Can Drugs Affect Your Mental Health?

June 9, 2023 by Marjorie R. Rogers, MA (English), Certified Consultant

There are all sorts of reasons why people turn to drugs. But no matter what pushes you to the wild side, it’s important to know using them can seriously deteriorate your mental health over time. So if you’re considering going down that road, consider the consequences. In this blog post, we will discuss some of the effects of drugs on mental health.

How Can Drugs Affect Your Mental Health?

The possible long-term mental effects of drugs include the following:

• Drug dependence
• Sudden mood changes
• Negative approach to life
• Anxiety
• Less motivation
• Depression
• Relationship troubles
• Psychosis

Mental Health and Drug Use: A Dual Diagnosis Story

Ever heard of dual diagnosis? It’s described as the simultaneous occurrence of substance abuse and a mental health disorder. For instance, people with depression are highly likely to self-medicate with alcohol at the onset of symptoms like insomnia, irritability, and restlessness. One in three people suffering from drug abuse will most likely struggle with mental illness.

Dual diagnosis represents alcoholism symptoms and those mental disorders feeding off each other. It leads to emotional and psychological variations in an individual due to continued drug use and vice versa. If left untreated, the co-occurring mental illness and drug dependency become uncontrollable and untreatable. 

Drug abuse or mental illness does not guarantee the development of a co-occurring disorder. However, it might increase the chances of a dual diagnosis later in life.

The Risk Factor of Drug Use to Negative Mental Health

Below are some of the factors that might put people at risk of negative mental health:

1. Family history of drug use
2. Drug exposure at a young age
3. Prior to or present diagnosis of mental health problems
4. Frequent access to much stronger or more potent drugs

Supporting Someone With Drug and Mental Health Problems

Supporting friends or loved ones with drug or alcohol abuse is important. However, it becomes more difficult if their addiction co-occurs with a mental health disorder. Wondering how you can help them? Here’s how:

• Encourage them to seek help. You can do this by reassuring them that it is alright to seek professional help.
• Accompany them to the doctors’ appointments, that’s if they allow it, of course. This gives them morale, especially during earlier sessions of treatment.
• Help them stay the course of their treatment plan. That is the meetings, medication, and rehab activities.
• Spend more time with them. Do this by joining in any activities that sound fun to them.
• In case they need someone to talk to, be available to listen.
• Explain to them how their addiction is affecting you or others.

If you or someone you know is struggling with drug addiction, consider seeking help from a reputable rehab in Arizona. or a treatment facility near you.

Conclusion

Excessive use of drugs can cause dire issues for a person’s mental well-being. Continued drug use might also lead to self-harm or suicidal thoughts. Drug and Alcohol use has unpredictable effects on mood. Substance abuse also makes users more impulsive, leading to suicidal thoughts in the long run.  The number of first-time drug users and clients suffering from mental disorders like psychosis has also increased in recent years. So yes, drugs greatly affect our mental health, and we must take more responsibility in combating drug use.