Cocaine and Anxiety Connections - South Shores Detox

The Cocaine and Anxiety Connections

What is the Relationship Between Cocaine and Anxiety?

Have you ever wondered if your drug use is somehow linked to your mental health? Cocaine and anxiety are common co-occurring conditions, and for good reason.

People who struggle with stimulant abuse, including cocaine, will often experience increased levels of anxiety.

Cocaine causes your neurotransmitter levels to get out of balance, sparking anxiety both when you use the drug and when you go into withdrawal from cocaine. The physical symptoms, such as an elevated heart rate, can also mirror anxiety and manifest as mental health issues. Panic attacks are common.

Keep reading to learn more about the connection between illicit drug use and anxiety. And when you’re ready to seek professional help for long-term cocaine use and anxiety disorders, South Shores Detox is ready and waiting to help.

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The Link Between Cocaine Use and Anxiety Disorders

Cocaine is a well-known drug that causes far-reaching effects on your central nervous system, but does it play a role in heightened anxiety? Researchers have explored this question over the years with a few clear takeaways about the vicious cycle of substance abuse on your brain chemistry.

First, it’s important to understand what role cocaine abuse plays in your brain and physical health. This is a powerful stimulant drug that carries significant risks for your central nervous system. While it acts on the brain, it also triggers a flood of neurotransmitters, interfering with serotonin and dopamine levels.

The result of this tampering with your brain chemistry?

Most people experience more heightened anxiety symptoms when these neurotransmitters are out of balance. If you already had existing anxiety disorders (and there are several varieties you could have), then repeated cocaine use is likely to elevate them to a new level.

The Connection Between Physical and Mental Health: The Stress Response

Mental health disorder for cocaine use

Even more than this clear link in brain chemistry is the risk of your physical health mirroring mental health disorders, like anxiety. When your body undergoes some of these physical changes, you’ll be more likely to undergo a major stress response.

For example, consider an elevated heart rate and potentially even itchiness. Both of these can be signs of active cocaine use as well as withdrawal symptoms. Unfortunately, they’re also signs that are closely tied to anxiety disorders. You might have a hard time differentiating between anxiety, cocaine, and any other medical issues.

As the body undergoes extreme stress, it may be more likely that your brain will take on those feelings of anxiety and mirror more mental disorders and psychological effects of cocaine.

Cocaine Abuse: Effects of Cocaine Withdrawal

Another thing that you should be aware of in the connection between cocaine and anxiety is the risk of increased anxiety when you go through withdrawal symptoms. What happens as cocaine wears off and you stop using the recreational drug?

The problem with taking cocaine regularly is that it alters the levels of neurotransmitters in your brain. If you take more cocaine, those reward centers may light up, but they’ll sharply fall off when you stop your cocaine use. As more physical symptoms tend to surface, you’ll find that you feel more anxious.

You might even manifest with physical symptoms of anxiety, such as elevated blood pressure.

Of course, anxiety and depression often come together, and this is certainly the case for the withdrawal effects of cocaine. Cocaine use can lead to your mood being lower than it might otherwise be, and can make it hard to regulate your mood in general.

Panic Attacks: What Happens When You Feel Anxious?

Cocaine addiction also brings with it the likelihood of experiencing panic attacks. You’ll get that boost of increased energy, but you may have nowhere for it to go. The result is that your anxiety spikes, and your body tries to respond to the situation in the best way it knows how.

Panic attacks come with symptoms that may make you feel like you’re having a heart attack, such as sudden chest pain. Usually, the risk of panic attacks decreases after extended cocaine use stops, and you might be able to live a life free of any additional panic attacks.

It’s important that you don’t turn to self-medication to treat these panic attacks. Instead, you should put yourself under the care of an experienced psychiatrist who can help you determine whether the panic attacks are caused by anxiety or cocaine use.

Getting Dual Diagnosis Treatment for Anxiety and Cocaine Use

Dual Diagnosis Treatment for Anxiety and Cocaine Use

When you’re ready to counteract the effects of cocaine and anxiety, it may be more than what you can handle on your own at home. Enrollment in a treatment center specializing in dual diagnosis treatment should be your first priority. South Shores Detox takes every step possible to keep you comfortable and safe during the early days of your recovery.

We believe in offering medication-assisted treatment, which can help with the onset of panic attacks and the general feeling of overwhelm that comes with generalized anxiety disorder.

You’ll receive a customized treatment plan from our experienced clinicians to put you on the right path toward healing. Once you transition out of detox, we can help you get into long-term recovery with an inpatient treatment program.

Individual and Group Therapy Sessions for Anxiety and Drug Use

Several key elements of recovery for dual diagnosis include both individual and group therapy sessions. This equips you with new coping skills so that your anxiety no longer feels overwhelming, but it goes beyond those basic skills.

Therapy teaches you to think about your life in a new way, giving you reasons to stop taking cocaine and to take charge of your life again.

At South Shores Detox, we offer the latest evidence-based treatments so that you can rest assured that you get the help you need to stop using this powerful stimulant and start to live your life on your own terms once more. From cognitive behavioral therapy to dialectical behavior therapy, from art therapy to surf therapy, we offer it all.

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Contact South Shores Detox Now for Cocaine Treatment Options

Cocaine addiction is a serious matter that can exacerbate anxiety symptoms with prolonged use. When you finally feel prepared to take those first steps toward recovery, South Shores Detox is here for you in a facility that has your comfort top of mind. Our luxurious amenities ensure you have everything needed to recover.

Let our enrollment team answer your questions and verify your insurance benefits in a quick fifteen-minute call. We’ll help put you on the path toward healing from cocaine use and anxiety symptoms!

References

  1. Nestler E. J. (2005). The neurobiology of cocaine addiction. Science & practice perspectives, 3(1), 4–10.
  2. Fox, H. C., Hong, K. I., Siedlarz, K., & Sinha, R. (2008). Enhanced sensitivity to stress and drug/alcohol craving in abstinent cocaine-dependent individuals compared to social drinkers. Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, 33(4), 796–805.
  3. Morton W. A. (1999). Cocaine and Psychiatric Symptoms. Primary care companion to the Journal of clinical psychiatry, 1(4), 109–113.
  4. Anthony, J. C., Tien, A. Y., & Petronis, K. R. (1989). Epidemiologic evidence on cocaine use and panic attacks. American journal of epidemiology, 129(3), 543–549.