The DAD Effect: Depression, Addiction and Denial by John Riddle
My latest mental health article that will be published next month in Psycom!
"The DAD Effect: Depression, Addiction and Denial"
By John Riddle
It happens to the best of us. We are living life and enjoying every moment of it. Then suddenly things slowly start spinning out of control and we wonder what happened. Where did our joy go? Why are we feeling this way? It does not matter where you grew up or went to school. It does not matter what type of job you have or where you live. What matters is that life has tossed you a curve ball and things are not turning out the way we thought they should. And before we know it, we become depressed and search for an addiction to cope with our feelings. At the same time, of course, we are completely in denial about everything.
This is what I like to call the “DAD” effect, and experts agree that it is a growing concern.
“Avoiding emotions, such as sadness, keeps us from processing what is going on,” said Dr. A. J. Marsden, Assistant Professor of Psychology at Beacon College in Leesburg, Florida. “It keeps us from being able to accept and move past the event. Negative emotions are useful, especially sadness. Sadness can improve your judgment and motivation. Those who allow themselves to experience sadness can use this emotion as a catalyst to push them out of their comfort zone and do more to start to feel better. In fact, those who process their sadness also show greater perseverance.” She has covered the topic a few times in her monthly column for Psychology Today.
But not everyone is equipped to deal with sadness or negative emotions, and that is where the path to addictions can begin. “Depression and addiction often go hand in hand, but which came first is not always clear,” said Dr. Romas Buivydas, Vice President of Clinical Development at Spectrum Health Systems, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of individuals impacted by addiction or mental health disorders. “In many cases, drugs or alcohol are turned to for relief from the mental pain of depression. In others, depression develops as a result of the emotional and physical damage done by addiction.”
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA), there are an estimated nine million adults that have mental health and substance abuse problems. Sadly, only about seven percent are getting treatment for both conditions. When substance abuse is combined with depression, they tend to feed off of each other, causing negative effects to multiply. And if one disorder is treated without the other, recovery becomes much less likely.
It is important to understand that emotions have several components to them. According to Dr. Marsden, it has to do with how we interpret or label an experience. “We can feel good or positive about something as simple as being greeted by our dog when we come home,” she said. “It is pleasurable and therefore we want to repeat it. Negative experiences, however, are viewed as ‘bad,’ and therefore should be avoided. In fact, we are taught from a very young age to avoid negative emotions. How many times have we heard our parents insist there is ‘nothing to cry about?’ Unfortunately, this drive to avoid bad emotions can lead to drug or alcohol abuse or other self harming behavior.”
To make matters worse, those who are depressed and coping with their feelings through alcohol or drug abuse are more likely to be in danger of committing suicide. “When substance abuse is combined with depression, the risk of self-inflicted death grows exponentially,” said Dr. Buivydas. “Even when the needed treatment help is available, those with depression and addiction issues face extra struggles. Alcohol and drugs can get in the way of mental health treatment, and depression is a key predictor of relapse back to substance use.”
There is also another complication: those struggling with addiction are typically unaware they are also dealing with depression. In other words, their addiction has now completely taken over their lives.
“Those who have experienced a recent struggle, challenge, or tragedy may feel compelled to avoid processing the negative emotions associated with the experience,” said Dr. Nicki Nance, a Licensed Psychotherapist and Associate Professor of Human Services and Psychology at Beacon College. “Where the denial lies is in the addict’s perception. I have done a lot of timelines with people in early recovery, and more often than not, their depression was the result of excessive loss and stress. The contributing factors being brain changes caused by the drugs, as well as the loss of jobs, relationships, health, and pride.”
Treating problems early is key because depression makes a person more vulnerable to developing addiction and vice versa. Treating each issue as soon as it manifests can help prevent one problem from turning into two. Performance psychologist Jim Loehr suggests that people learn a lesson from champions. He says that champions take an experience and write the story they want to happen. They see adversity as an opportunity to learn and grow, and not as a mortal blow that ends their career.