Muse Treatment: The Connection Between Cocaine Addiction and Depression

When someone is suffering from an addiction to drugs or alcohol, they often aren’t just experiencing a standalone substance use disorder — chances are, they also have some kind of mental health struggle. This phenomenon of co-occurring disorders, meaning a simultaneous addiction and mental health condition like anxiety, bipolar disorder, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), is quite common. This is the case with many substances, and it’s also frequently found that depression and cocaine addiction can go hand in hand. This is why addiction rehab centers like Muse Treatment in Los Angeles need to take a comprehensive approach to help patients by supporting and treating them for their addiction and their mental health disorders at the same time.

If you’re wondering how to help someone with drug addiction and depression or think you might be experiencing these conditions yourself, you’re not alone. Let’s explore the links between depression and addiction and how Muse Treatment can help you overcome both struggles to get on the road to recovery.

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What Is the Link Between Depression and Addiction?

A 2005 article published in Addiction Science & Clinical Practice summed up the links between mood disorders like depression and addiction as “a complex comorbidity,” explaining that treating patients for both conditions can help reduce their cravings for drugs or alcohol and improve their treatment outcomes. When someone has a mood disorder and a substance use disorder or addiction, they’re more likely to have a worse clinical outcome in the long run. That’s why dual diagnosis treatment for both conditions is vitally important, including when someone is suffering from depression and cocaine addiction.

According to the article, this link between the two conditions has been known and studied for decades. For example, two national studies in the 1980s and early 1990s unveiled strong correlations. One of the studies pointed to the situation with statistics, finding the lifetime prevalence of a mental health disorder among the entire population was 22.5%. In comparison, the lifetime prevalence rate for alcohol abuse or dependence was 13.5%, and drug abuse was 6.1%. Those numbers changed drastically when looking at people with a mood disorder — 32% had a co-occurring addiction. More than 16% of people with major depression had an alcohol addiction, and 18% had a drug addiction. The numbers were even more shocking for people with bipolar disorder, with 56% of them having a substance addiction at some point in their lives.

Can Substance Abuse Cause Depression?

The link between depression and addiction is clear, but can one of these conditions cause or fuel the other? The answer is yes, though it’s not necessarily that simple. Let’s consider the effects of depression, which can cause people to lose all sense of joy, motivation, and purpose. To combat the cycle of hopelessness and isolation, it’s not uncommon for them to turn to drugs or alcohol as an attempt to self-medicate away the pain. However, substances only temporarily numb or relieve these feelings, and long periods of relying on chemicals to try to feel better can make someone much more likely to develop a full addiction.

The inverse can also be true because abusing drugs or alcohol can fundamentally alter how our brains work and make us depressed, angry, confused, or unable to handle stress and normal life challenges in a healthy way. Once someone has become dependent on drugs, they’re far more likely to suffer from a mental health disorder eventually. This is why the link between depression and cocaine addiction or another dependence can actually fuel how bad both conditions are if left untreated.

How Does Depression Affect the Entire Body?

Depression is a mood disorder, meaning it’s a mental health condition — but can it lead to physical effects on our bodies? Yes. Consider a 2004 article in The Primary Care Companion to the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry that offered a look at how vague aches and pains are common presenting symptoms of depression. The article cited a World Health Organization study of 1,146 patients in 14 countries who met the criteria for depression, with 69% of those patients coming to a clinic or seeing a doctor and only reporting physical symptoms, such as fatigue or pain. Another study of 1,000 adult primary care clinic patients reported a link between the number of physical symptoms that patients reported and the chances of them having some kind of mood disorder. For example, among patients who reported zero or one physical symptom, only 2% had a mood disorder. That number escalated greatly for patients who reported nine or more physical symptoms — 60% had a mood disorder.

Beyond these vague feelings of aches, pains, or fatigue, depression can cause real physical problems due to its impact on sleep quality, sex drive, and appetite. Because depression involves changes in the levels of neurotransmitters like serotonin in our brains, physical consequences are likely from this mental health condition.

Depression and Cocaine, cocaine abuse side effects, long term effects of cocaine abuse

What Is the Link Between Substance Abuse and Mental Health?

Ties between depression and cocaine addiction or other mood disorders and substance use disorders are well-known, with many studies finding strong connections between the two. While they require their own specialized treatments, the need to address both conditions during addiction treatment has become clear. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, more than 1 in 4 adults who have a serious mental health problem also has a problem with substance use. Drug or alcohol abuse problems are much more frequent in people with certain mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety and anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, and personality disorders. This is why the administration says people who have both a mental health problem and an addiction need to treat both issues to have the best chance at full recovery in the future.

Muse Treatment Can Help If You’re Suffering from Depression and Cocaine Addiction

Depression and cocaine addiction can unfortunately go hand in hand, and when that’s the case, it’s vitally important to get help for both conditions at the same time. This is why California depression and addiction treatment centers like Muse Treatment in Los Angeles are a crucial form of helping people overcome their struggles and get on the road to a better, brighter future.

At Muse Treatment, we recognize that no two patients are the same, so we take the time to get to know their addiction history, mental helath conditions, and future goals. Using this information, we will work with you or your loved one to develop a personalized dual diagnosis treatment plan with individual counseling, group therapy, medication management, and other programs as needed, including medical detox to get through the drug or alcohol withdrawal process before starting rehab. Our clinicians and addiction specialists know what’s needed for you to get better, and we’ll work with you every step of the way, offering compassionate, effective treatment and ongoing support and assistance even after you leave our rehab center. We know that you have a bright future ahead. Take the first step on this life-changing journey by calling us today at 951-708-7904. We’re here to help.