Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness, is one of the more common co-occurring disorders that people living with addiction experience. Those in the field of addiction are acutely aware that those with co-occurring disorders are some of the most difficult to treat, due to the fact that both the substance abuse and the co-occurring disorder need to be addressed, if a successful recovery is to be achieved. Failure to properly diagnose and medicate co-occurring disorders accordingly usually results in relapse.
Many living with mental health disorders, such as depression and bipolar disorder, often use illicit drugs to cope with their illness. Unlike prescription psychotropic medications, illicit drugs often exacerbate the mental illness, and often times lead to substance dependence and/ or addiction.
New research has found that those living with bipolar disorder who use marijuana experience increased manic and depressive symptoms, Medical News Today reports. Symptoms including:
- Shifts in Mood
- Energy
- Activity Levels
- The Ability to Carry Out Day-to-Day Tasks
Researchers involved in the study found that around 2% of the UK population has Bipolar Disorder, and 60% of them have used marijuana at some point in their lives, according to the article. “One theory that is used to explain high levels of drug use is that people use cannabis to self-medicate their symptoms of bipolar disorder,” said lead researcher Dr Elizabeth Tyler of the Spectrum Centre for Mental Health Research at Lancaster University.
“The findings suggest that cannabis is not being used to self-medicate small changes in symptoms within the context of daily life. However, cannabis use itself may be associated with both positive and negative emotional states. We need to find out whether these relationships play out in the longer term as this may have an impact on a person’s course of bipolar disorder.”
The findings were published in PLOS ONE.
