Substance Abuse and Mental Health

The following article was written for Helium.com
Mental health is a broad term and it is increased or decreased by many factors, and substance abuse is one of its detractors. Mental health is a desired description that most crave, but is an attribute few actually own completely. Human nature is ever changing and in order to be mentally healthy, individuals must be able to change along with the times while keeping their personal integrity intact. Substance abuse disrupts this chain of events and lowers mental capacity to resist, to sift through, and to make good decisions.

The National Drug Intelligence Center has a question and answer sheet that shows interaction between drug abuse and mental health. In the first question, "What is the relationship between substance abuse and mental health" they answer that those who abuse drugs -- addicts -- are often seriously mentally ill. They mentioned also that either condition can be the first. Mentally ill persons will take drugs to alleviate their symptoms of depression and apathy, and otherwise normal persons who are substance abusers become mentally ill because of the effects of their over consumption of drugs.

Other questions they ask and answer concern what causes drug addiction, illnesses connected to this condition, prevalence, and treatment options. The most common mental illness with the highest rate of substance abuse -- 15.5% -- is Antisocial personality disorder; next is Manic episode -- 14.5%; Schizophrenia -- 10.1%; panic disorder -- 10.3%. Major depressive episode, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and phobias trail in the order given.

Other types of drug abuse are inhalants, prescription drugs. Inhalant abuse is a dangerous habit children and teens often do for kicks or for fun. The startling statistics is that one in five will abuse inhalants by the eight grade. They do it because of the intoxicating feeling they get from it within minutes of sniffing. The fumes enter the blood stream rapidly and has detrimental effects on the chemistry of the brain, and on the rest of the body.

Permanent danger and death can result from sniffing airplane glue, nail polish remover, lighter fluid, toxic magic markers, gasoline, hair spray, air fresheners, cooking spray, deodorant, propane, helium, butane, and other substances. Parents must become knowledgeable about huffing and how popular inhalant abuse has become in children. Deaths have been reported and case studies show the prevalence and the dangers of this abuse.

Prescription drug abuse is on the rise. That is because we are now living in a world where people have the mistaken belief that for every ailment, every bit of pain -- however transient it is -- there is a pill, a capsule, or an elixir, that can do away with it. Mental health objects to this view and its supporters believe that all medicine should be considered possibly addictive. They also believe that the body is the best healer and with a little patience and understanding of how their bodies work, prescription drug abuse, as well as OTC (over the counter) pain killers and sleep aids, will lessen.

Recovery from addictions take place all the time and one site is out to show how this comes about. Check out Sober Recovery for facts and figures and more information on the subject of addictions in general.

PS:
The image is a random scribbling done out of boredom recently. It is constructed of cheap construction paper, glue, and colored pencils. After carefully utilizing all the torn out shreds of construction paper and pasting them alongside the big picture, I then try to analyze what I had created. What mental picture could I paint of the picture, and what did it reveal about me when the truth of its construction was told? How could I use it to illustrate some point I wanted to make on Headline Hunting?

I see the girl as not particularly mentally ill in appearance, and walking her dog -- looks more like a cat -- is something normal people do. But looking on the right the picture changes. Could it be the right side is the interior feelings of a substance abuser, or a mentally ill person? On the outside, everything looks fairly normal, but is it?

How do I know? I added the extra bit on the right side because I wanted to utilize all the torn out scraps of construction paper in this work of art -- a questionable one indeed -- and just randomly pasted them. Then to add to the overall appeal, made some more scribbles. That's it. What it says about me is I like to use scraps. I like to make things useful. I like to recycle. I like to define shapes and I like to make sense out of nonsense. I don't like to lie, to pretend, and I see relationships in things not ordinarily thought necessary or appropriate.

After thinking about the picture for a while, I realized that for some reason it was important to replace the missing items. In that way of thinking could the little shreds of construction paper pasted on the side be puzzle pieces to the restoration of the sheet of construction paper back to its original shape? Of the two pieces of art -- and I use that term loosely -- all scraps were utilized.

As a writer I could go on and on explaining what could be made out of the the construction, but in no way would it take away from the facts. Neither was I abusing the substance of the paper, since I purposely bought it to shred it into any shapes I happened to want to shred it into. But there is no denying that wholeness, whether it be a sheet of paper, or a human being, is a desirable situation.

