Self Medicating: What It Is, Why It Happens, & How to Stop

What Is Self-Medicating?

Self-medicating is an unhelpful and potentially addictive act in which a person may utilize various entities to cope with painful circumstances, both internally and externally.² Many of us, at one point or another, may have found ourselves seeking something, anything, to help us get through a difficult time. It is a part of the human condition to seek relief from suffering, at times, by any means possible.

Additionally, when experiencing emotional or psychological distress, it is not uncommon to fall into patterns where we “cope” by numbing our feelings and/or thoughts.² It is this process of numbing where self-medicating occurs. While it may start as an act of temporary relief, it can lead to long-term consequences. This can be true for people experiencing mental health diagnoses, especially when they don’t receive adequate professional or social support.²Turning to a numbing agent, even if the effects are temporary, provides a relief some could have been looking for, for quite some time.

What Are the Types of Self-Medicating?

You do not need to have a mental health diagnosis to self-medicate. Negative circumstances happen, expectedly or unexpectedly, throughout our lives. The unexpected loss of a loved one, for example, leads to a grieving process that may feel unmanageable. Therefore, a person could turn to alcohol for relief, for example.

Some of the most common sources people utilize to self-medicate are the following:

• Food: Eating often triggers pleasure sensors in our brains. Therefore, it is not a far reach to add food to this list. Food has been bringing people together for centuries. However, when in the midst of a crisis, food can be consumed for the purpose of easing emotional discomfort. This is coined as “emotional eating.”³
• Alcohol: Despite its legality for persons 21 and over in the United States, alcohol is one of the leading causes of addiction. However, the accessibility and depressive effects of alcohol are perceived as effective ways for people to cope with difficult circumstances.⁴ It is the depressive effects that afford the numbing feeling previously discussed.
• Cigarettes: Like alcohol, nicotine or tobacco often affords persons a perceived release of emotional symptoms due to the pleasure center of our brain being triggered when in the midst of smoking. There is also a sense of “lightheadedness”, not unlike the sensation smoking cannabis provides.⁵
• Caffeine: Caffeine is found mainly in coffee and tea and is the most consumed mind-altering substance across the world. It is a stimulant, and while it does not produce the same effects as illicit stimulants, such as cocaine, it does have addictive properties.⁶ Caffeine is often turned to when sleep has escaped us due to stressors or other factors. It can also provide concentration and attention support.
• Marijuana/Cannabis: With its growing legality across the United States, cannabis, or marijuana as it is more widely known, is the most used illicit substance, especially among young people. People often cite the effects of cannabis for supporting their sleep, helping with concentration, and numbing distress, amongst other reasons for recurrent use.⁷ All of these fall under the guise of self-medication.
• Other Mind-Altering Substances: Many other illicit substances, from opioids to methamphetamines, are used to self-medicate.² These substances offer persons an array of different effects, similar to those mentioned above, that people may find “supportive” when going through a crisis or major life transition.
• Sex: While not something that one ingests like self-medicating sources we’ve discussed, sex is an act people may turn to in hopes of alleviating emotional pain. As with most other sources discussed thus far, sex triggers a response from the pleasure center of our brain.⁸ Therefore, one can associate high-risk sexual behaviors with self-medication, depending on the individual.
• Over-the-Counter (OTC) Medications: Widely used and distributed to the masses, OTC medications have been linked to self-medication, especially in older adults and people with chronic illnesses, such as chronic pain.⁹ OTC sleeping medications are widely misused by adolescents and young adults given the substance Dextromethorphan which produces opioid effects.¹⁰ These opioid-like effects are particularly numbing.

What Conditions Do People Self-Medicate?

As previously discussed, you do not need a diagnosable disorder to self-medicate. Life is complicated, with many twists and turns. We can be caught off guard easily by life’s circumstances. Therefore, these are just some of the following reasons why one may self-medicate.

Common reasons for self-medication include:

1. Stress
2. Mood disorders like depression
3. Anxiety disorders
4. Trauma(s)
5. Sleep disturbances
6. Concentration difficulties
7. Grief
8. Job loss
9. Caretaking responsibilities
10. Interpersonal and intimate relationship struggles

Why Do People Self-Medicate?

Self-medication is nothing new, there is a documented history of people in early civilization using external sources to ease psychological discomfort. People self-medicate due to undue stress and untreated symptoms. Often, people with excessive stressors will turn to self-medication because their resources are lacking and/or they have not developed adaptive coping skills.

Furthermore, self-medication attempts to cope with unfortunate or unforeseen circumstances. This form of coping is what is considered maladaptive. Maladaptive coping is efforts to cope that may help temporarily, however, often lead to longer-term consequences.

As mentioned, untreated mental health symptoms may lead a person to self-medicate. People do not seek mental health treatment for various reasons, from the stigma associated with mental health in their culture to barriers to accessing care. At times, the care system can be difficult to navigate. The stressors in obtaining care, coupled with already-felt distress, may leave a person feeling it is “easier” to self-medicate than to seek help.

For pre-teens and children, parental consent is sought for services. This may pose a barrier if parents disagree with mental health care. Parents or family members could also be a part of the child’s presenting problem. Even for adolescents with more rights in their care, keeping secrets of the family may feel safer than seeking support.

Lastly, seeking professional support and asking for help is a vulnerable act. Being vulnerable is an area of discomfort for many. There is fear associated with being exposed or judged. A fear that if we are open, we are more likely to experience pain. This adds yet another layer to the reasons why a person may turn to self-medicating.

Why Is it Dangerous to Self-Medicate?

