Mental disorders take a toll on a person’s life, affecting not only their emotional and psychological health but also by imposing negative effects on their physical health and well-being. This is the reason why it is very important to treat mental disorders very keenly and to take extra care in the kind of treatment which is being given to people with mental illnesses. Doctors and specialists compose a very balanced proportion of medication for the patients so they can heal properly and their drugs can have positive, curative effects on their mental health. Along with medication and various drugs for the treatment, doctors prescribe other means of effective cure such as cognitive behavioral therapy and psychotherapy all which are aimed at taking the patient through a more natural and less intense course of treatment which can have long-lasting and beneficial effects on the patient’s mental health (Samhsa, 2015). On the other hand, drugs are administered for quicker and more efficient results for a patient’s condition, and they are supposed to help them recover from their condition within a shorter span of time.
Before the kind of medication for the mental illness can be determined, it is important to realize the kind of mental illness and its root cause. There are several mental illnesses that are caused by drug addiction and drug abuse. The relationship between drug abuse and addiction and mental illnesses is very strong, and there are about 8.9 million reported cases of mental illness and substance abusers in the United States (Samhsa, 2015). There are several cases which are then reported to the people with the undiagnosed mental illnesses which they treat with medication for their assumed treatment and end up abusing drugs. Moreover, at times, the medication that is being taken by those patients diagnosed by mental patients is taken in excess, or it is the incorrect medication, which can further complicate their illness.
Not only that, there are several drugs which can cause mental illness after prolonged abuse, and they are hard to leave because people get addicted to these drugs after years of
misuse. Also, there are cases of medication which can affect the people who are already predisposed to mental illness and when they abuse drugs; they are a higher chance of abusing drugs at an even higher rate (Helpguide, n.d.).There are also drugs which have deleterious effects on the mental health of people and that mental illness can cause a person to become addicted to drugs eventually.
Drug misuse is when a drug is taken by a person for the reasons for which the drug is not designated to be taken. It can also be the condition in which the drug is taken in excess which can lead to a high level of drug dependency. It, therefore, leads to a strong physical or psychological dependence on the drug (NIH, 2016). However, it is an aggravated issue when a person with a drug dependence and mental illness has to face both the problems at a time, and they cannot determine whether the mental illness caused the drug dependence or did it go the other way round.
It is difficult and tricky to assume what comes first; the mental illness or the drug addiction. Either way, mental illness coupled with drug addiction and abuse can become a cross to bear as it can cause further mental health deterioration as well as disrupted bodily function and whatever social responsibilities that a person might be carrying out at any point in life will be hampered and affected negatively (Helpguide, n.d.).
Mental illnesses or disorders such as anxiety, stress and depression are usually dealt with the easiest and prime form of relief which is alcoholism or drug use. As a temporary escape from what is bothering a person at a particular time, alcoholism is the one treatment people go for. However, all that alcohol does is make the brain duller, more reliant on its use and its functions keep deteriorating with the passage of time (DualDiagnosis, 2016).
With alcoholism, not only does the dose need to be increased with the passing days, but also when a person falls into a fit of depression or has a panic attack, they will stoop into
drinking rigorously until it will become habitual for them and smaller doses will become ineffectual. Therefore taken as self-medication, alcohol is a substance which can be abused and will ultimately lead to severe consequences (DualDiagnosis, 2016).
Also, if a genetic, environmental or any other factor lies responsible for a person to become mentally ill and inhabits a disorder, then the drug addiction will lead to an earlier development of the mental disease and perhaps in a more aggressive form. Moreover, alcoholism and drug use can make the symptoms of the drug use even worse and can lead to the development of new symptoms which can make it even more difficult to develop a diagnosis for an illness. Addiction is a common phenomenon amongst people with mental illness. Complications occur when the drug dependence is too delayed, or the patient is in denial of having any kind of drug addiction or unnecessary dependence.
Continuing with the mental disorder like depression, there are a number of drugs that are taken by users without considering their pros and cons. For example, marijuana serves as a popular and common alternative to therapy or perhaps healthier ways of venting the depression. The easier way is to soothe the nerves, without dealing with the root cause of depression. An overdose of the drug can lead to heart problems, damage to the internal organs and lead to severe mental deterioration such as memory loss, slurred speech and prolonged use of the drug can lead to psychosis and even schizophrenia, with double the risk (Duckworth & Freedman, 2013).
Substance abuse is common with many mental disorders. Taking the example of Bipolar disorder, which is also referred to as Manic Depression, it is a condition where a person can experience extreme moods. They can result from extreme feelings of being on a high or being extremely low and dejected at a time. It is very easy to make a diagnosis of the disorder after one manic attack or a depressive episode. The actual treatment of bipolar disorder lies within the use of psychotherapy to deal with the mood swings or to take anti-depressants and anti
psychotics on a regular basis to help with the mental state of mind (Dennis & Helfman, 2016).
However, it is not up to a person to self-diagnose the illness and then make the call for what medication they will require. Pain killers are taken to help with the depression as well. Depakote, Lithium, and Zyprexa can serve as useful medications for the depressive episodes. By stabilizing brain chemical composition, they can help to reduce the episodes. However an overdose or excess usage can lead to agitation, mood destabilization, aggression, slurred speech and in more severe cases it can cause death (NIDA, 2007). Moreover, if the medication is coupled with alcoholism and drug abuse in order to help with the emotional imbalance, it can deter the effectiveness of the medication and either nullify it or worsen the brain’s health (NIDA, 2007).
