Depression Linked to Substance Abuse?
What Is Depression?
Depression is a common mental health issue. However, clinical depression is characterized by a severe and persistently depressed mood and a loss of interest in activities. This mood will often lead to a significant impairment in a person’s daily life. Though there are a variety of reasons for a person to suffer from clinical depression. The most persistent causes include the following:
- Psychological
- Social Distress
When a person suffers from depression due to one or both of these reasons, they may also have other added issues that create lasting problems within the brain. These may need specific treatment, which may include prescribed medication. There may also be other side effects that can introduce a litany of issues to the person, both mentally and physically.
- Insomnia
- Lack of appetite
- Decreased energy
- Lack of concentration
- Low self-esteem
In some of the worst cases, there may even be a prevalence of suicidal thoughts and behaviors. However, dealing with these issues is possible, especially when they are linked to other problems.
Trauma, Depression, and Substance Abuse
Untreated trauma can often be linked to depression. A person who has been unable to deal with trauma may experience a variety of different side effects, one of the most prevalent being depression.
When a person tries to avoid dealing with trauma, bouts of depression will occur, even if they are not extensive. This depression may seem so overwhelming that they believe themselves to have two options. They may resort to physical self-harm or utilize illicit substances in an effort to dull their senses and push away their mental anguish.
More often than not, these people will turn to substance abuse as a way of self-medicating. This is often a double-edged solution as many substances can lead to decreased mood and, therefore, an increase in depression. People may find that their addictions have become too ingrained to stop, and at the same time, their depression has worsened, which creates a challenging situation.
When Depression Worsens Substance Abuse.
Substance abuse is a spiral. Once a person has started abusing illicit substances, they are most likely going to continue using. Not only that, but their addictions will get worse as they require more in an attempt to get the same effects. This tolerance will only build until the person is able to confront their problem or they reach a level where they overdose.
When you add depression to the mix, things can worsen much more quickly. In fact, a person’s realization that they need to rely on these substances to numb themselves can lead to depressive thoughts. These will work alongside the existing substance abuse spiral to bring a person further into their problems.
They may see how substances have helped numb certain thoughts and assume they will work to combat their depression. Unfortunately, this does not happen, and substances that do provide momentary highs often leave people in even lower lows than they were in before using.
It is important for people to not only understand that they have a substance abuse issue but for them also to realize the cause and effect of their depression. Once they are aware of how things are linked, they may have more of a drive to seek assistance from the self-perpetuating problems caused by their substance abuse issues.
Twilight Recovery Center’s Approach
When an individual arrives at Twilight Recovery Center, the staff will conduct an initial assessment on them. This assessment will determine their initial issues and what the facility can do to help. A person entering with a substance abuse problem will often be experiencing side effects such as depression. With this in mind, the individual may be provided with medication-assisted treatment (MAT) in an effort to help combat this type of oppressive side effect.
Often, when someone presents this option to a person, it may look like they would rather not have another substance in their body when they are already trying to get rid of others. However, in this case, it is a prescribed medication from a medical professional. They have either administered or spoken with the individual who has administered the assessment, and are acting accordingly.
People will find that with the overarching depression taken care of, they are able to relax more and focus on the larger issues that may be causing the depression. Following detox and intensive group and individual therapy, they will learn to understand their condition, what has caused it, and ways to deal with it going forward.
There are a number of factors that contribute to substance abuse.
In fact, each person has a variety of personal issues that can lead them to engage in dangerous habits. One of the main causes can be depression. This depression does not need to come from one particular source but often stems from previous trauma. At Twilight Recovery Center, we are well aware of these connections. We are prepared to use a variety of techniques to assist our residents. For people who are just discovering their mental health issues, our program can bring things to light that may not have been previously understood. To learn more about our program, call us at (888) 414-8183.
