What is the connection between substance use and mental health?
The link between substance addiction and mental problems is becoming more widely known. A co-occurring disorder, often known as a dual diagnosis, is what a person with both is said to be going through. It is advised to look for executive rehab if you are suffering from mental health.
Dealing with even one disorder can be challenging, much alone two. In order to achieve successful recovery, it is imperative that a person dealing with both mental health and drug abuse difficulties receive treatment for both, not simply an addiction or a mental disease.
Substance misuse symptoms and signs
Prescription drugs (such as opiate painkillers, ADHD meds, and sedatives), recreational or street drugs (including cocaine, methamphetamines, and marijuana), and alcohol are among the substances that are abused (beer, wine, and liquor). However, the sort of drug you use or the type of alcohol you consume does not define a substance addiction problem. Instead, it comes down to how your drug or alcohol usage affects your relationships and quality of life. In other words, you have a substance addiction problem if your drinking or drug usage is interfering with your life.
The following are significant links between substance addiction and mental illness:
- Substance addiction is more likely in people with untreated mental health conditions.
Alcohol or narcotics are frequently used by people with mental illnesses such as anxiety, depression, attention deficit disorder, or bipolar disorder to treat their symptoms.
- Substance misuse can result in mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, and others
Not everyone who abuses alcohol or drugs will experience mental health issues, but if a person is susceptible to a mental condition, substance usage might set off symptoms. In some instances, removing drugs and alcohol from the body is sufficient to reduce the signs of, say, depression or anxiety. However, persistent brain chemistry changes might result from substance misuse.
- Substance misuse and several mental health conditions have similar symptoms.
Depression symptoms may be exacerbated by alcohol and other CNS depressants. Lethargy, melancholy, and hopelessness are a few of these. Chronic use may cause permanent chemical alterations in the brain. Drug-induced psychosis, which is characterized by delusions and hallucinations, symptoms linked to schizophrenia, can be brought on by some stimulants, including cocaine.
- Treatment is available for both mental and drug use disorders
Mental illnesses and substance use problems can be treated even though there is no known cure for them. There are several treatment methods that can result in efficient and long-term symptom management, regardless of whether a person has a mental disorder, a substance use disorder, or both. The most successful treatments frequently include medicine and psychotherapies. Some patients have an immediate response to treatment. Others need to try a variety of treatments before settling on one that is effective for them.
Identification of a dual diagnosis
It is also true that having a mental illness during adolescence or childhood can make someone more likely to take drugs later in life and develop a substance use disorder. According to certain studies, a mental illness may come before a substance use disorder. This finding raises the possibility that co-morbidity could be decreased through improved childhood mental disease diagnosis. According to one study, compared to adult-onset bipolar disorder, adolescent-onset bipolar disorder carries a higher chance of developing a future substance use problem. Similar to this, additional evidence indicates that internalizing disorders including sadness and anxiety in childhood appear before substance use problems.
It can be challenging to recognize a dual diagnosis. The symptoms of depression and marijuana misuse, for instance, could be extremely dissimilar from those of schizophrenia and alcoholism.
Does substance abuse result from mental illness?
People from many walks of life are susceptible to mental and substance use disorders, which are widespread. Contrary to popular belief, mental illness can sometimes be the cause of substance abuse. Even though these conditions are severe and occasionally reoccur, they are treatable, and many people will fully recover. Additionally, consuming alcohol and other drugs can make someone say or do things they later regret, resulting in strained relationships, difficulty at work, and health issues. These tragedies’ repercussions have the potential to cause mental diseases including anxiety and sadness.
The National Institute on Mental Health estimates that 50 percent of those with severe mental illness also struggle with substance abuse, and the opposite is also true. Many have conjectured about the connection between mental health and addiction as a result of the high occurrence of the two.
There is disagreement among mental health and substance abuse experts regarding which occurs first, mental illness or substance abuse, despite the fact that statistics on their incidence are well known. However, the general opinion is that while one illness does not cause the other, both mental health and addiction have an impact on how the other condition manifests itself.
Final thoughts
Many people who have substance use disorders (SUD) also have mental problems identified, and the opposite is also true. Over 60% of adolescents in community-based substance use disorder treatment programs also meet diagnostic criteria for another mental illness, according to research, even though there are fewer studies on co-morbidity in young people. This suggests that adolescents with substance use disorders also have high rates of co-occurring mental illness. Springfield treatment center is helping people to come out of substance abuse.
Abuse of alcohol and other drugs can exacerbate the signs of a mental health issue. Substance usage may significantly worsen mental illness symptoms or possibly cause the onset of new ones. Antidepressants, anxiety medications, and mood stabilizers, among others, might interact with alcohol or drug abuse, decreasing their efficacy in treating symptoms and delaying your recovery. Other times, people who already have a mental disorder will try to use alcohol and drugs as a form of self-medication. The agony of a mental condition may momentarily disappear with substance use. Self-medication, however, has the potential to cause addiction and further issues if not received with expert care. Early intervention is crucial for both substance abuse and mental disease.
