Sadness, Depression and Related Substance Abuse
Who teaches us how to deal with the bad things that happen to us in life?
No matter if you are sad or depressed, how you deal with those feelings is what is important to us at Bryan's Smile.
Feeling sad, lonely, alienated, depressed. These are terrible feelings. They can make you physically sick. You may be experiencing sadness due to a breakup, fight with a friend, missing family or friends, feeling alone. You don't have to be clinically depressed. How you deal with this sadness is important to family, friends, and us.
OR
You may actually be clinically depressed. Doctors define depression as feeling down or "blue", on more days than not, for at least two weeks. This is different from feeling stressed out or sad about something. Depression rarely has a good cause. The person may feel sad without knowing exactly why. Activities that would normally cheer him/her up aren't fun anymore. Even getting out of bed can be difficult.
The following are symptoms associated with clinical depression:
· Feeling depressed most of the day, nearly every day; children and teens may be irritable instead
· Losing pleasure in activities that used to be enjoyable
· Gaining or losing a noticeable amount of weight
· Having trouble sleeping, or sleeping too much
· Feeling worthless or guilty without a good reason
· Feeling tired nearly every day
· Having trouble thinking or concentrating
· Moving or speaking more slowly than normal
· Having thoughts of suicide or death
Again, how you deal with your depression will affect you and your loved ones for the rest of your lives. We and others care. Let the words fall out.
OR
You may actually be clinically depressed. Doctors define depression as feeling down or "blue", on more days than not, for at least two weeks. This is different from feeling stressed out or sad about something. Depression rarely has a good cause. The person may feel sad without knowing exactly why. Activities that would normally cheer him/her up aren't fun anymore. Even getting out of bed can be difficult.
The following are symptoms associated with clinical depression:
· Feeling depressed most of the day, nearly every day; children and teens may be irritable instead
· Losing pleasure in activities that used to be enjoyable
· Gaining or losing a noticeable amount of weight
· Having trouble sleeping, or sleeping too much
· Feeling worthless or guilty without a good reason
· Feeling tired nearly every day
· Having trouble thinking or concentrating
· Moving or speaking more slowly than normal
· Having thoughts of suicide or death
Again, how you deal with your depression will affect you and your loved ones for the rest of your lives. We and others care. Let the words fall out.
Can this be prevented? What do we do now?
Addiction is a disease and needs to be treated as one.
Link To Addiction
Some people use alcohol and illegal drugs to deal with the symptoms of depression. Doctors call this "self-medicating". The effects of alcohol or drugs can provide temporary relief from feelings of sadness, guilt or worthlessness. When the effects wear off, the bad feelings return. This cycle can lead to continuing use and eventual addiction. Another link involves the consequences of depression. Depressed people often withdraw from social contact and may even have trouble holding jobs. They may find themselves spending more time alone, without a supportive social network and turning to drugs or alcohol for comfort. It may even be easier to spend time with others who abuse alcohol and drugs instead of pursuing healthier relationships because social expectations may be lower.
Even for people who aren't using alcohol or drugs to self-medicate and haven't lost their social connections, depression appears to increase the risk of addiction. Many doctors think that whatever makes people vulnerable to depression also makes them more likely to abuse alcohol or drugs. Someone without depression may be able to try an illicit drug or drink alcohol regularly without any long-term problems; for a depressed person, these same activities may be more likely to lead to addiction. |
Treatment
When a person has both addiction and depression, the plan of attack for treatment can be difficult. The individual must seek help to find the origin, whether it be depression or addiction, from his/her history. He/she will most likely know if they felt depressing feelings before using drugs, used the drugs to "self-medicate" the pain of depression, or other similar signs. Even if the depression was first, the drugs or alcohol may have to be treated first due to their addictive nature. On the other hand, if the depression was caused by the addiction and substance abuse then it should only be necessary to treat the addiction. The side-effects of the substance abuse, including the depression, should subside. If the depression remains after the substance abuse is treated then it should be treated as a separate issue including possibly seeking professional counseling and medication.
Combining both depression and addiction can make it extremely difficult to overcome. They feed off of each other and can quickly turn into a downward spiral. If a person feels depressed they could easily feel the need to "self-medicate" and use, which is the cause of many relapses. Then after the drugs are used it can deepen the feelings of depression. Therefore, seeking treatment can be much more effective if the link between the depression and addiction is known. |