Is Mental Health Illness Connected with Drug Use Disorders?

Looking in from the outside; many people believe that those who abuse drugs do so because they don’t have a limit when they’re having fun. They simply think that they use drugs because they want to and they end up just using them way too much. However, this is often not the case, and most drug abusers use drugs as a coping mechanism when life gets tough. So, is mental health illness connected with drug use disorders?

Well, this is where the term ‘comorbidity’ comes into play, which refers to someone have two or more mental disorders present simultaneously. But, it is often difficult to determine if mental health illnesses result in drug use disorders or vice versa, or whether it is just completely random. Research has shown that those who suffer from one of them to start with are twice as likely to suffer from anxiety, depression or OCD etc.

Now, let’s look at those who first develop a drug use disorder. Due to the effects that drugs have on the brain, and the addictive traits that it instils in a person, drug abuse can typically cause symptoms of other mental health issues. There have been many reported cases of heavy marijuana users that have subsequently developed anxiety, panic disorder or even psychosis. This has provided scientific evidence that the two are connected.

But, if we look at it from the other perspective and consider those who were suffering with a mental health issue before they had a drug use disorder, we can see that the opposite is also possible. You see, mental health issues have a dire effect on someone’s life, and it can make each and every day a real challenge. As a result, some individuals will turn to drugs to mask the symptoms of their original mental illness.

Moreover, some mental illness sufferers will turn to drugs as a form of self-medication. Of course, this isn’t a viable option, but mental illnesses are extremely hard to treat and it is more about reducing their hold over someone, which is why sufferers will try any measures. For example, those who have schizophrenia tend to use tobacco based products which are believed to reduce the symptoms of the disease.

But, we can play the ‘which came first, the chicken of the egg’ game all we like, but the both actually have tonnes of similarities. Whether it is a mental illness or a drug use disorder, they are both problems with the mind. They both are a result of underlying brain deficits, chemical imbalances, environmental factors, generic vulnerabilities and exposure to stress or trauma.

Ultimately, the correlation between mental illness and drug use disorders are definitely there. After all, if someone is able to develop one mental health issue, they’re also open to developing another. Therefore, comorbidity is a genuine problem, and to treat it a person’s conditions should be looked at individually, and not just as one mental illness.