substance use and mental health
There is a relationship between substance use and mental health that may demonstrate two or more nonrelated conditions. When this happens, the conditions might take place through changes or as a result of factors, for example, genetic influence, stress, or even personality that may affect the risk for multiple conditions. This means that substance use disorders and any other psychiatric disorder can represent different symptoms of similar existing neurobiological disorders
Another scenario in the coexistence of the relationship between substance abuse and psychiatric disorder is when psychiatric disorder, rather than substance use disorder, becomes a risk factor for one to use drugs. From research, substance use disorder occurs when the patient tries to deal with problems that are related to mental illness. This might lead to excessive use of the drug. The psychiatric disorder might make one use drugs excessively, that even after treating the psychiatric disorder, the substance use will continue.
Also, substance use may lead to the development of psychiatric disorders, where the two respective disorders will run the independent way. This scenario most occurs between cannabis drug use and schizophrenia. It is known that adolescents using cannabis can lead to the development of psychosis illness that will run independently.
Sometimes when one withdraws from the use of drugs, there is a temporary psychiatric disorder formed. Psychosis disorder is caused as a result of withdrawal from a drug used, is caused by intoxication with specific types of substances. The latest evidence notes that these two conditions share causal factors.
Effects of crises, disasters and other trauma causing events on people
There is an available trigger that can cause shock, the triggers can lead to anxiety and other emotions that are related to stress. People often are not aware of these triggers that cause trauma. Triggers sometimes might make a person suffering from traumatic disorders, to get into disruptive behaviors. The victims may also form self-destructive behaviors without their knowledge. One of the reactions to these triggers that causes trauma include panic attacks.
Sometimes people suffering from traumatic disorders may experience intense responses of anger, inappropriate or unexpected situations; this happens when events are re-experienced. Events that are upsetting, such as images, or flashbacks of adverse events may give victim sleepless nights due to frequent nightmares. Another effect is insomnia, which may occur due to fears and insecurity; this makes the person be on a lookout every time, both day and night.
Trauma does not change only one’s daily functions but also might lead to morphological changes. Epigenetic can be passed to the next generation, leading to genetics to be part of psychological trauma.
When emotional exhaustion sets, it may lead to different effects such as distraction and also thinking upright may be lost. There will be frequent occurrences of emotional detachment and dissociation. Components of dissociation include depersonalization disorder dissociative amnesia, dissociative identity disorder, and others. When the victim is exposed to a previous experience that caused trauma, one is likely to suffer from neurophysiological changes, which involves slowed myelination, synaptic pruning abnormalities, shrinking of the hippocampus, effective impairment and cognitive.
Some people suffering from trauma might lose focus, if the trauma symptoms, do not disappear. They do not believe that what they are suffering from will improve. This situation of losing focus might lead to loss of self-esteem and depression. One might call their own identity in question when their knowledge of the world is violated.
Clinical assessment and treatment recommendations
For the increase of favorable results in the treatment of substance and psychiatric disorders, clinical assessment is essential. But due to the complex link between the two disorders, it becomes complicated to treat. It is good to treat both depression and substance use disorder at the same time. The use of selective serotonin is not valid when treating patients with both mental disorders and substance use disorders. From research conducted, it is found that antidepressants have minimal effect in maintaining abstinence.
People that develop psychiatric disorders due to the withdrawal of specific substance use. The most common psychosis in people using substances includes schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. The clinical recommendations for this condition are the use of antipsychotic drugs; this alone cannot function; there are specific measures to be considered; one records the type and the level of substance. Secondly, the patient should be made aware of the side effects they might go through when they go against a drug prescription.
It is good to wait; the victim has had a reasonable time of abstinence before attempting a diagnostic assessment. This helps symptoms of acute intoxication and withdrawal time to reduce. Abstinence period varies depending on the diagnosis victim is and drug abuse.
Treatments for SUDs and mood disorders
Psychotherapeutic Treatment
Behavioral approaches are one of the common use principles. Learning and gaining self –confidence among the victims helps in the recovery of both disorders. Also, the patient exposed to learning how to regulate mood symptoms will help the patient to stop using substances as a way of cubing the moods
Pharmacotherapy
This mode of treatment is the use of medications. For the past ten years, there are new medications that are very friendly to users.
When treating medication, it is suitable for the patient with SUD to wait until after detoxification. This always helps the victim not to use medicines to disorders that could have resolved after a week. But if depression persists, early pharmacotherapeutic interventions are used.