It can be challenging to control both addiction and depression, especially when they coexist. Fortunately, both conditions are curable. If people with dual illnesses are aware of the risk factors, symptoms, and available treatments, they may feel more empowered and involved in their recovery.
What Is Depression?
Depression has a variety of causes. However, a range of genetic, environmental, psychological, and biological risk factors are associated with its onset. Risk factors include adverse or traumatic childhood experiences, a family history of depression, ongoing medical conditions, or demanding life circumstances.
It is crucial to understand that everyone occasionally feels grief. On the other hand, major depression, or clinical depression, is a diagnosable condition characterized by a persistently gloomy mood for the majority of each day for at least two weeks.
What Is Addiction?
The use of a recreational drug in social situations can trigger the onset of substance addiction. That initial social use increases in frequency for some people. Others, particularly opioid abusers, develop a drug addiction after coming into contact with prescribed pharmaceuticals or after acquiring the drugs from a friend or relative who has a prescription. It’s common to believe that prescription drugs can’t possibly lead to addiction, but this is untrue.
The likelihood of addiction and the rate at which you become dependent vary depending on the drug. Opioids are among the drugs that are more dangerous and prone to addiction than other drugs.
As time passes, you might need to consume more of the substance to experience euphoria. You can quickly require the drug just to feel all right. As your drug use increases, you can find it more difficult to stop. Strong desires and physical sickness are possible drug withdrawal symptoms.
There are several risk factors for addiction, some of which are discussed here.
• Family members with a history of drug misuse
• There is a lot of stress
• An inability to cope in a healthy way
• Financial hardship/poverty
• Consistently aggressive behavior that began in childhood
• A lack of parental involvement and supervision during childhood
• Peer pressure
• Genetics
• Depressive disorders and other mental health conditions
There are times when a loved one’s addiction goes unnoticed by family members for a while. There are several causes for this. For one reason or another, some addicts are quite good at hiding their addiction.
Addiction-Related Depression
Some withdrawal symptoms from drugs and alcohol can be similar to or overlap with those experienced in depressive episodes.
It is possible to have agitation and anxiety during alcohol withdrawal. After a withdrawal phase, many people endure mood swings, insomnia, weariness, a lack of intimacy, and feelings of hatred and rage.
A depressed mood and a loss of enjoyment are among the stimulant withdrawal symptoms, which can last for several weeks. Due to stimulant intoxication, a person may “crash” and suffer great fatigue and strong urges.
Opioid withdrawal, including those from heroin and prescription painkillers, can be extremely agitating and painful physically. Opioid withdrawal can lead to sleep problems, anxiety, and intense cravings for several weeks.
An addiction expert should evaluate people with addiction and depression for a complete diagnosis and treatment. Using and withdrawing from these common substances may also increase previous mental disorder symptoms.
https://www.addictioncenter.com/addiction/depression-and-addiction/
https://nida.nih.gov/publications/research-reports/common-comorbidities-substance-use-disorders/why-there-comorbidity-between-substance-use-disorders-mental-illnesses
https://www.helpguide.org/harvard/how-addiction-hijacks-the-brain.htm
