Addiction can lead to depression, anxiety, anger problems, and other disorders that make life much more challenging to manage. People with mental health issues like these often begin self-medicating with alcohol or drugs to cope. Substance abuse initially seems to help by numbing their feelings of frustration and fear and providing short-term comfort. But, naturally, dependence on addictive drugs or liquor alters brain chemistry, which compounds the original mental health issues. Here’s some information on the signs and dangers of self-medication.
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- Mental Health Disorders and Substance Addiction
- Signs of Self-Medicating
- Best Mental Health and Addiction Treatment in San Diego
Mental Health Disorders and Substance Addiction
People struggling with physical health problems or mental health challenges from grief, trauma, depression, bipolar disorder, or other issues often turn to substance abuse to cope. That’s why co-occurring mental health disorders and substance abuse disorders are not uncommon.
Self-medicating to alleviate the symptoms of mental health disorders can result in addiction. In turn, addiction can become a cause of mental health issues or worsen them. Substance abuse can lead to depression, anxiety, delusions, and other severe symptoms. In some cases, the symptoms persist even after the high effects of the drug are gone.
Further, people with substance abuse disorder are more likely to experience job loss, financial difficulties, legal problems, and separation from family and social groups. Though substance addicted people with mental health disorders often become highly motivated to quit using, attempting to stop consuming the substance can cause very severe withdrawal symptoms in many cases.
Signs of Self-Medicating
Is someone close to you showing symptoms mental struggles? Are you also concerned of potential substance abuse? If so, they may be self-medicating. Here are some signs that this may be happening:
- Staying away from family, friends, social events, and other activities.
- A sudden change in hobbies or who one spends time with.
- Secrecy about how one spends time.
- Neglecting physical care, such as showering or eating.
- Having difficulties in work, school, or other areas.
Mental Health and Addiction Treatment in San Diego
San Diego Sober Living has been serving the San Diego community for over 15 years. We pride ourselves on providing a community of women who can help others get sober. Call us today.