Substance induced depressive disorder is a common mental illness which impacts people in a variety of ways. At its most severe, substance-induced depressive disorder can be considered a form of bipolar disorder.
One way to think of substance-induced depressive disorder is that someone who’s been drinking for a long time ends up with a completely different mindset and personality than the person who’s sober. This can cause them to be more argumentative, to act impulsively, and to act out of character. There are various medications that can be taken to treat this condition, but the best thing to do is get professional help.
There is a very real danger of getting caught up in this condition, because your brain may lose the ability to properly handle your emotions. It is so easy to get caught up in a downward spiral, where you feel that everything you do is wrong, that it can really affect your overall mood, and even your functioning in social situations.
One of my friends has been diagnosed with this disorder and he got out of it a long time ago after he went to see an expert. The expert pointed out that he was very similar to his own father in that his father was bipolar and he would talk about it all the time. So it’s really a good idea to go to an expert because you’re more likely to be able to get the help you need.
After I posted this I got a message from someone who is also diagnosed with substance induced depressive disorder. He is now on a waiting list for an evaluation, and I am hopeful they will help him. If not, he is likely to be on medication for the rest of his life, which is a real shame.
That’s it for this week. Thanks for reading.
I’ll see you next week.
Well I know it’s not the first time I’ve had some sort of mental health issue, but I think I was a little bit more open. I guess I just needed to take a step back and really think about what was going on in my head. I’ve always had a mental health issue, but it was always in the past. I suppose in that moment it wasn’t so much that it was making it worse, because at the time I was just having a bad day.
This may be a shock, but I was not an alcoholic. Alcoholism has its own spectrum of symptoms, and the same symptoms also apply to other mental illnesses, like drug addiction and drug-related disorders like drug abuse, bipolar disorder, etc. When someone is diagnosed with a substance-related disorder, that might be a sign that they have a mental illness, and you can’t just go around pretending to be normal.
So, the symptoms that I mentioned would also include things like low energy and being lazy, but they also have a lot of overlap with depression. Depression is a mood disorder that includes depressed mood, loss of interest in ordinary activities, feelings of guilt, and feelings of worthlessness. Although depression is a mood disorder, it can be a physical disorder as well.
