Does Mental Illness cause Chemical Dependency or Does Chemical Dependency cause Mental Illness?
Confusingly, the answer is “Yes.” For some, the other psychiatric disorder emerges first, with the person’s drug or alcohol abuse developing in an effort to cope with the painful symptoms. For instance, an individual suffering the effects of Major Depression may turn to alcohol or painkillers to numb their mental anguish. Addiction specialists call this process “self-medication.” The net effect leads to a worsening of the disorder’s symptoms, overall functioning, and the emergence of chemical dependency. And there are available. On the other hand, addiction experts note that many individuals have a mere predisposition to a particular psychiatric disorder. However, the disorder itself only emerges as a result of the physiological, psychological and social stressors related to addiction. For instance, a Methamphetamine addict with no psychiatric symptoms prior to abuse may experience Manic episodes (dangerously elevated mood swings related to Bipolar I) after years of using the drug. How
