Suicide A Real Risk With Drug Addiction
The risk for suicide comes from two directions – the physical effects of the drugs on the body and mind, and person’s outlook on their life as their addiction has left a path of destruction. To show you the bigger picture, let’s take a look at some leading factors in suicide and drug or alcohol use.
Suicide And An Addicted Person’s Life Direction
One of the biggest predictors of suicide and substance use is a large personal disruption or loss. This could be a significant death, divorce or separation, traumatic event, or other relationship disruption. This can shake up a person’s entire world, so much that they more strongly consider ending it all. If things were already shaky with their addiction and life direction, this type of huge disruption could tip the scales toward suicidality.
Even without a massive disruptive event, a person with heavy drug or alcohol use can begin to see a bleaker outlook for themselves. When they reflect on their life choices, they may notice a lot of burned bridges and lost opportunity. Job loss, loss of respect for others and from themselves, feeling like their life is going nowhere, feeling the distance between them and their loved ones – this can slowly add up to an ever-growing sense of despair. Life has gotten bad, life is still bad, and life will probably continue to be bad or get worse from here. Even if a few rays of hope or areas of strength are still present, the bad can seem to greatly outweigh the good.
Addiction thinking is notorious for skewing things to extremes. If something is bad, it becomes very bad. If something seems to fall short, it falls completely short. And if there seems to be little hope of making things better, what’s the point of going on? Why not save everyone the trouble and pain of you living another day? In the end, won’t everyone really be better off without you there to weigh them down?
Suicide And The Physical Effects Of Drugs And Alcohol
A desparaging thought can certainly cross anyone’s mind when life gets rough. That doesn’t necessarily mean they are likely to act on it. If someone is sober and has good support, they are likely to see this as just a passing thought in a desparate moment, nothing that defines their entire life direction.
When someone is addicted to drugs, they spend the majority of their time under the direct influence of addictive chemicals. Drugs and alcohol can supress inhibitions, which basically shuts off their good judgment and ability to carefully consider risk. These chemicals also greatly exaggerate a person’s emotional state, setting them up for even greater mood swings than they might ordinarily experience.
Suicidal Risk Greatly Reduced With Drug Treatment
If someone has a history of suicidal thoughts, there’s no guarantee that they will never experience them again. However, getting drug treatment can greatly reduce the risk involved and can even bring greater hope for a person’s life. They can see a real chance for a better life, for real purpose and meaning. And when you have meaning, suicidal thoughts don’t have much reaso
