Depression and substance abuse are often closely intertwined, connected in more ways than one. Someone struggling with mental health issues may invariably turn to alcohol or drugs to cope with their emotions. However, relying on this type of self-medication can quickly spiral out of control, creating a vicious cycle that becomes difficult to break — where depression leads to addiction and addiction exacerbates depression.
In fact, the National Institute on Drug Abuse notes that nearly 50% of people with a substance abuse disorder will also suffer from mental illness at some point. These co-occurring conditions can feed off the other, worsening symptoms and affecting your health.
By understanding how depression and substance abuse have a connection, you can begin to take steps to prevent this harmful, destructive pattern from happening.
What Is Depression?
Depression is a brain disorder but also a state of mind, notes the Hope for Depression Research Foundation, featuring common, sometimes persistent, melancholic feelings, difficulty concentrating, loss of pleasure and energy, and even suicidal thoughts. These symptoms can negatively alter how a person perceives the world and affect their behavior. The American Psychiatric Association states that nearly three in 10 adults have been diagnosed with depression at some point in their lives, affecting more than 21 million American adults annually.
Remember that depression is not a sign of personal weakness — it is much more pronounced than the tendency we all feel sometimes to be down or despondent. Without treatment, depression, which must be diagnosed by a professional, can last for weeks, months, or even years but is treatable through therapy, medication, or a combination of the two.
Some other fast facts about depression:
- Depression represents 99% of all mind-brain illnesses.
- It affects one in 10 — 18 million — adults at any given time, with women affected more than men.
- Major depression is the leading disability for people between the ages of 15 to 44 and affects 15% (3.7 million) of youths aged 12 to 17.
- Depression is noted as the primary cause of suicide every 12 minutes — leading to the deaths of more than 41,000 per year.
- Without treatment, depression can last for weeks, months, or even years but is treatable through therapy, medication, or a combination of the two.
Depressive Disorders
Since everyone’s personality and brain-mind makeup are inherently unique, depression can manifest itself in a myriad of disorders that come with depression and substance abuse issues. Let’s take a cursory look at some treatable disorders known to the mental health community:
Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)
Major Depressive Disorder, or MDD, is often what people think of when they hear the term “clinical depression.” According to the Cleveland Clinic, MDD features a persistently low mood, with feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and a loss of interest in activities that once brought a person great joy. People who suffer from MDD may also experience additional symptoms, such as changes in appetite, sleep disturbances, and difficulty in their ability to think or concentrate clearly.
Seasonal Depression (SAD)
Everyone can feel down during those gloomy or rainy days, but SAD is a more significant, diagnosable depression that occurs during specific times of the year, usually during fall and winter when sunlight is less prominent. The National Institute of Mental Health notes that SAD symptoms that start in late fall or early winter are known as winter-pattern SAD, featuring by social withdrawal, aka “hibernation,” and an obvious sense of lethargy that can lead to oversleeping and overeating. Some people may also experience summer-pattern SAD, a less common form of depression that occurs during the spring months. Summer SAD symptoms may include insomnia, agitation, anxiety, and even violent or aggressive behavior.
Atypical Depression
Atypical depression doesn’t mean that the condition is abnormal; rather, according to the Cleveland Clinic, the primary difference between it and conventional depression — where one’s depression is consistent — is that one’s mood can temporarily improve or brighten during positive events, like a party or celebration. This is known as “mood reactivity,” a hallmark symptom of atypical depression. Atypical does not imply uncommon; in fact, it affects between 15 to 36% of people suffering from depression.
Persistent Depressive Disorder (PDD)
As its name suggests, Persistent Depressive Disorder, or PDD, is a chronic, long-term form of depression that comes and goes over months and years. PDD was previously known as dysthymia, a type of functioning depression. While its symptoms aren’t as severe as MDD, they can significantly impact your quality of life; you may experience sadness, lose interest in common everyday activities, and struggle with low self-esteem and lingering feelings of failure and hopelessness.
Postpartum Depression
The birth of a new baby is a joyous moment that brings new life into the world. Surprisingly, it can also bring about depression in mothers, fathers, surrogates, and adoptive parents alike. Many new moms may experience what’s commonly known as the “baby blues,” which may include mood swings, crying spells, or difficulty sleeping, often brought on by hormonal changes from pregnancy. But postpartum depression is one of the most common signs of depression in women that occur after childbirth; symptoms may include sadness and hopelessness that won’t go away; guilt or self-doubt over one’s ability to be a good parent; and anxiety, exhaustion, and loss of motivation and appetite, making it difficult to care for oneself or their newborn.
Psychotic Depression
Psychotic depression, also known as depressive psychosis, is a major type of mental disorder that afflicts sufferers with both depression and psychosis, a loss of touch with reality. People struggling with this type of disassociated state, known as psychosis, usually experience delusions (incorrect beliefs about one’s identity or what is taking place) and hallucinations (seeing or hearing things that do not exist). According to Mount Sinai, these symptoms come with depression; someone, for example, who may hear critical voices stating they don’t deserve to live may wrongfully develop incorrect beliefs about their own body, such as thinking they have a disease such as cancer.
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“Why Am I Feeling Depressed?”
We all have times when we feel sad following a breakup, loss of a job or loved one, money problems, or another significant life event. Expressing sadness is normal and healthy, and it is part of the human experience, and everyone processes it in different ways. You might cry, seek some solitude, journal your feelings, listen to music that resonates with the emotions you’re feeling, or take the time for some self-care.
“Why am I feeling depressed?” is a question we might ask ourselves when we’re feeling down, but sadness, though a difficult path to travel down, usually fades in time. Clinically, a person may be experiencing depression if that sadness lasts for two weeks or more and interferes with one’s everyday life.
