The number of individuals all across the world who are using antidepressants is on the rise. Many of those who are taking them have clinical depression, but these substances are helpful in treating other conditions too. They can assist people in reclaiming their lives if they have been in bad shape mentally and psychologically.
However, antidepressant abuse is also rising. If more people are using these drugs, that means there’s more potential for them to use them incorrectly. That could mean taking the wrong dosage, or they might try to take them with other substances.
That can sometimes have disastrous consequences. Let’s talk about this problem in a little more depth right now.
Antidepressants and Alcohol
Some people with mental health struggles like to self-medicate. They might do this because they don’t interact with others very well or they can’t seem to hold down a job. They may seek assistance from a mental health professional who puts them on antidepressants.
Their doctor or therapist will certainly warn these individuals not to use alcohol or other drugs with their antidepressants. However, they might be so used to treating their pain with alcohol that they ignore these warnings.
The combination of alcohol and antidepressants can have unintended consequences. The person who uses the two at the same time will have poor motor skills, and they might also experience dizziness and have bad reaction time. If someone combines alcohol and antidepressants and then drives, and chances that they will have an accident are very high.
Antidepressants and Marijuana
Some people who experience clinical depression self-medicate with marijuana. It’s legal recreationally now in many states, but just because you won’t be arrested if you have a little bit on you, that does not mean it’s not still a powerful drug.
Someone who combines marijuana use and antidepressants will have similar issues to the ones we described with antidepressants and alcohol. They should never drive or operate heavy machinery, and they might even have a complete mental breakdown if the marijuana and the antidepressants are potent.
Antidepressants and Other Drugs
There are many other drugs, most of them illegal, that someone on antidepressants might take as well. Something like heroin, cocaine, or methamphetamines are dangerous enough on their own, but there’s no way of knowing what reaction will occur when you throw them in the mix with some prescribed antidepressants.
All doctors and therapists can do is warn the person who they’re giving the drugs to that they should not try to combine them with other substances. Presumably, these individuals are adults, and they need to make their own decisions. If they insist on combining drugs, there’s little a medical professional can do to stop them.
All you can hope for if someone does this is that they will only harm themselves and not someone else. If you have a situation where some reckless person combines antidepressants with something else and then hops behind the wheel of their car, they can kill or injure someone.
