According to data from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, people who suffer from a mood disorder are twice as likely to abuse drugs or alcohol. Mood disorders are in fact so common alongside substance abuse, that a term has been coined for it; dual diagnosis.
Unfortunately, the two problems feed off each other – one will often make the other worse. If you’re feeling particularly low for example, you may use drugs to give yourself a boost. Later you will probably start to feel guilty or ashamed for using which will exacerbate the depression and thus, a vicious cycle begins.
Which comes first, substance abuse or depression?
Substance abuse can cause depression and depression can cause substance abuse. Some people develop a substance abuse problem and then get depression while others turn to drugs or alcohol in an attempt to cope with depression in the first place.
It’s not uncommon for people to try and self-medicate mood disorders with alcohol and/or drugs. While this may temporarily make them feel better, in the long-run it just makes things worse.
A study published in the National Institute of Health’s US Library of Medicine shows that alcohol can induce depression because it alters serotonin levels. There are also a number of drugs which can directly affect the brain and cause mood disorders. Marijuana for example has been shown to slow down brain functioning and diminish cognitive abilities – factors which can cause depression in a significant number of people.
The shared triggers of depression and substance abuse
Perhaps one of the reasons these two problems often go hand-in-hand is because they share certain triggers:
- Similar parts of the brain are affected by both substance abuse and depression. For example, substance abuse affects areas of the brain which handle stress responses and those same areas are affected by some mental disorders.
- Your DNA can make you more likely to develop a mental health disorder or addiction. Genetic factors also make it more likely that one condition will occur once the other has appeared.
- Early drug use is known to harm brain development and make mental illness more likely later down the line. The reverse also is true: early mental health problems can increase the chances of abusing drugs or alcohol.
- Environmental factors such as stress or trauma are also known to prompt both depression and substance abuse.
- A study published in the Journal of Affective Disorders found that a family history of substance abuse is a significant risk factor for attempted suicide among people with depression and substance abuse.
The importance of simultaneous depression and substance abuse therapy
Successful recovery will depend on treatment for both depression and substance abuse. If people are treated for only one condition, they are unlikely to get better until they follow up with treatment for the other.
Because an addiction to drugs or alcohol appears to be more serious, many might attempt just substance abuse treatment at first. You may even think that battling your addiction will relieve you of the depression but this is unlikely to be the case. Until the depression has been treated, it’s likely that you will continue to drink or take drugs because the underlying problem is still there.
It’s absolutely crucial that those with dual diagnoses understand the root of their issues on a profound level. Only once this has happened can the ability to change occur.
If you would like further information about substance abuse counselling in Toronto or you would like to speak to someone about overcoming depression, please feel free to contact us in the strictest of confidence and we will be more than happy to help.
