Teen addictions and Other Mental Health Issues

Teen addiction seldom comes from a single cause. Parents, teachers, and other caring adults often look to issues such as peer pressure or poor self esteem as underlying causes. However, other co-moribund diagnoses are very predictive for potential drug or chemical abuse, and need to be considered as part of any addiction and dependency treatment.

In the past, adolescent, teen, and young adult addictions focused on eliminating the drug or chemical use and dependency. However, nearly all teen addictions have various mental health issues underlying the addiction that needs to be treated.

Addictions are usually based on an attempt to dull emotional pain, therefore, treating mental health issues and the resultant pain is necessary to understanding and treating drug, chemical, and alcohol addictions.

Some doctors specializing in teen addictions suggest that up to 80% of teens with drug or chemical dependencies may have co-moribund mental health issues ranging from behavioral issues up to DSM-IV diagnosable disorders. For some children and teens, even with known and fairly common mental health issues such as ADHD or learning disorders, their lives may be so challenging that they consider drugs or alcohol. For other teens, internal emotional disorganization leading to chemical or drug dependency may be based on unidentified and/or untreated issues such as early-life trauma, depression, bipolar, or childhood sexual abuse.

A foundation for teen addictions can often be found in depression and bipolar disorder, especially when they are undiagnosed and untreated. Depression, which is not merely the passing impact of sad events but includes dysfunctions in the brain, might be so profound and discomforting that teens turn to alcohol, drugs, or chemical abuse to dull the pain of daily life. Bipolar disorder, formerly called manic-depression, exhibits opposite ends of the emotional spectrum from devastatingly depressed to euphorically powerful. These conflicting and complicated emotions might influence some teens to drug or chemical abuse.

Other undiagnosed or untreated mental health problems possibly leading to teen drug addiction include sensory integration disorder (SID), post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), reactive attachment disorder (RAD), and nonverbal learning disorder (NLD). Clinicians now realize that adolescent addictions are extremely complex. To treat teen addictions, therapists must recognize the high co-morbidity rate for addiction and mental illness. Related to that, they must be informed about trauma, family conflict, developmental delays, and more. Training and information for doctors, therapists, and psychiatrists is expanding so that they might better diagnose and treat complex adolescent substance abuse.

An interrelated topic is the connection between mental health issues and adoption. Due to a combination of biological, social, and psychological issues, kids who were adopted are often prone to mental health issues. Douglas B. Henderson from the Department of Psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, in Stevens Point, Wisconsin suggests that the mental health community has been silent on the issue of adoption. He suggests that some of the initial ways to spread information about adoption and mental health issues include workshops, training, and publication of information and data. But until the mental health field begins to more openly discuss mental illness in conjunction to adoption, this will most likely be slow to happen.

A 2001 study by the Department of Health and Human Services determined that more than 20 percent of the respondents with mental health issues were dependent on or abused alcohol or illicit drugs, whereas the rate among adults without serious mental illness was 6 percent. As the mental health community works to better understand mental health issues and adolescent addictions, others involved with teens need to also raise their awareness.

In 2001, an estimated 4.3 million youths age 12 to 17 received treatment or counseling for emotional or behavioral problems. How many of those now have addictions to drugs, alcohol, or other substances?

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