The dependence on psychotropic drugs: From psychopharmacology to use
This article compares the psychopharmacological and psychopathological characterizations of dependence on psychotropic drugs on the one hand to the way in which regular consumers manage their use on the other. The data obtained from psychiatric research show that this phenomenon (like that of substance abuse in general) is frequently attributed to an individual causation: the dependence on psychotropic drugs is linked either to a physiological (over)sensitivity to drugs, or to a particular structure of personality. Quite surprisingly, users with regular consumptions do not differ much. When the use of drugs is attributed to an “external” cause, be it organic or environmental, chronicity is somewhat accepted and consumption becomes a routine. But when the use is associated with a diagnosis of some personal fault, it turns out to be much more problematic.