What is the relationship between drug

abuse and mental illness?What is the relationship between drug abuse and mental illness? How prevalent are co-occurring disorders? How prevalent are co-occurring

Which occurs first—chronic drug abuseor serious mental illness?Which occurs first—chronic drug abuse or serious mental illness?

Can people be treated eCan people 

be treated e

What are some serious mental disorders

associated with chronic drug abuse?

What is chronic drug abuse? What is chronic drug abuse?

What is the relationship between drugabuse and mental illness?What is chronic drug abuse?What are some serious mental disordersassociated with chronic drug abuse?

Many chronic drug abusers—the

individuals we commonly regard asaddicts—often simultaneously sufferfrom a serious mental disorder. Drugtreatment and medical professionalscall this condition a co-occurringdisorder or a dual diagnosis.

Chronic drug abuse is the habitual

abuse of licit or illicit drugs to theextent that the abuse substantiallyinjures a person’s health or substantially interferes with his or her social oreconomic functioning. Furthermore,any person who has lost the power ofself-control over the use of drugs isconsidered a chronic drug abuser.

Chronic drug abuse may occur in

conjunction with any mental illnessidentified in the American PsychiatricAssociation

(DSMIV). Some common serious mental

disorders associated with chronicdrug abuse include schizophrenia,bipolar disorder, manic depression,attention deficit hyperactivity disorder(ADHD), generalized anxiety disorder,obsessive-compulsive disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, panicdisorder, and

. Some of these disorders

carry with them an increased risk ofdrug abuse (see text box).

Diagnostic and Statistical

Manual of Mental Disorders-IV

antisocial personality

disorder

How prevalent are co-occurringdisorders?Which occurs first—chronic drug abuseor serious mental illness?

Co-occurring disorders are very

common. In 2002 an estimated 4.0million adults met the criteria for bothserious mental illness and substancedependence or abuse in the past year.

It depends. In some cases, people

suffering from serious mental disorders(often undiagnosed ones) take drugs toalleviate their symptoms—a practiceknown as self-medicating. According tothe American Psychiatric Association,individuals with schizophrenia sometimes use substances such as marijuana to mitigate the disorder’s negativesymptoms (depression, apathy, andsocial withdrawal), to combat auditoryhallucinations and paranoid delusions,or to lessen the adverse effects of theirmedication, which can include depression and restlessness.

In other cases mental disorders are

caused by drug abuse. For example, MDMA(3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine,commonly known as ecstasy), produceslong-term deficits in serotonin function inthe brain, leading to mental disorders suchas depression and anxiety. Chronic drugabuse by adolescents during formativeyears is a particular concern because it caninterfere with normal socialization andcognitive development and thus frequentlycontributes to the development of mentaldisorders.

Finally, c

and serious exist complanother.

Yes, chro

suffer from treated. Resinvestigatintreat drug aness, and etreating botneously leaCurrently, tare treated regard to eamany indivdisorders abetween suhealth treat

Disorder 

Antisocial perManic episodSchizophrenia Panic disordeMajor depresObsessive-coPhobias 

Source: National 

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Huffing—The Abuse of Inhalants

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Drugs,Youth, and the Internet

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