And the fact remains substance abuse, too much of anything, and mental illness detract from the wholeness of an individual. To get back to the way we were created to be, all parts in good working order, especially the mind, is what wellness thinking is all about. It is a worthy goal to work toward.

Mental Health, or Mental Illness: Where do we draw the Line?

Mental Illness or mental Health, where do we draw the line, or do we? The answer for me lies somewhere behind those dark glasses of the self-portrait I drew of myself in the early nineties. Truths are hidden there known only by me. It goes something like this: It would not be mentally healthy if I decided to admit that I drew the portrait with help from technology.

It is easily recognized as being yours truly and I was able to render it so because an error in printing out a copy of a photograph resulted in a slight outline of where my features should go. Otherwise, my art ability would not have allowed me to get my nose right, my mouth in right proportions to my facial features, and it would not have been me. As it were, I looked at the real photograph and tried to copy as near as possible what I saw. At the time I liked the results and framed it, hung it on the wall and thought little of it.

What of the dark glasses though? They were items I could draw and eyes I could not. Therefore to cover up my lack of drawing skills, I covered my eyes with dark glasses. It was an easy way out of a confusing situation. What does this confession have to do with the title of this article? Everything? It says that my discomfort in perpetuating lies is healthy, that my desire to be a better artist is likewise healthy, that my self interest in using myself as subject matter is somewhat in between.

In comparison, had I kept silent about the actual rendering of the self-portrait -- even though no one probably cares -- I would be furthering my narcissism by passing off, ever so slightly, something not totally mine. To whom do I give that part of the credit? To my Creator, that is who is responsible for my features being where they are on my face, and for giving me a look that is uniquely my own. A person less given to introspection and less devoted to reality, would have passed on that one, but I chose not to do that.

In a less mentally healthy time of my life, I decided once and for all to be truthful in the small things in my life as well in the large things. That was a healthy thing to do and most likely it made a large impact on the tug of war going on between my mental health and my mental illness.That problem was settled and was out of the way. Furthering my path toward mental health was knowing what to keep untold when it was no one's business but my own. I had to weigh the risk of hurting others against my own desire to be truthful.

Therefore, my quest to be all that I can be, does not give me the right to cast shadows of doubt on others. That statement means simply that I will not be be doing any tell all stories on my journey to shed light on mental illness and to show it up for what it is. The only stories I will tell will be on myself, and when others are involved, they will in no way be blamed for anything that happened to me. My parents had their good and their bad, and I hold no grudges. That is indeed healthy, and I believe that wherever they are, that is comforting to them. Love, I believe, when the final analysis is in, must weigh in on that.

Self portraits that we paint mentally of ourselves, or in reality, should be as honest as they can be. To allow them to perpetuate lies and distortions that could distort honesty and fair dealings are wrong, and should not be allowed to detract from our mentally healthy tally sheet. Even though we cover our eyes with dark inpenetrable glasses, we can still see through our own charades. Do we want that? Not if we prefer to stay safely, if only in longing, on the mental healthy side versus the mentally ill side.

Today's Headline: Sink into debt or swim out of it

To get behind in paying bills, having put everything into that dream home and then to find your world crumbling around you, just staying afloat demands tenacity, and a rethinking of priorities. To bounce back will demand all of one's mental faculties. It will not be easy, but with a change of priorities and a determination to get right with the world and not let it defeat you, will take courage. It will also show mental stamina.

Today's headline, rethinking your life after a catastrophe, is all about mental wellness. Yesterday on the news the remark was made that many homeowners now own homes that are only worth half of what their mortgages are worth. That started me to thinking about what were those people thinking when they went in debt that far?How much incentive will they now have for that home when they know they will be paying for it for the rest of their lives?

Money certainly makes a difference in one's life, whether having too little and overspending, having none and living under the poverty line, having too much and becoming calloused to the rest of the suffering world, or whatever, it changes the lives of people. But the people seeing it as nothing more than purchasing power and a necessity and not necessarily something to be coveted far above its value, is those who seem to use it most wisely.

Compounding it with mental illness is not helping the situation. Change lifestyles and budget and get out of debt and decide never again to spend beyond your limits. Yet, what help is out there for those deep in debt? For starters why not see what he blog, Psychcentral has to say. Possibly then can steer you in the right direction.

http://blogs.psychcentral.com/anxiety/2010/04/mental-health-and-money/