Relationship Between Drugs & Mental Illness (Part 3)
By Steve [from Working the Doors]
Previously, we looked at how illegal drugs use distorted the priorities of needs for the user. We then explored the fallout. Now in conclusion, we touch on depression, a common mental illness…….
Depression is one of the most common mental illnesses affecting people in the 21st century. The relationship between depression and drug abuse is bi-directional, meaning that people who abuse drugs are more likely to experience depression, but also that people who experience depression are more likely to abuse drugs.
Drinking alcohol or using drugs creates a mild euphoria that temporarily alleviates the symptoms of depression as well as providing relief from feelings of guilt, shame, doubt or despair.
However, many substances actually increase these feelings once they begin to wear off, causing the user to enter a behavioural cycle that ultimately leads to addiction.
Although not an illegal substance, alcohol can induce depression. It alters the levels of serotonin and its metabolites in the cerebrospinal fluid.
Serotonin is a chemical produced by the nerve cells. It is most commonly found in the digestive system, as well as throughout the central nervous system. It is, effectively, nature’s mood stabilizer, helping to see off anxiety and depression as well as helping to heal physical wounds.
Among other functions, the ability to sleep well or even the level of sexual desire, are all linked to the body’s serotonin levels. Low levels of serotonin have been strongly linked to depression in humans and other animals.
Cannabis is also linked to depression, although in small amounts it can actually alleviate depressive symptoms. Overuse can be very dangerous, particularly as it creates a dependency in around 10% of all users. Overuse of cannabis can cause symptoms such as panic attacks, lethargy and paranoia.
Use of cannabis before the age of 18 makes the user 37% more likely to develop depression in later life. This is statistical data, however, and does not include social, environmental or economic factors that can also lead to depression.
It is worth noting that the brain is still developing in teenagers, and it is possible that cannabis use may alter the brain’s development at a crucial state, making teenage users more susceptible to depression in the process.
However, more research into this area is needed before this may be definitively stated as fact.
As we have seen, the relationship between drugs and mental illness is often a cyclical one. People experience mental illness so they turn to drugs, the drugs, in turn, exacerbate the mental illness, and so on ad infinitum. Sometimes, drugs can offer a brief respite from the illness, hence their attraction, but all-too-often relief from the symptoms of mental illness comes at a terribly high price.
Bio
Working the doors is a blog supporting door supervisors and security staff, they are in contact with drugs on a constant basis and see the wrong side of drug use and issues they create on mental illness.
The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect all or some of our beliefs and policy. Any links on this page does not necessarily mean they have been endorsed by Defying Mental Illness.
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