marijuana

Self-Medication: The Most Difficult Addiction To Break

We all know that there are good drugs and bad drugs.  Good drugs, like penicillin, ibuprofen, and acetaminophen, help us.  They serve apparent and helpful uses whose benefits outweigh their costs.  They are prescribed by doctors and their effects are known.  Then there are bad drugs.  Bad drugs are those which have, for whatever reason, been deemed detrimental to your health.  Though they may have some positive qualities, these qualities are not outweighed by the unhealthiness and illegality of the drugs themselves.  However, in certain circumstances, typically those concerning mental illness, people use bad drugs as if they’re good drugs, self-medicating a diagnosed or undiagnosed illness that they know that they have, either subconsciously or consciously.  This type of drug abuse is so difficult to stop for several reasons, which we will outline here.

You Can’t Identify A Problem

The first step in overcoming addiction is admitting that you have a problem.  However, if you’re addicted to a drug that you think is treating a problem you already have, it’s very difficult to view that drug as a detriment to your health, both mental and physical. 

These Drugs Are “Not That Bad”

While some people certainly self-medicate mental illness with hardcore, illegal drugs such as heroine or cocaine, common forms of self-medication come in the form of abuse of alcohol and marijuana.  These drugs, being far more socially acceptable and less dangerous than those mentioned previously, are still detrimental to your health when constantly ingested, especially if they’re being used to mask an underlying issue.

You Suffer From A Mental Illness

The actual medical benefits of marijuana have been extolled recently, and little by little people are able to use the drug to soothe symptoms associated with glaucoma, chemotherapy, and further traumatic health issues.  However, ingesting the drug frequently when doing so is not recommended by your doctor can alter your brain chemistry.  It can exasperate pre-existing conditions and can mask the very issues that you need to deal with head on.

When addiction is so clearly rooted in deeper issues, it’s extremely important to seek help for those root issues, and not the surface issue of your addiction.  Though drugs may be able to dull the harmful aspects of mental illness, they will ultimately end up causing further harm.  If you or someone you know is self-medicating a mental illness, diagnosed or otherwise, through drug use in the Boca Raton area, contact the Florida Recovery Group today.