote is in addicting yourself to more healthy pursuits more of the time so there's less time and gradually inclination to indulge the unhealthy ones."