Another common mental disorder with complicating symptoms and effects is schizophrenia. Illustrating itself in the form of psychosis where the person experiences actual reality shifts, the mental illness is aggressive and leaves the patient emotionally drained and withdrawn from the rest of their surroundings. It is common to hear sounds or see images of things that are actually not there and the person finds it impossible to neglect their existence. The treatment for their condition is actually medication which needs to be regulated properly, and the dose has to be exact (DualDiagnosis, 2016). Mainly, the patients are administered antipsychotics in order to help with the hallucinations and the sounds they experience. The usual medications for the disorder are Aristada, Zyprexa, Geodon, Latuda and other anti-psychotics that help the people return to a much more normal state of mind after their panic and hallucinations set in. while these medications are important for the treatment of the mental illness, they are associated with risks to the physiological health of the person. There may be heart murmurs or arrhythmias associated with prolonged use of antipsychotics, and they may result in symptoms of overuse similar to that of Bipolar disorder (DualDiagnosis, 2016).
Another addiction which is quite common to schizophrenics is that of smoking; Nicotine is an element that they are strictly addicted to, in fact, every smoker is. However, research shows
that schizophrenics are more attracted to cigarette smoke, and they crave for nicotine. In fact, their addiction rate is about 75-90% greater than the normal population of the world (DualDiagnosis, 2016). However, there is a correlation between smoking and the anti-psychotic drugs ingested by schizophrenics. Regarding the stimulating effect of nicotine and the addiction that many of the schizophrenics have towards it, studies have shown that when a schizophrenic smokes along with their medication, the usefulness of the medication is lessened to a large extent. With the drugs being less effective, perhaps the dosage is increased to the extent of abuse or misuse. This can lead to the aforementioned physiological problems that can complicate the situation.
Then there is the case of leaving smoking in order to get rid of the nicotine in the system. However being an addictive component of the cigarette, absence of nicotine in the blood will lead to withdrawal and the body will face adverse symptoms. If withdrawal is a difficult period for normal people, then it is even more difficult for schizophrenics. They may start hallucinating more aggressively, and their condition can deteriorate rapidly. Therefore, the medication taken by such patients plus their smoking habits are always noted and closely monitored when they are prescribed antipsychotics by doctors.
There are also eating disorders such as Bulimia Nervosa and Anorexia, which are caused by a number of reasons. Whatever the reasons, the mental illnesses are severed by substance abuse (Grilo et al., n.d). Firstly, those who take marijuana are more likely to feel hungry or have an empty stomach. Marijuana, when taken in large amounts, can lead to more binge eating and in the case of bulimia, for example, it can cause a lot of eating resulting in forced vomiting and if not, then it can cause these people to gain weight which can be a
the problem for the anorexic patients. This leads to a severe mental condition and feeling of lowered self-esteem and needs to work on themselves (Burnett & Reiman, 2014).
Alcohol is another factor in these two illnesses. According to the nature of alcohol, it is positive in inducing the person to vomit after being consumed in ravenous amounts. This is exactly what people with bulimia and anorexia would do. By consuming a large amount of alcohol, they would be inducing the urge to vomit all that they would have consumed. The effects of this is not only the deterioration of the body by drinking a lot of alcohol such as damage to the liver, but also the effect of vomiting in large amounts which can cause the lining of the stomach to get ruptured and damaged causing pain and bleeding in the body (Grilo et al., n.d). Associated with the mental condition, these people regulate the drug intake according to their body’s weight. If their weight drops, they start consuming more of the drug. If their weight increases, they binge on alcohol which can help them in reducing it.
In conclusion, various mental disorders carry various effects associated with them, and they need drug intake to help as the cure. However drug dependency and reliance is a negative approach to the cure, and it can cause complications of its own. Alcohol and drug abuse id the most common substance abuse, mostly in the form of overdose and large intakes only to satiate the mind. Drug addiction is a serious problem which needs to be regulated with the help of a professional, and any medication of any kind must not be administered only by a whim because even the simplest of painkillers can become addictive and people can overdose easily due to the rewiring effect of drugs on the mental health of people. Moreover, any person with any mental illness needs to be helped by their loved ones and family members and need to be treated with proper medication, and if they have a drug problem, then they need to be rehabilitated and helped with the eradication of their addiction.
References
Burnett, M., & Reiman, A. (2014, August 28). Does marijuana use cause Psychosis? Retrieved
June 15, 2016, from http://www.drugpolicy.org/blog/does-marijuana-use-cause-psychosis
Dennis, A. B., & Helfman, B. (2016). Neda. Retrieved June 15, 2016, from
https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/substance-abuse-and-eating-disorders DualDiagnosis. (2016). The connection between mental illness and substance abuse. Retrieved
June 15, 2016, from http://www.dualdiagnosis.org/mental-health-and-addiction/the-
connection/
Duckworth, K., & Freedman, J. L. (2013, March ). Retrieved June 15, 2016, from
http://www2.nami.org/factsheets/marijuana_factsheet.pdf
Grilo, C. M. et al., Eating disorders and alcohol use disorders. Retrieved June 15, 2016, from
http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh26-2/151-160.htm Inline Citation: (Grilo et al., n.d.)
Helpguide. Substance abuse and Co-Occurring disorders. Retrieved June 15, 2016, from
http://www.helpguide.org/articles/addiction/substance-abuse-and-mental-health.htm
https://www.apa.org/about/gr/issues/substance-abuse/comorbid.pdf
NIH. (2016, January). Mental health medications. Retrieved June 15, 2016, from
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/mental-health-medications/index.shtml
NIH. Is there a link between marijuana use and psychiatric disorders? (2016, March ). Retrieved
June 15, 2016, from Nora’s Blog, https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/marijuana/there-link-between-marijuana-use-psychiatric-disorders
Samhsa. (2015, October 27). Behavioral health treatments and services. Retrieved June 15,
2016, from http://www.samhsa.gov/treatment/mental-disorders
