Pain, both chronic and acute, is often treated with prescription opiods, such as oxycontin, morphine, codeine, fentanyl, hyrocodone, and other similar drugs. These drugs are extremely addictive and can create a psychological dependence after long-term use. The medical community has long thought non-medical opioid abuse and anxiety and mood disorders might go hand-in-hand and recent studies have, indeed, shown a positive correlation between the two. Researchers discovered that people who suffer from mood disorders or anxiety disorders such as bipolar disorder, panic disorder and, major depressive disorder are more likely to abuse prescription opioids than those who do not have these disorders.
Study author, Silvia Martins, said, “Lifetime non-medical prescription opioid use was associated with the incidence of any mood disorder, major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder and all anxiety disorders.” She also notes that, “Early identification and treatment of mood and anxiety disorders might reduce the risk for self-medication with prescription opioids and the risk of future development of an opioid-use disorder.”
In recent years, non-medical use of opioids has spiked (it is considered non-medical use if a person uses these drugs without a prescription or in greater amounts, or for a longer duration than normally prescribed). Opioids are now the one of the most abused illicit drugs in the United States: in fact, they are second only to marijuana. This is concerning because the study also linked opioid abuse with the future development of mood and anxiety disorders.
It found that using or withdrawing from opioids can bring on anxiety and mood disorders in those who are vulnerable to developing them. This means that those who use prescription opioids need to be closely monitored, not only for potential abuse of the drugs, but also for the development of anxiety or mood disorders. Future studies will explore whether genetic or environmental risk factors increase the chance of mood disorders or anxiety disorders occurring with non-medical opioid abuse.
For more information and help for anxiety disorders, mood disorders, or anxiety treatment, please contact Dr. Andrew Rosen and The Center for Treatment of Anxiety Disorders in Delray Beach, Florida at 561-496-1094 or email Dr. Rosen and The Center today.