These days, drugs and alcohol have become a go – to – choice for nearly everyone to combat their emotions and stress. What happens later is severe addiction to the same without even realizing. There are several other ways to get rid of stress and difficult emotions. Here are some dangers of self – medication.
What Is It?
Self – medicating simply means using drugs or alcohol to fight mental health issues like depression and anxiety.
Self – medication might seem an easy option but that’s not the case. Alcohol and drugs might make you feel better but that doesn’t last forever. Eventually you end up becoming an addict. This only worsens the situation affecting your personal and professional life.
Using drugs and alcohol to deal with mental health issues drives you away from getting the right treatment for the actual illness.
What Leads To Self – Medication?
One chooses to self – medicate for several reasons like:
- To get over negative emotions
- Deal with uncertainty
- Cope with bad memories and trauma
- Face tough situations
- Boost work performance
In some cases, people are unaware that they are going through mental issues while others are aware yet choose to deal on their own.
Forms Of Self – Medication
You can self – medicate in different manners:
- Alcohol
- Prescribing illegal drugs
- Nicotine
- Food
Relation Between Self – Medication And Addiction
The self – medication theory of addiction was first written in the 1980’s by clinicians. They realised that heroin addicts used the drug to deal with their mental health issues. It was soon established that people consumed alcohol and drugs to deal with their stress and mental health issues. Later on it was proved that continuous self – medication lead to addiction.
Doctors and therapists often try to prescribe physical activities along with medicine to handle stress and other issues simply to prevent the patient from getting addicted to the medicines prescribed for mental health issues.
How To Know It’s Self – Medication?
It could be difficult to realize that you are self – medicating. Therefore, here are 5 signs to know the same:
- Drugs and alcohol become a go – to solution when stressed
- Anxiety when unable to access the drug or alcohol
- Increased amounts of drug and alcohol intake
- Opposite reaction of drugs and alcohol than you expected
- Beloved ones expressing concern about your behavior
These are not the only signs to prove you are self – medicating but this could be a starting point to notice if there any.
How To Stop Self – Medication?
If you feel you’re self – medicating too much, the best way to stop it is to begin a detox program. For that you can enroll in a detox center. Further you can approach a rehabilitation center. They can help you fight your urges from within and help you recover completely.