For over 58 million Americans, mood disorders are an everyday part of life. These disorders include depression, bipolar disorder, and a wide range of other mental health disorders, which impact mood. These disorders, which are also known as affective disorders, are characterized by disturbance in mood versus disturbances in psychosis. Therefore, bipolar disorders, depression, anxiety, and substance abuse are all considered mood disorders.
For many people, these disorders are significantly and strongly linked to substance abuse – because the risk factors for substance abuse and mood disorders overlap, because mood disorders increase vulnerability to substance use disorders, and because substance abuse can trigger or even cause mood disorders.
That complex relationship means there are a significant number of ways a mood disorder can influence a substance use disorder and vice versa.
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Substance Abuse Exacerbates Mood Disorders
Substance abuse including drug and alcohol use heavily influences neurotransmitter and hormone production in the brain and central nervous system. In long-term use, most illicit drugs reduce production of serotonin and dopamine, reduce natural production of opioids, and change GABA production. While these hormones each serve different purposes, they all influence mood and emotional regulation – leading the individual to feel more down, more unstable, and more prone to mood swings, irritability, and anger.
This process is so bad that there are entire classes of diagnosable mood disorders caused by alcohol and drug abuse. Often these disorders will recover over time but may take several years following quitting to do so.
Here alcohol and benzodiazepine abuse are significantly likely to cause depression and major mood depression in heavy users. In addition, even withdrawing from benzodiazepines can result in major depression, which can last as long as 12 months after you quit the drug.
Finally, most drugs and alcohol exacerbate the symptoms of mood disorders. Drugs and alcohol actively disrupt the neurotransmitters and hormones regulating your mood. In addition, drug and alcohol abuse actively get in the way of the habits, social engagement, and self-care that help you to manage mood disorders. Someone with a mood disorder should eat healthily, get enough sleep, and ensure they stay hydrated to maintain energy levels. A person abusing drugs or alcohol will rarely do any of those things.
Therefore, many people with low level or unnoticeable mood disorders start using drugs or alcohol and eventually have significantly worse symptoms. Those symptoms may return to pre-abuse levels after you quit but they may not.
Dual Diagnosis
For many people with a mood disorder, a dual diagnosis and treatment for both substance use disorder and the mood disorder is the only way to move forward. If you’re struggling with addiction, that addiction can get in the way of treating your mood disorder. At the same time, if you seek out “just” addiction treatment, your mood disorder will complicate and slow the process of addiction treatment. A dual diagnosis ensures that both are taken into consideration and treated at the same time, helping you to work through problems and symptoms as they get in the way of your primary treatment – helping you to move forward in a way that works for your mood disorder.
That’s especially true for anyone with prescription medication. Dual diagnosis will allow you to build a program around maintaining your medication and maintaining your mental health, rather than simply focusing on getting clean or sober – which allows individuals with bipolar and borderline personality disorders to seek out treatment.
Final Thoughts
Mood disorders are extremely common and make up most mental illnesses. At the same time, they greatly increase vulnerability to substance abuse and substance use disorders, with 17 million people struggling with both a mental illness and a substance use disorder. Understanding that both impact each other and in complex ways can help you to seek out the right treatment, to help with your mental health and mood disorder, substance abuse, and how the two overlap.
If you or a loved one would like more information about drug rehab, alcohol rehab, detox please contact us to speak in complete confidence with one of our experienced treatment advisors today.
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Our medical, clinical, and counseling staffs on site are available 24/7.
Shawn Jewelinski serves as the Director of Operations with a focus on client relations and satisfaction. With over a decade of experience in business management, Shawn excels in streamlining operations and ensuring all clients have the most fulfilling experience possible. His commitment to improving processes and client experiences ensures the highest standards of efficiency and quality in every case.
Outside of work, Shawn is passionate about physical fitness and enjoys hiking. He often explores new trails, combining his love for the outdoors with his dedication to a healthy lifestyle. This balance of professional expertise and personal interests contributes to his well-rounded and dynamic approach to life and work.
