depression and addiction

How Depression Impacts Addiction

The link between addiction and depression is strong. Substance abuse is all too prevalent among those who are also dealing with a mental health disorder. One doesn’t necessarily lead to the other in one way. According to reports in the Journal of the American Medical Association, 37% of people who abuse alcohol and 53% of people…

self medicating

The Medical Risks of Self-Medicating

According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), self-medication is defined as “the selection and use of medicines by individuals (or a member of the individuals’ family) to treat self-recognized or self-diagnosed conditions or symptoms.” There can be benefits to safe and responsible self-medication, like accessing the medication when needed and relieving pain on demand. However, the…