Think back to one of your favorite memories. Maybe it was a vacation you went on with your friends, or the first night your partner stayed at your place.
How did you feel when it was over?
In the world of conventions, there’s a term that exists known as “con drop” or post-conference blues. In other words, it’s the period immediately after a convention or conference where you experience a combination of sadness and exhaustion as you return to your normal life. This occurs because you were just in a state of high energy and euphoria for a prolonged period of time and are trying to adjust to no longer experiencing that.
This same phenomenon can occur in those who regularly seek out cocaine, but it can have a much longer-lasting influence on your mental health. Our team at San Antonio Recovery Center has seen exactly how cocaine and depression are tied to one another. Nearly 1 in 10 people who sought substance use treatment in Texas in the past years have done so because of cocaine use. In today’s blog, we want to answer all of your questions about this combination so you can better understand the circumstances you or a loved one are experiencing and get the help you deserve.
The way that cocaine impacts both your body and mind stems from the type of substance it is – a stimulant. Stimulants aren’t exclusive to illicit substances like cocaine. In fact, there are many easily accessible forms of stimulants such as coffee or energy drinks.
Stimulants, when present in the body, have a heavy influence on our dopamine levels and production. Dopamine is a naturally occurring chemical in the brain that is produced in response to positive events such as eating or having sex. When dopamine levels increase, this causes feelings of pleasure.
Cocaine alters this system whenever it’s in your body. Normally dopamine is recycled back into the body after a period of time for regulation purposes. Cocaine blocks this recycling process while also boosting the production of dopamine. This leads to the euphoria commonly associated with cocaine consumption.
These fluctuations in dopamine, alongside the way that stimulants speed up the body’s overall processes, are the two primary causes responsible for impacting mental health. Let’s talk more about why.
The mental side effects of cocaine use come in two different forms: short-term and long-term.
Short-term side effects are those that are linked with cocaine being present in the body. These side effects dissipate once someone is no longer under the influence of the substance.
Long-term side effects, on the other hand, are those that develop because of the continued consumption of cocaine. They’re bigger changes in the body that last for weeks, months, and even years after your last time engaging with cocaine. This doesn’t mean they can’t be resolved, but it does mean they have a longer-lasting impact.
While cocaine is present in the body, the primary mental side effects include increased agitation, euphoria, paranoia, and restlessness. The effects of cocaine, when coursing through your system, have a strong resemblance to that of an adrenaline rush. This is the main reason that it makes people feel on edge and anxious. Their body assumes the cause for the changes in your system is coming from an unknown, external source as opposed to an internal one.
The long-term effects on your mental health stem both from the consistent increase in dopamine levels and the trickle-down effects of substance use as a whole. Things like financial strain, loss of income, changes in relationships, and decreased self-care that come with any substance use disorder can also have a heavy influence on someone’s mental health.
Our mental health is a complex thing and any changes that occur within it can link to a myriad of sources. Every day we learn more about how mental health conditions develop, trigger, and worsen. Here’s what we understand, so far, about how cocaine use and depression interact.
Depression and dopamine production have a link. Some people with depression experience decreased dopamine production. When cocaine is present in the body frequently, it can make the body think that the increased dopamine felt during cocaine use is the normal level of dopamine production. As a result, this can make periods of normal dopamine release have less of an impact, making someone experience less positive emotions from normally rewarding activities. This is just one example of how someone may develop depression from long-term cocaine use.
On the other hand, substance use is not an uncommon response to someone having an untreated mental health condition such as depression. They often hear about how a substance, like cocaine, makes someone feel from a friend, co-worker, the media, or other online sources. The euphoria felt during cocaine consumption seems like the solution to their problem, but what they don’t realize is that the feelings are temporary. Not only can cocaine, as we’ve explained, make someone feel worse when not engaged with it, but substance use can also negatively impact other parts of their lives. Lowered self-care, increased stress, and changes in support groups have been shown to be tied to depression, as well. These things can all occur as a result of cocaine use.
So, long story short, cocaine use can both worsen depression and be one of the primary factors for someone developing depression in the first place.
During this article, we’ve talked about how the absence of cocaine can make normal levels of dopamine feel mild. This absence of cocaine isn’t just the downtime between someone engaging with cocaine, but often is referred to as “withdrawal.”
Withdrawal is a response within the body when a substance you regularly engage with is no longer present in your system. This substance isn’t something benign, like someone who drinks apple juice every day, but rather is something that influences how your body functions.
Our bodies are very proficient at production and energy consumption. If a substance comes into your body on a regular basis and alters one of its systems, your body will adjust to allow the substance to assist more. When you then stop taking the substance, your body has to readjust to resuming control of whatever process was being altered. This can lead to side effects. The combination of this period and the side effects that stem from it are what’s known as withdrawal.
Cocaine withdrawal is heavily associated with depression but also includes fatigue, insomnia, impaired thinking, and irritability. These symptoms can begin within a few hours of your last dose and last for up to a week after.
When someone has two or more conditions that they’re managing at the same time, this is known as a co-occurring disorder. More often than not, these two conditions intertwine in some way. In the case of a cocaine use disorder and depression, they feed into each other. Untreated depression can influence someone to engage with cocaine just as much as cocaine can worsen depression.
The best way to address a situation like this is through a dual diagnosis program. These programs recognize and address both conditions at the same time, as opposed to only treating one or the other. By doing this, it leads to a stronger foundation for the person’s healing journey.
The best way to address depression caused by cocaine use is through a cocaine addiction rehab program. Programs like these help you learn the skills you need to manage your cocaine use disorder and address your depression, at the same time.
No matter your history of cocaine use or depression, it’s never too late to find healing. It can seem overwhelming to make such a big change in life, but there are people right here in Texas who are dedicated to helping you find recovery. You’re not alone in this.
With the biggest alumni group in San Antonio, the proof is in the pudding that San Antonio Recovery Center is dedicated to your long-term recovery. We have everything you need from inpatient programs to ongoing support. We want to be here as long as you need us to be, so why wait to get started? Call us today at 866-957-7885 and learn more about how we can help.
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