If you or someone close to you is struggling with addiction, there are many changes that addiction can have on behavior, mood, and personality. There are also significant impacts on mental health.
How Drug Addiction Affects Mental Health
As drug addiction continues to make changes to the size and structure of the brain, it literally and figuratively shapes thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. The more this happens, the less control individuals have over many things, like making healthy or safe choices, quitting, or avoiding a relapse.
All of these behaviors have an added impact on mental health.
Guilt
How does drug addiction affect mental health in terms of personal feelings and their impact on relationships?
People who struggle with addiction are, in many cases, all too aware of the impact that their addiction has not just on themselves but on the decisions they make. They are also very much cognizant of how mistakes, behaviors, and actions can cause hurt or harm to friends and family.
This can make people feel ashamed of themselves and their behaviors, and that guilt can negatively impact mental health. As individuals struggle with continual guilt, they’ll start to place blame on themselves, which will make it even more difficult to make decisions and experience symptoms like:
- Feelings of worthlessness
- Anger
- Anxiety
- Poor self-esteem
- Difficulty sleeping
- Depression
Isolation
Tangentially, those who are struggling with substance abuse and the guilt that comes with being unable to control behaviors related to addiction are more likely to isolate themselves.
The feelings of worthlessness, poor self-esteem, depression, and anxiety can all increase the likelihood that an individual will pull away from others and that social isolation will only feed into feelings of worthlessness, depression, and anxiety. So, how does drug addiction affect mental health in this capacity?
It takes people away from others, and several longitudinal studies confirm that relationships with other people are the most critical things in our lives, especially physical and mental health.
Depression and Anxiety
Perhaps the most critical way that drug addiction impacts mental health is by leading to the development of depression and anxiety disorders. The longer individuals struggle with feelings of guilt, worthlessness, and poor self-esteem combined with isolation and limited social engagement, the more likely they are to find themselves with secondary conditions.
The more individuals struggle with guilt, worry about trying to hide addictive behavior, or are concerned that a relapse will be discovered by a loved one, the more likely they are to exhibit symptoms of anxiety until the point that they develop anxiety disorders. Anxiety and depressive disorders are the two most common mental health issues and are most likely to co-occur with drug addiction.
Drug addiction has long-term effects on neurobiology, and these chemical imbalances can have a direct impact on your mood, leading to significant drops in your mood that eventually result in things like major depressive disorder.
Getting Treatment for Drug Addiction at Sequoia Recovery Centers
If you or someone close to you is struggling with drug addiction, it is important that you find reputable addiction treatment as soon as possible. The longer an individual goes without the right level of care from Sequoia Recovery, the worse those changes to neurochemistry become, and the more issues with mental health an individual is likely to encounter.
At Sequoia Recovery, we provide all levels of care so you can choose a program that works best for your schedule and your needs. Our inpatient programs offer the highest level of care for those who need the most support. However, for those who might not be able to reside full-time at our facility, we have slightly less demanding programs that take place over the span of several weeks at a full-time or part-time obligation.
Overall, there are several ways that drug addiction can impact mental health for the worse, and the longer you go without treatment, the more your risk of developing secondary mental health issues increases. With the right treatment, though, you can put yourself back on the right track.
Contact our team today to learn more about our levels of drug addiction treatment.