Many individuals who use alcohol or drugs can recall occasionally using them in response to emotions – think celebrating at a marriage or having a drink at the top of a stressful day. But when someone develops a pattern of substance use as an emotional response, it will probably turn right into a problem. Pete VanDusartz, director of behavioral health for HealthPartners hospitals and clinics within the St. Croix Valley, explains this with an example of emotional drinking:
“When any individual drinks alcohol, if their stress tolerance is de facto low they usually’re irritated by every part, and drinking alcohol seems to calm that or make them less prone to react, then that might be reinforcing. And it will probably be similar in the event that they have feelings of low self-esteem and just aren’t feeling good about themselves.”
This type of relationship isn’t limited to alcohol, or to specific emotional states. Pete, together with Brian Bartlett and Brian Francis, who work as managers on the Programs for Change treatment program, joined us on the For Health’s Sake podcast to debate the larger patterns involved in these substance-emotion relationships. We covered:
- How substance use can get woven into emotional experiences
- Signs that substance use is becoming an issue
- Tools for working through emotions
- The worth of a recovery program
Get help for self-medication
In the event you or a loved one have substance use concerns, going to your primary care doctor for an assessment and a few recommendations is an excellent first step. As Pete says, “Here in health care, we all know methods to connect people to the fitting resources and start on identifying the issue, determining how big of an issue it’s and determining what interventions might be helpful.”