Self‐medication with alcohol or drugs for mood and anxiety disorders: A narrative review of the epidemiological literature

• Published in: Depression and anxiety Vol. 35; no. 9; pp. 851 - 860
• Main Authors: Turner, Sarah, Mota, Natalie, Bolton, James, Sareen, Jitender
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.09.2018; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: addiction; Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Alcohol; Alcoholism; alcoholism/alcohol use disorders; Anxiety; Anxiety disorders; Anxiety Disorders - drug therapy; Anxiety Disorders - epidemiology; anxiety/anxiety disorders; Comorbidity; Coping; depression; Drug use; Epidemiology; Female; Humans; Male; Mental depression; Middle Aged; Mood; Mood Disorders - drug therapy; Mood Disorders - epidemiology; Review; Reviews; Self Medication - statistics & numerical data; Self-medication; substance use disorders; Substance-Related Disorders - epidemiology; Young Adult; epidemiology; alcoholism/alcohol use disorders; addiction; substance use disorders; anxiety/anxiety disorders; depression; coping

Background The comorbidity of mood and anxiety disorders (MD and AD) with substance use disorders (SUD) is common. One explanation for this comorbidity is the self‐medication hypothesis, which posits that individuals with MD or AD use substances to cope with the difficult symptoms associated with th...