Addiction, depression, and suicide are all very closely related. People who suffer from severe depression and other mental health issues often engage in risky behaviors or turn to drugs and alcohol to numb their negative feelings. However, chronic alcohol or drug abuse also produces toxic side effects, including mental health issues like anxiety and depression. As a person continues to use alcohol or drugs to cope with depression, they’re likely to experience depressive episodes more often, increasing feelings of hopelessness and despair.
Tag: co-occurring disorders
How Eating Disorders Can Lead to Addiction
Many people with eating disorders turn to drugs or alcohol to ease their emotional or physical pain or to help them reach their weight loss goals. Unfortunately, these self-destructive behaviors only fuel each other and worsen the person’s state of mind, overall health, and well-being. Understanding eating disorders and addiction and how they fuel each other can help you get the right type of help and treatment to recover.
Addiction in the Family: Effects of an Alcoholic Father or Mother
In 2017, about 20 million people ages 12 or over had a substance use disorder in the past year and nearly 15 million of these people struggle with alcohol use disorder.1 While addiction takes a heavy toll on the user, leading to serious physical and psychological problems, substance abuse can be just as hard on […]
Author Brittany Shelton Talks Addiction, Life Lessons, and Her Book
Discovering Beautiful is a powerful narrative about author Brittany Shelton’s personal struggle with addiction and her journey to recovery. Within the pages of her book, she shares some of her most personal experiences, diving deep into some important topics related to addiction, including childhood trauma, sexual assault, mental illness, shame, and domestic violence.
An In-Depth Overview of Drug Use and Co-Occurring Disorders
About 7.9 million adults in the United States suffered from co-occurring disorders in 2014, according to the 2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health publDrug Use and Co-Occurring Disorders: Most Common Co-Occurring Disorders with Addictionished by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.1 Unfortunately, since co-occurring disorders are often very complex, many individuals […]