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Mental Health and Comorbidity: What’s the Link?
Comorbidity refers to the fact that two conditions, such as a specific mental health disorder and a substance use disorder, can often coexist. This means that in many people with a substance use disorder, there’s also an underlying mental health disorder, but neither of them actually causes the other.
To understand how comorbidity is possible, it helps to know that both a specific mental health disorder and a substance use disorder are chronic brain disorders. When someone struggles with substance use, it means their brain has been rewired by the substance they use and causes the brain to change and function differently than prior to using the substance.
The changes that take place in the brain due to substance use occur in the same areas that are impacted by depression, anxiety, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
Mental health disorders like depression and anxiety can increase the risk factors for substance use, and often the individual turns to alcohol or illegal substances to cope with the pain of their mental health issues.
Women Are at Greater Risk
Optimyz Women’s Wellness, a Canada-based wellness e-magazine, reported that women are more likely to suffer from three or more comorbid mental illnesses. In addition, depression and anxiety are more prevalent in women than in men.
Comorbidity is treatable in women and men, and it’s critical that the individual get the help and support they need.
If you or someone you know is a licensed health care professional and experiencing a substance use disorder, please reach out to the NE LAP at (800) 851-2336 or (402) 354-8055 to begin the recovery process.
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