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"possibly correlated with feeling unhappy or off-kilter" Very likely, it's called puberty. To me that does not mean they are "self-medicating" though.
by jvdh 17y ago
"possibly correlated with feeling unhappy or off-kilter"
Very likely, it's called puberty.
To me that does not mean they are "self-medicating" though.
- TomOfTTB 17y agoBut everyone goes through puberty while only a few are driven to heavy drug use. Given that I don't think it's unreasonable to assume that heavy drug use is related to some existing mental health problem. Since mental health problems could also make someone prone to psychosis I think the theory of self medication is a valid one.
- jvdh 17y agoIf over 30% of a group that were born in a three year period in the same hospital do heavy drug use (>3 years), then there must be a pretty big problem in that area.
- GiraffeNecktie 17y agoYou're still missing the meaning of 'self-medicating' which is a lot more broad. Drinking a cup of coffee to become alert, smoking a cigarette to calm your nerves, smoking a joint because it modifies or muffles your anxiety etc are all types of self-medication.
- jvdh 17y agoMy apologies, IMO self-medication would be taking medication or something that actually helps you. Sure, coffee/alcohol/tobacco all can help very temporarily. If you're using that over prolonged periods of time, I would call that substance abuse. I know that marihuana can help with or provide pain relief for a lot of ailments. But these kinds of ailments are typically not found in kids under 21.