Mental illness or mental health disorders are the conditions that affect the mood, emotions, feelings, and behaviour of an individual. Mental health refers to mental well-being, including emotional and psychological well-being. Good mental health means an individual can cope with the stress of their life.
Emotional: These are feelings such as joy, sadness, worry, and so many others. Emotions vary in their intensity and frequency.
Psychological: It includes self-esteem, attention, perception, cognition, and decision-making. These concepts affect our emotional health.
Psychological health affects emotional health. When an individual finds it difficult to manage moods, emotions, and behaviour, then there might be the possibility of deteriorating mental health.
There are about 300 mental health disorders affecting the lives of so many people, listed in DSM 5. The Global Health Data Exchange estimates that 251-310 million people worldwide have suffered from depression in 2024. India had 56,675,969 cases of Depression. In 2022, WHO published that 1 in every 8 people in the world live with a mental disorder.
There are many more disorders. People suffering from poverty, violence, inequality, trauma, neglect, and abuse are prone to developing poor mental health. Genetics, family, community, and environment all contribute to poor mental health.
It is very common to have comorbidities, which means having two mental health disorders occurring together. When a person is diagnosed with generalised anxiety disorder along with major depressive disorder, that is said to be comorbidity.
It is seen that approximately 27.7% of the population will have two comorbid conditions.
The relationship between mental illness and substance abuse is bidirectional and intertwined. Substance abuse can exacerbate the symptoms of mental illness. The burden of mental disorders can increase the dependency on the use of substances. A person may use alcohol whenever they feel anxious to feel calm or may self-medicate, which can lead to dependency on drugs or alcohol.
A person who consumes substances may develop a mental health illness because of an alteration in the brain chemistry. It is necessary to understand that they are closely related and affect each other.
Mr Anil (name changed to maintain confidentiality) has been consuming alcohol more than ever in the last two years. The family were not able to understand why his alcohol consumption increased, as there was no immediate stress in the two years. The family took him for consultation, and it was found he was suffering from depression and anxiety, which ultimately led to an increase in alcohol consumption. When the treatment started for depression and anxiety, his alcohol consumption got under control as well.
In many cases, people self-medicate to cope with pain or distress, which can lead to dependency. Similarly, nicotine provides short-term relief, but prolonged use results in long-term consequences.
In the long-term use of substances, mental health and physical health are both adversely affected. Mental health can be hard to manage or might take more time to get better. Physical health also suffers from weak immunity and major effects on the liver, heart, and kidneys. Smoking and tobacco consumption are the leading causes of oral and lung cancer.
Depression and Alcoholism: The co-occurrence of these two disorders is high, as people suffering from depression use alcohol to alleviate the symptoms of depression.
Anxiety Disorders and Benzodiazepine Addiction: Benzodiazepines are used to treat anxiety disorder for short-term relief, but long-term use has been found to cause dependency.
Schizophrenia and Cannabis/Psychostimulant Abuse: Cannabis or psychostimulant abuse exacerbate the psychotic symptoms. People continue the use of cannabis for clarity of voice, control of symptoms, feeling normal, perceived improvement in cognitive function, reduced psychological pain and increased energy.
Bipolar Disorder and Polysubstance Use: During manic phases, individuals may engage in risky behaviours, including excessive drug and alcohol use. During depressive episodes, they may turn to substances to self-medicate.
The symptoms are severe with comorbidity. The treatment becomes challenging, and the prognosis becomes poor. There is a higher risk of self-harm and suicidal ideation. The impact on personal and social life is also enormous.
Since disorders are intertwined, the treatment also requires an integrated approach.
Therapy: Cognitive behaviour therapy, rational emotive behaviour therapy, and dialectical behaviour therapies are used to deal with cognitive distortions.
Motivational enhancement therapies and contingency management are used to deal with addiction disorder.
Medical management: Medications prescribed by a psychiatrist in the correct dosage help with the treatment and reduce the chances of developing dependency.
Rehab centre: Outpatient and inpatient services are available for the client, to reach their fullest potential. Veda is the best mental wellness centre and detox centre in Delhi. You can find holistic addiction treatment by Veda.
It is important to understand the bidirectional relationship between mental illness and substance abuse to get the proper treatment. Treatment helps you to avoid relapse and reach your highest potential.
