Effects of Alcohol and Drugs on Mental Health: A Detailed Analysis

This paper examines the significant impact of alcohol and drug use on mental health, exploring both short-term and long-term consequences. It highlights how excessive substance use can lead to various mental health issues, including depression, anxiety, and psychosis, by interfering with brain chemicals and affecting neurotransmitters. The paper discusses specific examples of drug-induced disorders, such as anxiety and mood disorders, and emphasizes the concept of dual diagnosis, where substance abuse co-occurs with other mental health conditions. It also references studies showing the potential links between cannabis use and schizophrenia, as well as the influence of alcohol consumption levels on mental well-being. The paper concludes by underscoring the importance of responsible substance use to maintain good mental health.

1
Alcohol and mental health

2
How do alcohol and other drugs affect a person's mental health?
Good mental health is a sign of a positive life which an individual lives. Excessive use of
alcohol and some drugs can lead to short and long-term changes in the brain. This causes serious
mental issues like depression, anxiety, aggression and many other problems. There are many
people who are addicted so much that other mental disorders could also diagnosed like Paranoia
and hallucinations. Alcohol and drugs like cannabis and heroin give direct impact on the mood of
the individual. The changes in the behavior of the individual are due to the consumption of
alcohol or drugs that changes the mindset of the person (Martin and Pear, 2015). Alcohol and
drugs interfere with the chemicals present in the brain. This affects the information that chemical
present in the brain is trying to send.
The short-term effects of drugs on the mental health are many like drug induces anxiety
disorder of an individual. In this, the person can have severe attacks as it increases the heart rate
and also causes a fear of losing control. The person feels like the surroundings are strange and
unreal. The second short-term effect is drug induces psychosis. In this, the individual hears and
see things that are not present. The third short-term effect is it induces the mood disorder. There
are many situations in which the individual feel depressed and lose the pleasure. This is known
as mood disorder caused by alcohol and drugs. Especially like heroin, cocaine and many others
(Collins et al., 2017).
Many drugs cause health problems that remain for a long time. It can only be reduced if
one person stops using the drugs. Long term drug can affect neurotransmitter of the brain in the
individual. The effect is seen on the mental health of the individual. The person starts losing
motivation and also does less work in college or office. The person creates a negative outlook on
life and has sudden changes in the mood. For instance: the research showed that cannabis can
increase the overall chances of getting schizophrenia (Volkow et al., 2016).
If the person consumes less amount of alcohol then it can make feel more confident and
sociable. The more person drinks the more likely he or she will feel unwell and confused. If the
person drinks alcohol on regular basis then it can create serious physical and mental harm. It also
reduces the quality of the life if an individual consumes more.

3
It is also seen that mental health of the individual is affected by dual diagnosis problem.
It is the term that is considered for the people who have a problem with drugs or alcohol. It is
seen that addiction and mood disorder are connected. Many studies proved that there are many
people who suffer from a mood disorder and this is due to drugs and alcohol (Connor et al.,
2016).
Dual Diagnosis Problem
According to SAMHSA, as much as 55 percent of people with a dual diagnosis don’t get any
treatment, compared to 7% that get treated for both.
Figure 1: (Humanresource, 2017).
So, the individual should not consume any drugs as it gives negative effect on the mental
health. Alcohol should also be consumed in less quantity so that the negative impact cannot be
seen on the mental health of the individual.

4
References
Collins, S.E., Taylor, E., Jones, C., Haelsig, L., Grazioli, V.S., Mackelprang, J.L., Holttum, J.,
Koker, M., Hatsukami, A., Baker, M. and Clifasefi, S.L., 2017. Content analysis of advantages
and disadvantages of drinking among individuals with the lived experience of homelessness and
alcohol use disorders. Substance use & misuse, pp.1-10.
Connor, J.P., Haber, P.S. and Hall, W.D., 2016. Alcohol use disorders. The Lancet, 387(10022),
pp.988-998.
Martin, G. and Pear, J.J., 2015. Behavior modification: What it is and how to do it. Psychology
Press.
Volkow, N.D., Koob, G.F. and McLellan, A.T., 2016. Neurobiologic advances from the brain
disease model of addiction. New England Journal of Medicine, 374(4), pp.363-371.