Symptoms of depression often include:
- A constant sense of sadness, despondency, or hopelessness that doesn’t go away
- Losing interest in activities you once enjoyed
- Feelings of guilt or worthlessness
- Changes in appetite (overeating or undereating)
- Sleeping too much (hypersomnia) or too little (insomnia)
- Restlessness, irritability, or feelings of frustration
- Thoughts of suicide or self-harm
What Causes Depression?
Depression is a common yet complex condition for which there is no single cause. Since people are unique with their own individual personalities and physiologies, depression can be influenced and even triggered by numerous factors that all fall under the larger umbrella of depression. That means that while the specific causes may vary from person to person, each one contributes to the same overarching, diagnosable experience of depression.
An imbalanced regulation in brain chemistry, congenital factors, family history, stressful life events, or various medical conditions, such as chronic pain or other illnesses, are just a few of the possible triggers for depression.
As mentioned earlier in this article, there’s a strong link between depression and substance abuse. Many people suffering from depression — whether they’ve been diagnosed or not — may turn to drugs or alcohol to try and numb those feelings of sadness. Self-medicating may offer temporary relief, but it can also worsen symptoms of depression.
Over time, you may begin to develop a tolerance, so you’ll need to take more of the addictive substance to experience its effects. This can develop into a dependency, which can lead to addiction, further complicating a person’s physical and mental health.
For example, someone with high-functioning depression may appear to have their life together on the outside, but they drink alcohol in the evenings to de-stress, take the edge off, or relax. But they eventually become dependent on it, making it difficult for them to function without it — and in turn, their depression worsens. (Research shows that those suffering from depression are almost twice as likely to abuse alcohol than drugs since alcohol is a depressive agent that affects the central nervous system.)
Does Depression Cause Addiction?
Depression and addiction are like a chicken-and-egg scenario — which comes first? Since both are co-occurring, shared disorders, either one may develop first and drive the other, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). Depression can lead someone to self-medicate to assuage their pain, but drugs and alcohol, which can upset our neurological balance, may worsen depressive symptoms.
Studies show that the origins of addiction and/or depression may vary between men and women, too. In men, addictive behaviors like drinking tend to develop first before depression, but women are more likely to experience depressive symptoms before addiction takes hold. Addiction goes beyond substances, as well; women, notes one study, are more likely to develop shopping addictions and eating disorders as a response to depressive episodes.
How to Break the Cycle of Depression and Substance Abuse
There is no shame in admitting you’re depressed or that you may have a substance abuse problem. Freeing oneself from depression and substance abuse disorder is possible with the right mental health treatment and requires addressing both conditions simultaneously. The first step is to recognize that comprehensive professional help is needed through the right treatment and support plan:
- A trusted mental health professional can conduct an assessment to diagnose both conditions and create a personalized treatment plan tailored to your specific needs.
- Dual-diagnosis rehab, which addresses both co-occurring depression and substance abuse, is an effective path to recovery.
- Depression counseling options such as Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy, or DBT, help to build coping skills and prevent addiction relapse.
- In some cases, medication management under a psychiatrist’s treatment — including antidepressants or mood stabilizers — may be necessary to stabilize one’s mood during treatment.
- Holistic approaches such as mindfulness, yoga, and art therapy, in addition to traditional therapy, can promote the importance of physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being.
- A supportive environment surrounded by friends, family, and peers — those who understand your struggle and support your journey to recovery — is important. Taking part in support groups, online or in-person, can offer the encouragement, validation, and solidarity you need.
- Likewise, healthy habits such as regular exercise, eating a balanced diet, getting enough sleep, and stress-reduction techniques (in addition to avoiding addiction triggers) play a unified role in maintaining mental health.
- A therapist can also help you prepare a relapse prevention plan in tandem with continued support through therapy.
These are just some of the steps that are key to breaking the cycle of depression and addiction. Remember that there is no set plan for which area may improve before the other. Recovery is a lifelong journey, and breakthroughs can happen through your own ongoing commitment.
Depression Treatment at Footprints to Recovery
From our Residential Treatment Program to our Outpatient Program, Footprints to Recovery’s range of personalized and extensive treatment options at our depression treatment centers can help you break the cycle of depression and substance abuse.
Inpatient substance abuse treatment (also known as residential rehabilitation) is designed for people with severe addiction or addiction relapses, a mental health disorder, or co-occurring disorders and enables them to focus entirely on their recovery without the distractions and triggers of everyday life.
Outpatient Treatment for Depression
Outpatient treatment, also known as OP, is ideal for individuals who need flexibility while receiving care. It’s a type of treatment that doesn’t require checking into a recovery facility full-time, allowing patients to attend therapy sessions during the day and return home in the evening so they can maintain regular commitments to family, work, or school. A safe, less intensive option than inpatient rehab, sessions can be scheduled on weekends or at night.
And recovery doesn’t end when treatment is over. Aftercare is just as important, and Footprints’ programs are designed to provide ongoing support to maintain sobriety, mental health, and a life free of addiction and depression long after becoming an alumnus.
Breaking the cycle of depression and substance abuse is possible and just within reach with the right treatment, support network, and willingness to make a change in your life. Contact us today for help and to learn more about your options.
- NCDAS: Substance Abuse and Addiction Statistics [2023]
- Co-Occurring Disorders and Health Conditions | National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
- Facts about Depression | Hope for Depression
- Clinical Depression (Major Depressive Disorder): Symptoms
- Seasonal Affective Disorder – National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
- Persistent depressive disorder – Symptoms and causes – Mayo Clinic
- Atypical Depression: What It Is, Symptoms & Treatment
- Postpartum Depression: Causes, Symptoms & Treatment
- Sadness and Depression | How Right Now | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- What causes depression? – Harvard Health
- Substance Use and Co-Occurring Mental Disorders – National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
