When Happens in Substance-Induced Mood Disorder

When Happens in Substance-Induced Mood Disorder Addiction Drug Use Print Substance-Induced Mood Disorder When Alcohol, Drugs or Medications Make You Feel Worse By Elizabeth Hartney, BSc., MSc., MA, PhD Elizabeth Hartney, BSc, MSc, MA, PhD is a psychologist, professor, and Director of the Centre for Health Leadership and Research at Royal Roads University, Canada. Learn about our editorial policy Elizabeth Hartney, BSc., MSc., MA, PhD Medically reviewed by Medically reviewed by Steven Gans, MD on August 05, 2016 Steven Gans, MD is board-certified in psychiatry and is an active supervisor, teacher, and mentor at Massachusetts General Hospital. Learn about our Medical Review Board Steven Gans, MD Updated on February 15, 2020 EMS-FORSTER-PRODUCTIONS / Getty Images   More in Addiction Drug Use Cocaine Heroin Marijuana Meth Ecstasy/MDMA Hallucinogens Opioids Prescription Medications Alcohol Use Addictive Behaviors Nicotine Use Coping and Recovery Substance-induced mood disorder is a kind of depression that is caused by using alcohol, drugs, or medications.  Substance/medication-induced depressive disorder is the diagnostic name for alcohol or drug-induced depression. Unlike the transient feelings of sadness that are normal and that everyone experiences, or even the temporary hangover or crash that often gets people the morning after alcohol or drug use, when substance-induced depression hits, it feels considerably worse for much longer. For some people, it involves a complete loss of interest or enjoyment in life. ? What Is Substance-Induced Depression? The irony of substance-induced depression is that most people take drugs to feel better, yet those same drugs make them feel worse. People sometimes dont realize that it is alcohol, drugs, or medications that are causing the way that they are feeling  because they only associate those substances with positive emotions. When doctors or psychologists give a diagnosis of substance/medication-induced depressive disorder, they check to make sure that the depression wasnt there before the use of alcohol, drugs or medications thought to be responsible.?? This is because there are different types of depressive disorders, and if the symptoms were there before the substance use, it isnt the substance/medication-induced type of depression. How Soon After Taking the Drug Can Depression Be Induced? In some cases, almost immediately. There is even a category with onset during intoxication, which means that depressive episode actually begins when the individual is high on the drug. It can also occur during withdrawal, during which symptoms of depression are common. However, with depression which is simply a symptom of withdrawal, the persons mood will usually pick up within a few days of ceasing to take the drug, while with substance-induced depression, it can start during withdrawal, and continue or get worse as the person moves through the detox process. Generally, the diagnosis isnt given if the person has a history of depression without substance use, or if the symptoms continue for more than a month after the person becomes abstinent from the alcohol, drugs or medication. For the diagnosis of Substance/Medication-Induced Depressive Disorder to be given, there have to be severe symptoms not related intoxication or withdrawal, which require clinical evaluation.?? For instance, there may be a significant change in mood that impacts people’s lives, causing, perhaps, a great deal of distress or impairing some aspect of their life such as their social life, their employment situation, or another part of their life that is important to them. Which Drugs Cause Substance/Medication-Induced Depressive Disorder? A wide variety of psychoactive substances can cause substance-induced depression. The following disorders are recognized: Alcohol-induced depressive disorderPhencyclidine-induced depressive disorderOther hallucinogen-induced depressive disorderInhalant-induced depressive disorderOpioid-induced depressive disorderSedative-induced depressive disorderHypnotic-induced depressive disorderAnxiolytic-induced depressive disorderAmphetamine-induced depressive disorderOther stimulant-induced depressive disorderCocaine-induced depressive disorderOther substance-induced depressive disorderUnknown substance-induced depressive disorder Many medications are known to cause substance-induced depression.  The following disorders are recognized: Steroid-induced depressive disorderL-dopa-induced depressive disorderAntibiotic-induced depressive disorderCentral nervous system drug-induced depressive disorderDermatological agent-induced depressive disorderChemotherapeutic drug-induced depressive disorderImmunological agent-induced depressive disorder Specific medications that have been implicated in medication-induced depression through surveillance studies, retrospective observational studies, or case reports, which are prone to difficulty in determining actual cause, include antiviral agents (such as efavirenz), cardiovascular agents (such as clonidine, guanethidine, methyldopa, reserpine), retinoic acid derivatives (such as isotretinoin), antidepressants, anticonvulsants, anti-migraine agents (triptans), antipsychotics, hormonal agents (corticosteroids, oral contraceptives, gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists, tamoxifen), smoking cessation agents (varenicline), and immunological agents (interferon).