Counsellor says substance abuse and depression don’t mix

0
681
- Advertisement -

A well known counsellor and social advocate is advising people who are suffering from depression to refrain from abusing substances.
Koren Norton said that drugs such as alcohol and marijuana only provide temporary relief for some people and can lengthen the time it takes to treat the condition because of the chemical interferences.
“Substance abuse can make depression worse. For a brief moment, you may feel a little better but then you crash because the effect of it wears off, so it’s just a temporary thing. [You may] say ‘okay, let me take two or three more drinks to feel better’, and then you crash again and it becomes a vicious cycle,” Norton said yesterday on OBSERVER AM.
While depression can affect any age group, Norton shared that teenagers and older women are more at risk. She added that it is not that men are not suffering from depression, but that women are more amenable to seeking help.
The counsellor also identified several signs that may be exhibited by a person affected by the condition, which include being uninterested in their usual activities, and changes in the way that they socialise.
(More in today’s Daily Observer)

- Advertisement -