Effects of Drug Abuse on Mental Health

The Effect of Drug Abuse on Mental Health

Source: Heroes' Mile

Image of illegal substances on a counter, with various tools to ingest the drugs. 

       I was in denial that my cousin was dead until I laid eyes on him. At his burial, my hands grasped the soft bright yellow daisy; I took a petal off with ease and slipped it into my pocket before I gently placed it on his dark wooden casket that was about to be six feet underground. I take my cousin Mikey's drug-fueled demise as a lesson to always reach out when I need help or look out for others when they act as he used to when he was abusing drugs. Mikey had been battling with voices inside of his head for years, and no one knew; they never thought he was anything other than a drug addict. Mikey began to self-medicate to stop the voices going on inside his head. People who have abused substances are more likely to attempt suicide and have mental health disorders than those who have never used drugs.   

Who abuses substances?

According to webMD "The 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National Findings is being released by the Department of Health and Human Services. The survey show that people aged 18 to 25 are using less cocaine and methamphetamine, but they are using more prescription pain relievers recreationally compared to 2006. Baby boomers aged 55 to 59 more than doubled their use of illicit drugs since 2002 (from 1.9% to 4.1%)." People from all different backgrounds and age groups can abuse substances. Therefore, more substances are used by teens other than cocaine, meth, and prescription pills.

What's all the talk about suicide?

A quote from a reliable peer-reviewed journal by Robert E. Davis states, 

“Suicide is the second leading cause of death among ages 10-34 and  

the 10th leading cause of death among all Americans.”   

    The journal discusses how drug use is usually paired with depression and feelings of suicide. Davis provides statistics about suicide and the effect of substance abuse on college students. It also brings up the topic of stigma. Many people who have mental illnesses self-stigmatize themselves.  Drug abuse is a highly stigmatized topic which makes users feel shame and blame. The views that society has can affect how you feel worse about yourself especially when you're an addict.

Mental Health Disorders from Drugs?

    The National Library of Medicine published the article Drug Addiction as Risk for Suicide Attempts describes a survey where 200 people who took either heroin or opiates have either attempted suicide or not. It shares the results of the survey in-depth with analysis and statistics. The main goal of the survey is to compare the risks and elements of different drug use and whether they have attempted suicide. The National Library of Medicine states that:

"Systematic review findings suggest that society views individuals with drug use disorders as dangers to themselves and others, subsequently, these individuals are intentionally avoided." 

    Society views drug abusers as less than, only because they do drugs. They are considered to be dangerous and bad for society only because of stereotypes. Pot smokers are lazy, unmotivated and dangerous for society.

Well, I puff-puff passed a joint... does that mean I'm gonna kill myself???

        Just because someone does drugs does not mean they want to kill themselves or have mental health issues; the correlation between substance abuse and suicide does not indicate that it happens all the time. According to SAMSHA an organization (The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) aimed to aid the nation to decrease the effects of drug use and mental disorders.

"Individuals with substance use disorders (SUDs) are particularly susceptible to suicide and suicide attempts. Opiates (including heroin and prescription painkillers) were present in 20 percent of suicide deaths, marijuana in 10.2 percent, cocaine in 4.6 percent, and amphetamines in 3.4 percent." Statistically, it is proven that if you have an addiction to narcotics, you are at a higher risk for depression and the ideation of committing suicide.

    NIDA known as The National Institute on Drug Abuse states that "Long-term marijuana use has been linked to mental illness in some people, such as temporary hallucinations, temporary paranoia,

Source: Shutterstock/Stephen Orsillo

worsening symptoms in patients with schizophrenia—a severe mental disorder with symptoms such as hallucinations, paranoia, and disorganized thinking." Marijuana use has also been linked to other mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts among teens. However, study findings have been mixed." Statistics prove that drug use and abuse is linked to many mental health disorders. Therefore, just because a study has numbers concluding drug users are more inclined to have mental illnesses and feel suicidal versus someone who has never tried drugs, does not mean everyone that uses drugs is suicidal or has mental illnesses. Or that non drug users do not have any mental health issues or do not have feel suicidal.

We need to look out for our children, the left is trying to encourage kids to be pot-smoking hippies!!!

Source: Journey Back to the Source

Image of 'hippies' selling acid which is an illegal drug.