Depression Caused by Drug or Alcohol Abuse

Most of these undiagnosed depression sufferers will find that their mental health symptoms will gradually but steadily dissipate with the days and weeks of increasing sobriety. Drugs such as alcohol and psycho stimulants have a powerful impact on dopaminergic and reward and pleasure centers in the brain, and the continuing alteration of mental neuro chemistry can contribute to symptoms of mental disorders. If the damage of abuse is large enough, these depressive symptoms may linger even with sobriety, and these patients will require intervention and the appropriate prescription of symptoms easing anti depressant medications during drug treatment.

Addictions health professionals will be monitoring the mental outlook of all patients passing through a residential drug treatment facility, and those who do not exhibit an improvement in depressive symptoms with increasing sobriety will be referred to a psychiatrist for diagnosis, and if needed pharmacological intervention.