Anxiety, Depression and Addiction: The New Killer of the 21st Century

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IT IS EVERYWHERE

Whenever a person like me would end up in an emergency department, in a café with a friend or two, or even in the comforts of my living room watching the news, anxiety, depression and addiction are always happening or being mentioned. Even celebrities that we have admired through the years – Heath Ledger, Robin Williams, and Chester Bennington - have been victims of these horrible illnesses. I guess it is safe for me to say that these issues are deadlier than cancer, wouldn’t you agree?

According to a 2017 study published in the journal Psychiatric Services, almost 10 million American adults have depression and anxiety with almost 100 million people abusing drugs and alcohol. In the UK, there is an estimate that 1 in 6 people experience major depression, and suicide being the most common cause of death for young adults.

These numbers do not even include incidence in other parts of the world and believe me numbers would be higher if they did. It is surprising how we are so focused in addressing diseases such as diabetes, cancer and heart problems (not that I am saying they are not to be given treatment or medical attention, they should.) but no one bothered so much in paying attention to the psychological aspect of the society. Only now when celebrities and well-known personalities are being victimized are people noticing and raising concerns.

Getting to Know Depression, Anxiety and Addiction

In general descriptions or in Google terms, depression is defined as “A mental health disorder characterized by persistently depressed mood”. Anxiety on the other hand is “A mental health disorder characterized by feelings of worry, anxiety, or fear.” Addiction is “A condition of being addicted to a particular substance or activity”. It is believed that anxiety and depression are usually caused by some imbalanced chemicals in the brain - mainly dopamine and serotonin. Addiction on the other hand was a brain dysfunction of your frontal cortex. However, some studies are now saying that it is more than just that. Previous experiences, the culture that you’ve had on your upbringing, and the society’s role and perception play a big part in causing these mental illnesses as well.

Depression really starts off as anger. It is anger you haven’t allowed yourself to feel or express due to fear or shame which later leads you to feel sadness or numb/apathy. Likewise, anxiety is the sensation you get when you refuse to feel your suppressed emotions, such as hurt and anger. In a way, both comes in a package as depression results to anxiety and vice-versa.

The Anger-Hurt-Loving Model

I’d like to share this model as it better explains what drives a certain behavior that we’ve mistakenly perceived for years, and it shows how anxiety, depression and addiction correlates with each other making it such a growing disease in our society.

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Every feeling of anger results to being hurt inside. We get angry and frustrated when something we can’t tolerate is present, or something that we need is absent. However, parents have taught their children not to feel or express anger as that would be counterproductive. Instead, they would always tell you to be positive and look on the bright side even if reality begs to differ. So children push their anger down and inward. The first diagonal line in the model represents how we cut ourselves off from the feeling of anger. As explained earlier, anger turned inward becomes depression.

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Now that a person was denied to feel anger, chances are he or she don’t feel hurting either. The connection from that uncomfortable feeling was cut off, hence the second diagonal line on the model. Due to this, the up-and-down arrows in the model – which can represent guilt, shame, fear - is bouncing back and forth between enclosed internal walls (That is how you feel inside) resulting to having anxiety.

So now we’re depressed and anxious to the point of almost having panic attacks. We feel dreadful and frustrated and hurtful, and we’re desperate to feel good. This is where addiction comes in. People turn to either drugs or food or alcohol or even promiscuity because these things mask reality and helps them through these dark times. Their options for help from other people are often limited or to no avail at all as they feel fearful or ashamed. They use and abuse substance/ activities not because these people are bad, but because they feel bad and that’s what most people can’t understand.

The What and How Towards Recovery

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Recovery from these debilitating conditions is a very long road with guaranteed hardships along the way, but it is very fulfilling and worth it in the end – for the person involved and for the society as well. With the right people by your side and with the right tools, you’ll do just fine.

What people should understand is that everything is just a tip of the iceberg. Lasting recovery from substance abuse means addressing and healing the underlying core issues that caused the depression and anxiety in the first place.

Some studies have showed that morbidly obese people were sexually abused at a young age and were not able to get help as fear and shame overtook them. Thus, they clung to food for comfort and to hide the real issue as being obese is what society can tolerate rather than hearing them report that they are being raped by their family member. Celebrities that people admire so much and look up to hide their true despair and their frustration to belong by using drugs and alcohol. Why can’t they just show their true color? Again, because of fear and shame – the thought of being unaccepted and ridiculed by the public would kill their success that they’ve worked so hard for.

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The common thinking that we will take a few weeks of antidepressant pills or go to rehab for 30 days and come home cured does not even come close to the actual solution. It doesn’t work that way. Some psychologists suggest that society must take part in the path to a person’s recovery. Yes, pills and going to therapy and rehab do help but it apparently is not enough and that effective. Further action and support from the society is being called upon here, and only a few are opening their doors.

A good example of social involvement would be the decriminalization of substance abuse in Portugal back in 2001. Instead of judging these people and treating possession and using drugs as a crime, the government viewed it as a public health issue. It is still illegal to possess drugs but getting caught with them meant a small fine and maybe a referral to a treatment program — not jail time and a criminal record. By doing this, Portugal was able to decrease the death toll of drug overdose a lot compare to previous years. In addition, people are being given second chances in their life through the programs.

As absurd as it sounds, taking away the substances that depressed and anxious people use only does more harm than good to the individual and to everyone else. It is what’s helping them cope at present and understanding that would help us better on how to approach the matter at hand. Current society has become too prejudiced and too apathetic, only viewing anxiety and depression and addiction as a dysfunction of a person’s brain instead of taking responsibility for that and helping to reshape the present culture and thinking and humanity itself. Providing them with more understanding and support and human interaction and giving them back a sense of purpose in their life would probably do much better than just giving them pills in a bottle and wishing them good luck.

Reference

mentalhealth.org.uk
mentalhelp.net
rehabs.com
psychologytoday.com
asam.org