Mental health disorders and substance use disorders often occur simultaneously. That is to say that a person suffering from a mental health disorder can also suffer from substance use disorder simultaneously. The term given to this situation is dual diagnosis or co-occurring disorders.
It is easy to understand how a mental health disorder like depression can lead to drug addiction.
It may be difficult to comprehend how addiction can cause depression. Could the addiction and depression facts be wrong about addiction causing depression?
To help you understand better, let’s dig a little deeper into addiction. Spirit Mountain Recovery offers day treatment programs in Utah.
What are the Causes of Addiction?
Some of the major causes of addiction include:
- Family history: If addiction runs in your family, you’re likely to become addicted as well.
- Genetics: According to some research, a person is more or less likely to develop addiction depending on variations in gene expression that affect how the brain’s reward system functions.
- Our Brain: Addiction is not developed the first time you take a harmful substance. When the harmful substance reaches the brain, chemicals in the brain that give a sensation of reward are released, which makes you develop a craving for the substance. This craving is what leads to addiction.
- Environment: Addiction can also be caused by exposure to addictive drugs, social pressure, a lack of social support, and inadequate coping abilities.
What are the Symptoms of Addiction?
There are psychological, social, and physical symptoms of addiction. These may vary depending on the substance of abuse. However, here are some common ones;
- Secrecy
- Solitude
- Changes in appetite
- Dependence
- Increasing tolerance
- Denial
- Financial difficulties
- Lack of interest in hobbies and activities
- Diseases from long-term use
- Sleeplessness
Does Addiction Cause Depression?
Drug addiction and depression are one of the most common co-occurring disorders. When it comes to depression and drug addiction, It is usually unclear whether addiction or depression comes first, and the co-occurrence of two disorders does not imply that one caused the other.
Depressed people may abuse drugs or alcohol to get the euphoric effects to help lift their mood.
On the other hand, substance misuse can cause or exacerbate feelings of isolation, despair, and hopelessness that are commonly linked with depression.
When the euphoric effect of harmful drugs wears off, you may be left with depressive symptoms that can graduate in major depression if left untreated.
Substance use disorder and addiction can cause brain alterations that impact mood regulation and impulse control, which can possibly affect an underlying propensity to a mental health issue. Alcohol use disorder, for example, has been linked to an increased chance of having Major Depressive Disorder.
Also, trying to make sense of addiction and how it affects your life can also cause depression.
Does addiction cause depression? Even though the link seems complicated, addiction is most definitely a factor that may influence the development of mental health issues like depression.
Is There Treatment for Addiction and Depression?
An integrated treatment approach can treat co-occurring disorders like addiction and depression. This involves treating both the mental health disorder and the substance use disorder simultaneously. Employing integrated treatment for depression and drug addiction is more effective than treating the disorders one after the other.
A problem may lie in diagnosing the disorders as the symptoms of each usually overlap the other. Treatment using the integrated model is possible as soon as the problem can be diagnosed.
You can trust our team of experts at Spirit Mountain Recovery to help you or your loved one move on from co-occurring disorders and live a healthy life. Our addiction treatment programs in Utah are tailored to our client’s needs, making them unique and effective. Do not hesitate to contact us now to find out more about our outpatient and inpatient drug rehab in Utah.
