Disorders Due to Drug Abuse & Mood By: Mirella Cabrera Psychology Per.7

Essential Questions How are disorders due to drug abuse similar and different from mood disorders? In what ways do these disorders affect the human life?

Disorders due to Drug Abuse Definition: Definition: The overuse of, or dependence on a drug affecting the individual’s physical and mental health.  It is considered as abuse of drugs when someone continually takes medication; non- medically indicated drug or toxin.

The Problem: Chronic Abuse Definition: Definition: Long-term, heavy use of a drug.  The Coalition Against Drug Abuse Program states that, “Experimentation with drugs can be harmful to a mental health patient. However, it is the chronic abuse that has the largest effect on the mental health and drug abuse relationship.”  Chronic abusers are not only addicted to the drug physically, but also psychologically; meaning that these people truly believe they need the drug in order to control their mental health problems.

Mood Disorders  They are most likely to be caused by imbalances in the chemicals located in our brain, but can also be caused by environmental causes or biological influences.  In the article, Mood Disorders: What Parents and Teachers Should Know by Ralph E. Cash, he states that, “Often mood disorders go undiagnosed because the symptoms can mimic the normal emotional swings and behavior issues associated with growing up, or resemble the symptoms of another disorder.”

Mood Disorders: [Treatment]  Specific treatments are recommended to someone who suffers from this disorder based on the certain way of acting upon the disorder; they may include: Medications such as anti-depressants and mood stabilizers, especially when combined with therapy, have been shown to be very effective in the treatment of depression. Therapy, such as cognitive-behavioral and/or interpersonal therapy focused on helping the person change distorted views of themselves and the environment around them; helping them to improve their interpersonal relationship skills; and identifying stressors in the environment, how to avoid them, and how to cope effectively with those which cannot be avoided. Family therapy — families play a vital, supportive role in any treatment process.

Similarities  Due to their many similarities, drug abuse and mood disorders go hand in hand. It is known as Substance-induced Mood Disorders.  Their features differ from a manic, hypomanic, mixed or depressive episode. It is said that most substances can induce many mood disorders. For Example: Stimulants Amphetamine Methamphetamine Cocaine These stimulants are most likely to cause manic, hypomanic, mixed or depressive episodes.

Differences  The main difference is that drug abuse affects an individual more than mood disorders. With drug abuse, the person is often consuming the drug; becoming more and more depressed. While mood disorders, you really can’t control your behavior or thinking.  Drug abuse is most known than mood disorders, most people engage in drug abuse at very young ages and seem to continue using drugs.

Affecting Human’s Lives  The National Institute on Drug Abuse sees drug addiction as a brain disease. It states that, “Although initial drug use might be voluntary, drugs of abuse have been shown to alter gene expression and brain circuitry, which in turn affect human behavior.”  “Once addiction develops, these changes interfere with an individual’s ability to make voluntary decisions, leading to compulsive drug craving, seeking and use.” I. Cardiovascular Disease II. Stroke III. Cancer IV. HIV/AIDS V. Hepatitis VI. Lung Disease

Drug Abuse & Mental Health  Most people have come to believe that drugs are what cause mental illness due to the strong relationship between mental health and drug abuse.  According to the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA), “50 percent of the people who have a severe mental condition also have a substance abuse problem.”

Co-occurring Disorder  If you are experiencing mental health issues such as depression, bipolar disorder, or anxiety and you are also addicted to drugs, this is called a “co-occurring disorder or dual diagnosis.”  These conditions are difficult to diagnose as said in the article, Mental Health and Drug Abuse, “The two conditions are entangled within one another, making it difficult to decipher which condition is causing each symptom.”

Co-occurring Disorder [Essential Facts] People with mental conditions commonly use marijuana, cocaine or alcohol to self-medicate. Alcohol is the most common choice. Certain mental conditions are most likely to use abuse substances. Antisocial personality disorders have a 15.5 percent abuse rate. Bipolar disorder is next at 14.5 percent. Manic depression has a 4.1 percent abuse rate, while anxiety disorders have a 4.3 percent abuse rate. Other conditions have rates that are less than a percent. People with mental disorders are more sensitive to the substances they abuse. They are affected more than other addicted.

Addiction & Mental Health  Mental health professionals have determined these things about addiction and mental health even though the many studies made are known to be ongoing… o Undiagnosed mental illness can lead to substance abuse as the person tries to treat the symptoms of the mental condition. Depression, anxiety, paranoia and restlessness are some of the common symptoms that mentally ill addicts are trying to self-medicate. o Diagnosed mental illness patients often take medication that has unpleasant side effects. These patients abuse drugs to alleviate those effects. For example, schizophrenia patients take medication for hallucinations that causes depression. The patients usually smoke marijuana to deal with the depression. o A few drugs can cause mental illness after years of chronic abuse. Drugs such as ecstasy alter chemicals in the brain that control mood and other behaviors. These alterations can lead to depression or anxiety problems that the addict treats with other drugs. o People who are at risk for mental illness increase that risk when they chronically abuse drugs. Mental health risk factors include genetics, the environment, major life experiences and other things. People who already have high risk factors can be “pushed” into the mental illness by chronic substance abuse. o Heavy drug abuse in the adolescent years can lead to mental illness later. Heavy drug abuse can alter the cognitive and social development of teens, two things are formulated during adolescence. When these factors are altered, depression and anxiety disorders can result.

Whitney Taylor [Mood Disorder] “For the longest time before it was diagnosed, I didn’t know what it was. I noticed it back in high school with attention problems, getting in trouble, being up in the night – beyond the normal teenage things. I was drinking all through high school, had a DUI, drinking at lunchtime, doing drugs. I think everybody just thought it was behavioral. I suffered from alcoholism during college, didn’t really do anything in moderation. I see a connection between the alcoholism and the mood disorder – it was definitely self medicating. Then the depression came and I had suicide attempts during my early 20’s. It wasn’t until I was in my early 30’s and was going to a doctor that the depression got really bad. I was constantly crying. My doctor and I worked for a long time with hormone therapy. I went on progesterone, birth control pills, all sorts of things to level out my hormones thinking that’s what it was. None of that worked, and I had a very bad episode of depression. My doctor said, “I’m going to put you on antidepressants.” So I went on antidepressants and it got worse. Really bad. After a couple of months, my doctor came to the conclusion that I had Bipolar Disorder. I’d never heard that term before. I guess I had heard the term manic depressive, but not bipolar. So off I went to the computer, found the MOOD DISORDERS ASSOCIATION website, and an instant connection. From there it’s been ups and downs and ups and downs, but mostly ups – steady ups. I was glad to finally have a name and a clear diagnosis. As much as I don’t like labels, having that label really helped me. It had a name even though I didn’t really know what it was. I had a couple years of ups and downs with medications, finding the right one. I was physically sick, had weight loss, then I found one that worked but I gained weight. I just remember being really sick for a long time. Some wouldn’t work and would send me into a mania. I’ve only recently found the right one and been stable. Moderating my drinking has been a challenge through all that since most of the medications don’t go well with alcohol. I’m still working on the alcohol but I’ll always have to be monitored.”

Whitney Taylor

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