My thesis is people are more likely to develop a mental
illness first, rather than people developing a substance abuse problem first.
According to the research I have done thus far there seems a pattern that most
people are self -medicating in order to escape their personal problems, like
depression, anxiety or traumatic experiences (Drug Abuse) .
It has been reported that the majority of people’s onset with a mental
disorder precedes the on set of a substance abuse problem (Fast Facts, Par. 5).
One
subtopic to support my thesis is that there is evidence that shows that
individuals who are diagnosed with mood disorders are two to four times more
likely to develop a substance abuse problem(Drug Abuse).
Also, people with serve mood disorders, such as schizophrenia, are more
sensitive to drugs and can be come addicted a lot easier than the average
person (Drug Abuse).
Another
subtopic to support my thesis is substance abuse and mental illness often go
together hand-in-hand it is difficult to diagnose which of these two problems
came first(Fast Facts, Par1).. However, there is speculation
that most individuals with co-occurring disorders tend to self medicate to
alleviate stress and anxiety(Fast Facts, Par. 5). An
example of this is people who are depressed are more likely to try drugs
because they are looking for something to bring them joy (Drug Abuse).
More support
for my thesis is that social factors may play a part for co-occurring
disorders("NAMI", Par. 5). People with mental illness sometimes suffer from what is known as a
“downward drift” ("NAMI", Par. 5). Which can be explained as a consequence of their illness they
may find themselves living in a trivial neighborhood, where drug use is common
and easily accessible ("NAMI", Par. 5).
For
the record it is extremely difficult to know which of these two disorders
developed first, because it is complicated to separate behaviors due to
substance abuse and behaviors due to mental illness ("NAMI", Par. 3)