Self-medicating, as discussed, is a short-term and temporary support to a long-term problem. There are many risks associated with self-medication, including, but not limited to exacerbation of mental health symptoms, development of an addiction, and long-term health risks. Self-medication may initially be a reactive behavior with the goal of alleviating internal suffering. However, this behavior can easily become impulsive and compulsive.¹¹ Mainly due to the ease with which self-medication sources afford temporary relief.

How to Know if You’re Self-Medicating

You may be self-medicating if you find yourself feeling that you need whatever source it is for which you have been using to ease discomfort. You will likely spend more time thinking about the source you’ve been using. You also may spend more time and money on acquiring the substance or behavior you using to self-medicate.

Additional signs that you or a loved one might be self-medicating include:

• Isolation from friends and loved ones
• Irritability
• Stressors and symptoms continue and worsen over time
• New symptoms
• Secrecy
• Lying
• New financial concerns

Ways to Stop Self-Medicating

Self-medicating reactions are unhelpful means of coping in the long run. There are ways to cope with and manage problems and stressors so that we do not become overly reliant on self-medicating sources. For example, one way to manage loss and grief is to ensure the continuation of or revitalize your self-care routine. Losing a loved one throws us off kilter, especially if we were caretaking prior to our loss. We may have forgotten to prioritize ourselves. Therefore, getting back to the basics of caring for yourself, whatever that looks like, is vital.

Here are ten ways to stop self-medication in its tracks:

1. Determine What Is in Your Control

When feeling distressed, life may feel out of control. However, if we stop and take a mindful moment, we can often identify that while our emotions are hard to control, our thoughts and behaviors are well within our control. We can choose to think about our circumstances through a different lens and respond differently as well.

2. Grounding

Grounding techniques effectively give us a sense of security within ourselves. One way to practice grounding is to gently yet firmly place your feet on the floor, preferably barefoot, to really connect with the surface. Then you may close or downcast your eyes. Feel the sensation of your feet on the floor and notice the support the floor provides to hold you up. Notice the temperature of the floor and any grooves or crevices. Breathe into these sensations and exhale any lingering tensions or negative thoughts.

3. Move Your Body

Exercise is critical for mental health. Whether you walk, swim, run, stretch, take a yoga class, garden, clean, dance, or jump up and down, moving your body can benefit your emotional state. Exercise in all forms produces endorphins. Endorphins are brain chemicals that support our emotional responses and alleviate distress.

4. Write Your Concerns Out

Journaling, free writing, crafting poetry, short stories, or any other medium can allow you to get your thoughts on paper and out of your head.

5. Get Creative

In addition to writing or poetry, crocheting, knitting, singing, painting, coloring, and dancing are especially supportive when going through a difficult time. Not only can it provide a helpful coping task to do, but it can also leave you feeling accomplished.

6. Connect Rather Than Disconnect:

Reach out to a trusted friend and/or family member. Find a support group if that feels like a good first step prior to seeking professional help.

7. Develop a Mindfulness Practice

It can be hard to feel present when our life is in flux. Mindful practices bring us into the present moment.¹² One idea to get you started is to take a sip of water and hold it in your mouth for a moment. Really recognize the water’s taste, its temperature, and the feeling it leaves as you swallow it.

8. Practice Meditation

Meditation is a set amount of time dedicated to connecting with and within yourself. It allows you to turn inward and let all of your other cares and concerns fall away for a brief period, allowing you to gain perspective and improve your focus.

9. Connect to your breath

If dedicating time to a meditation practice feels intimidating, start with your breath. Try 4-7-8 breathing or the boxed breathing technique. For boxed breathing, think of a box where we breathe in on a 4 count, hold for a 4 count, exhale on a 4 count, and then hold again for a 4 count. Repeat this process 4 times and see how it feels. Repeat for longer if needed.

10. Connect or Reconnect to Yourself

One way to bring a few of these practices together is to intentionally connect with yourself. Start with resolidifying your self-care practice. Move toward journaling about what is within your control. Then bring attention to where you feel the tension in your body, notice it, breathe into it, and actively envision the tension dissolving until it gets smaller and smaller and smaller.

When to Seek Professional Help

The above skills are wonderful ways to cope. There is also a lot to be said about not rebuilding on our own. The old adage says: it takes a village to raise a child. This adage also applies to any age or stage. Build your village to ensure you have the necessary support when life becomes difficult. When you find that self-medication remains problematic, as discussed above, seeking professional support is very important. Therapists are trained in non-judgemental and empathetic methods to be your passenger on the road back to yourself.

There are many online therapy options that are geared toward your needs, or you can find a therapist through an online directory.

If there are any financial barriers, it is highly recommended to contact your insurance provider. All insurances have dedicated call lines for behavioral health needs. Your insurance’s website will also provide a list of in-network providers.

Specific therapeutic models for self-medicating include:

• Person-Centered Therapy: This model is meant to afford personal growth and increased self-esteem. You, as the client, lead the therapeutic conversations, and the therapist provides unconditional positive regard, which brings you the confidence to combat your struggles in the process.
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): CBT targets people’s behaviors and thoughts around their behaviors to and how is it helpful?
• Motivational Interviewing (MI): The founders of motivational interviewing, William Miller and Stephan Rollnick, developed this therapy as a conversational style where you are supported in literally talking yourself into changing unhelpful behaviors.¹³ The founders said, “You have what you need, and together we will find it.”
• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): ACT is a type of CBT therapy focused on mindfulness and acceptance. This approach works with patients to identify the triggers that make them want to self-medicate and strategies to cope without self-medicating.
• Group Therapy: Group therapy comes in many forms and is a way to begin building or rebuilding your village. Groups are often very specific to your needs and bring together fellow people experiencing similar concerns. This can be helpful as it lessens the feeling of being alone.