Last month, we shared with our readers about research that upended a long-held association between alcohol use and depression among young people. In the post, we were particularly interested in the link between binge drinking and depressive symptoms.
As we pointed out at the time, binge drinking among young men and women is on the decline. However, there’s been a significant rise in depressive symptoms among young individuals.
As such, researchers at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health are no longer able to find a correlation between binge drinking and depressive symptoms. The findings of the study, the researchers suggest, indicate that the relationship between binge drinking and depressive symptoms is decoupling.
While the observations are uplifting news and can help experts redirect their targets for addressing both depression and hazardous alcohol use, there remains a clear link between substance use and depressive symptoms.
On numerous occasions, we have pointed out that addiction often goes hand in hand with co-occurring mental illness. Depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, and bipolar disorder affect people living with use disorders regularly.
Some individuals develop a dual diagnosis for mental illness after prolonged bouts of drugs or alcohol use; whereas, others who already meet the criteria for a mental illness will self-medicate with drugs and alcohol resulting in the development of co-occurring behavioral health disorders like addiction.
Self-medicating mental illness is one of the leading causes of people developing an alcohol or substance use disorder. Drugs and alcohol may alleviate some of the symptoms of mental illness initially, but in the long run, the practice only creates more problems.
New research suggests that people living with depression are at twice the risk of using cannabis, according to Wiley. The findings appear in the journal Addiction.
Depression and Cannabis Use
In recent years, the public perceived dangers associated with cannabis use has declined significantly. The trend is likely partly due to the relaxing of marijuana laws, including medical cannabis programs and recreational use decriminalization. While it might be true that using pot may be a relatively benign behavior for average citizens, we cannot say the same for those with pre-existing mental illness.
The new survey-based study included 728,691 persons aged 12 years or older, according to the article. The researchers found that cannabis use in America increased from 2005 to 2017 among men and women with and without depression. However, the data indicates that people living with depression were approximately twice as likely to use marijuana in 2017 compared to those without the condition.
Even more concerning, the data shows that nearly one-third of young adults (29.7 percent) aged 18-25 with depression reported using marijuana in the past 30-day period. Among all persons over the age of 12, the prevalence of past-month cannabis use was 18.9 percent among those with depression compared to 8.7% among those without depression. What’s more, 6.7 percent of people with depression reported daily cannabis use. Whereas, only 2.9 percent of non-depressed people reported everyday use.
Perception of great risk associated with regular cannabis use was significantly lower among those with depression in 2017, compared with those without depression, and from 2005 to 2017 the perception of risk declined more rapidly among those with depression. At the same time, the rate of increase in cannabis use has increased more rapidly among those with depression,” said corresponding author Renee Goodwin, Ph.D., MPH, of Columbia University and The City University of New York.
Cannabis Use Disorder and Depression Treatment for Young Men
Young men who struggle with depressive symptoms and also use cannabis put themselves at significant risk. They are likely to worsen their symptoms of depression and often develop cannabis use disorders. Please contact PACE Recovery Center to learn more about our dual diagnosis treatment for young men.
At PACE, our team of experts relies on evidence-based therapies to help men overcome the challenges they have experienced due to alcohol, drug abuse, and mental illness. We are available at any time to answer any questions you have about our gender-specific treatment center. 800-526-1851
