The Little Blue Book

But, self-medicating by ‘drowning the pain away’ with alcohol, or taking opioids or illicit drugs, more commonly deepens the feelings of sadness and grief that accompanies the emotional pain of these disorders. The problem with the use of addictive substances is that once the drug-induced euphoria has passed, the anxiety and depression returns, but commonly deeper and darker. Unfortunately, in amplifying negative feelings associated with these mood disorders, the misuse of drugs or alcohol can then accelerate the downward spiral for a person who may already be struggling. (1) www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7492257/; Posttraumatic stress disorder in the National Comorbidity Survey; Kessler RC, et al (2) Report: Psychological distress and patterns of drug use; Australian Institute of Health and Welfare; www.aihw.gov.au (3) www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov; Major depression and comorbid substance use disorders “The presentation of major depressive disorder is often complicated by the co-occurrence of substance use disorders, such as alcohol and illicit drug abuse or dependence.” 3 And, unfortunately, the health impacts do not stop at the ‘the workplace gate’ or the office door. They travel home with the affected person and into the lives of their families and loved ones. SOME UNCOMFORTABLE STATISTICS: • One-in-eight deaths of people aged under 25 is due to alcohol 1 • 60% of all police call-outs (including 90% of late-night calls) involve alcohol 1 • 20% of Australians drink at levels that put them at risk of lifetime harm 1 • Almost two-thirds of 18-29 year-olds report drinking “specifically to get drunk” 1 • One-in-five hospitalisations of people under 25 are due to alcohol 1 • Alcohol-related hospitalisations are higher than those related to illicit drugs (including heroin, cannabis, methamphetamine and cocaine) 2 • An estimated 5,785 Australian deaths were attributable to alcohol and 1,926 were attributable to illicit drugs in 2015 4 • Alcohol-use was responsible for 4.6% of the total burden of disease and injury in Australia in 2011. It was responsible for 30% of the burden due to road traffic injuries (motor vehicle occupants), 28% of the burden due to chronic liver disease and 40% of the burden due to liver cancer, 15% of the burden due to suicide and self-inflicted injuries, and 19% of the burden due to stroke 3 • Compare this impact with illicit drug use which contributed to 1.8% of the total burden of disease and injury in Australia in the same year. This included the impact of injecting drug use, and cocaine, opioid, amphetamine and cannabis dependence. 3 Did you know? ! 87 ADA Australia PostScript Section 2 Section 1 Section 3