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If we want to understand how opioids affect mental health today, we need to acknowledge the context behind the issue. During the period from 1999–2021, almost 645,000 people lost their lives due to opioid overdose. Besides that, those who are still trying to overcome this struggle today may face immense challenges that leave a strain on their mental health. What once was just an ordinary pill that took away the excruciating pain turned into a devastating power that led many into despair and self-destruction, both physically and mentally. This article will examine how opioids affect mental health, regardless of whether they’re of illicit origin or are prescribed by a doctor.
What Are Opioids, and How Do They Work?
Opioids, often referred to as narcotics, are medications prescribed by doctors for treating severe pain. People who have undergone surgeries or experience persistent pain caused by cancer, severe injuries from car accidents, or heavy falls may take opioids to relieve it.
While some opioids are derived from the poppy plant Papaver somniferum, others are synthetic, which means they’re human-made in a laboratory environment. Still, regardless of their origin, all opioids work pretty much the same. By attaching proteins called opioid receptors to the nerve cells in the gut, brain, spinal cord, or other body parts, these drugs block pain signals from the spinal cord to the brain.
The most commonly used opioids are:
- Oxycodone
- Morphine
- Fentanyl
- Codeine
- Hydrocodone
- Oxymorphone
Naturally, none of these are available over the counter, and possession without a prescription can lead to legal action.
How Opioids Affect Mental Health in Short-Term
While opioids usually relieve pain with great success, they can have substantial adverse effects on the individual’s mental health, even in the short term. Short-term refers to a time frame from several weeks up to one year.
While these drugs can make you feel like you don’t have a care in the world, there are harmful, severe psychological effects of opioid use disorder. Let’s take a closer look at some of them.
#1. Mood Swings
While opioid abuse can trigger more serious, chronic problems, short-term side effects that cause mood oscillations can also get pretty tough to handle.
Specifically, mood swings can make the person feel highly agitated at one point and then quickly shift to feeling happy or calm. Sometimes, a person may feel inclined to act aggressively, posing certain risks to themselves or the environment.
#2. Euphoria
Opioid use can also cause a feeling of intense happiness, or euphoria, characterized by an overall sense of joy and excitement. While many find euphoria pleasurable, the come-down from this state may be less rewarding, as it can include lethargy and feelings of hopelessness.
Other than the physical opioid addiction that may occur in later stages, those who chase the “high” of their euphoric state can quickly develop a psychological dependence on an opioid.
#3. Lower Cognitive Functions
A Mayo Clinic study has shown that the most common effect on cognitive impairment in older adults who had at least one opioid prescription over 7.5 years was in terms of language, memory, and attention.
Meanwhile, even those who are not taking regular opioid therapy and abuse them recreationally can develop problems such as hallucinations, poor attention span, and disorientation. That is mainly because they often take the substance improperly without advising a healthcare official first.
How Opioids Affect Mental Health In the Long Run
Long-term opioid use is linked to personality disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, and even suicide. Illicit opioid use can also lead to sleep disorders and challenges that can make it hard for individuals to deal with day-to-day tasks. So, let’s briefly examine these issues.
#1. Depression
Research suggests that even the use of prescription opioids can heighten the risk of depression. Some research shows that 10% of over 100,000 participants who were prescribed an opioid were diagnosed with this mental illness over the course of one month.
Overall, the relationship between depression and opioid abuse is intertwined. Those who suffer from depression often use opioids for self-medication. On the other hand, opioid use can trigger depression in people who have never had it before.
#2. Sleep Disorders
As you probably won’t start suffering from insomnia after a single opioid use, chronic usage is linked with persistent disturbances in the sleep/wake cycle. The relationship between sleep disorder and long-term opioid use is tightly connected; why that is yet to be discovered.
Moreover, an additional problem lies in the coping mechanism of patients who have insomnia and seek to solve the problem with substances like these. With it comes the risk of opioid dependency. In such cases, opioid withdrawal treatment is often necessary, along with behavioral health support.
#3. Anxiety
Other than making patients’ symptoms more severe, opioid misuse can trigger anxiety in people who previously didn’t suffer from this condition. Opioid use and anxiety often co-occur. It’s estimated that 60% of those with opioid use disorder have encountered an anxiety-related condition at least once in their lives.
The anxiety symptoms that opioids cause can occur during or after the use of a specific substance, and a patient can end up being agitated, paranoid, or restless.
How to Improve Your Mental Health After Opioid Use?
If you’re getting out of opioid dependency, you may feel that these substances took a toll on your mental well-being. We’ll offer some tips on how to get back on track.
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is a mental health therapy that helps you better understand why you find opioids attractive and how you can change the belief system behind it. In other words, it can help you build coping mechanisms for addiction treatment and provide a sustainable strategy for moving past the condition.
- The 12-step program is another excellent resource that can help define your goal and prevent relapse by working together with a counselor and a group of people with similar problems. Additionally, you may learn helpful mindfulness-based opioid recovery tactics from the counselor and other participants.
- Natural remedies can also help in some cases as they can help regulate the nervous system and soothe the anxiety symptoms caused by the extensive opioid use.
Essentially, the first step is to believe that change is possible and firmly decide to stay free of any substances that can be misused.
Final Thoughts
If you’re struggling with reclaiming your mental stability or you’re currently battling an opioid addiction, remind yourself that you’re not alone and that this is not a mistake of your own doing.
Conversely, even if you have never come across this issue, reading this article can help you inform yourself on how to understand the effect of opioids on one’s mental health and what the available resources for recovery are.
