Has drug and alcohol use given my brother a mental health problem?
Your brother likely had mental health problems which caused him to begin abusing alcohol and drugs. Alcohol acts similarly to benzodiazepines used to treat anxiety and cocaine is a stimulant which can perk up and give life to depressed people. The mix of depressants and stimulants can send the mind on a rollercoaster and that’s likely to have contributed to the state he’s in today. Drug and alcohol use can exacerbate mental health problems, but they don’t tend to create them. It’s a way for the mentally ill to self-medicate. Some of the effects you mention would be considered mental health problems, but since they are caused by drugs and alcohol, the focus is on treating the cause as opposed to treating the effect so most psychiatrists aren’t going to diagnose him with bipolar or anything like that. Likely he struggled with depression and anxiety before he began abusing these. If you can understand this and let him know you understand, then you are well ahead of most. I wish you both t
