Anxiety and the Prevalence of Addiction

Unfortunately, it is often the case that people are not taught healthy ways of dealing with personal struggles. Anxiety is a personal struggle that can quickly lead people down into a spiral of disaster that includes many other issues besides the anxiety itself. Statistics are spouted back and forth, and it really is difficult to discern how many people turn to an addiction such as drugs or alcohol as a methodology for treating anxiety. One of the factors that skews the results of research studies is that withdrawal symptoms of different substances can include anxiety or many of its different symptoms (Myrick, Brady, & Johnson, 2003, 4).

Reading through Myrick's, Brady's, and Johnson's research, it seems that the most probably estimate of the rate of people who turn to addiction to relieve themselves from anxiety is 13.9%. In nearly all cases of cocaine-dependent individuals studied, "...social anxiety disorder preceded the onset of cocaine dependence...," leading to the figure of 13.9% (Myrick, Brady, & Johnson, 2003, 4). Estimates in other populations vary wildly from as low as 5% to as high as 50% for the reasons mentioned in the opening paragraph (Myrick, Brady, & Johnson, 2003, 4).

If the rate of roughly 13.9% of cocaine-dependent persons affected by social anxiety disorder is calculated as a percentage of the nearly 15 million social anxiety sufferers in our nation, this comes out to approximately 2,085,000. This number represents a reasonable estimate of the number of social anxiety sufferers who turned to an addiction as an escape. Clearly, this represents a problem that causes concern (Myrick, Brady, & Johnson, 2003, 4)(The National Institutes..., 2009).

Why do anxiety-sufferers turn to addictions as a source of comfort? The answer is because addictions do prevent short-term relief, and many addicts fail to see the connection between their addiction and the poor feelings they have about themselves after engaging in the addiction. An individual with low self worth has no qualms about hurting him or herself, even killing him or herself. Addictions are destructive and only add pain, but when people are not taught healthier methods of managing anxiety, they tend to believe that what they are doing by nature is appropriate.

Social phobics enjoy alcohol because after several drinks, their social phobia is suddenly relieved or perhaps gone entirely. They can finally "loosen up" and have a good time and interact with people just like everyone else. But, then the inevitable crash occurs where the substance is exiting the body, and this is the point where anxiety is increased, rather than decreased.

The main thing for anxiety-sufferers who suffer concurrently from an addiction to know is that the addiction must be treated first. If one habitually engages in his or her addiction, his or her anxiety and poor self-esteem will only grow worse. In fact, one can simply work only on his or her addiction and experience anxiety relief because addictions, as noted earlier, only increase anxiety. After one has reduced his or her addiction such that life is more manageable, then work on his or her anxiety can begin.

This article was written simply to demonstrate that addiction among the anxious is common, and that it is most important to seek help immediately if a person feels that he or she is having difficulty with an addiction. One should not be embarrassed or ashamed that he or she has an addiction; as noted earlier, millions of people have addictions! The hard part is admitting it and seeking help. Life can and will get better if people are determined enough to help themselves get better!

References

Myrick, H., Brady, K., & Johnson, R.H. (2003). Review of Comorbidity of Affective, Anxiety, and Substance Use: Anxiety Disorders. Medscape Today. Retrieved May 12, 2009 from http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/452725_4

The National Institutes of Mental Health. (2009). The Numbers Count: Mental Disorders in America. NIMH. Retrieved May 12, 2009 from http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/the-numbers-count-mental-disorders-in-America/index.shtml#Anxiety