As much as seventy percent of people with drug dependency have depressive symptoms severe enough to interfere with daily living. In addition, there is more prevalence prevalent in male relatives and unipolar depression more prevalent in female relatives as suggested by early family history studies that say that drug related disorders and unipolar depression run together in families with drug addiction. These trends led some researchers to argue that drug addiction and depression are genetically linked, or perhaps one disorder, and that many male drug addicts are actually depressed and denying their depression, or self-medicating with drugs.
Although many people with drug related problems appear to use drugs to cope with daily stresses and emotional distress, it is almost certainly not wise to consider drug addiction as simply another variety of depression for several reasons. First, although a drug addicts’ offsprings do have higher rates of depression, these depressions might be an effect more from the stresses of having drug addicted parents than from genetics. Second, as one would suspect if depression and drug addiction were genetically related , several family history studies have failed to find higher rates of drug addiction among the offspring of depressed people than among the offspring of nondepressed people . Third, there are drugs that cause classic symptoms of depression because they serve as central nervous system depressant. Thus, the depression is just as likely to be a consequence as a cause of the drug dependency when depression and drug dependency co-occur in individuals . Indeed, a large epidemiological study finds that the odds of depression preceding drug addiction are equal to the odds that drug addiction will precede depression. Fourth, the studies show that adolescents who are depressed are not more likely to become drug addicts than are adolescents who are not depressed, as we might expect if drug addiction is often a response to drug addiction. Fifth, overcoming the drug related problems is not as simple as prescribing antidepressant medications to a person with drug abuse or dependency . Unless he or she undergoes treatment directly targeted at drug use., the risk of relapse is high. Sixth, depression, depression among drug addicts usually ebbs once they become sober, even without any antidepressant treatment, again signifying that depression is secondary to the drug addiction, rather than its root. Seventh, drug addiction co-occur with a wide range of other psychological disorders in addition to depression, including bipolar disorder, the personality disorders, the anxiety disorders, and schizophrenia, as well as histories of physical or sexual abuse.
In terms of the connections between of drug addiction and depression on an individual, the debate is still on going. However, different drug addictions need addictions help here. This will ensure that the addiction will be substantially treated and will be gotten away from. Addictions help here will try to stop the craving to use the drug in order to achieve a high feeling. The different ways on how to stop the addiction is for an individual to go through different environment settings, different treatments, and different time durations. Addictions help here has always been effective and worth the cost.
Addictions help here has always been effective and worth the cost.