National Stress Øut Week Spotlights Connection Between Anxiety Disorders and Substance Abuse

Nov. 5, 2010 - PRLog -- A recent scientific study finds alcohol as the most harmful of all drugs. But for many people, a glass of wine with dinner or a few drinks at a party is no cause for concern.
However, people with an anxiety disorder who use alcohol or other substances to alleviate their symptoms may actually make their anxiety worse. And it can be a vicious cycle: The symptoms of one disorder can make the symptoms of another worse.
During National Stress Øut Week (http://www.adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/national-stress-%C3%B8ut-week), November 8–14, the Anxiety Disorders Association of America (ADAA) encourages you discover the difference between everyday stress and an anxiety disorder (http://www.adaa.org/understanding-anxiety); take time to relax and unwind; and find help for anxiety, substance abuse, and other disorders.
Seven out of ten adults in the United States say they experience stress or anxiety daily, and most say it interferes at least moderately with their lives. About one-third report persistent stress or excessive anxiety daily or that they have had an anxiety or panic attack. It isn’t unusual for those with social anxiety disorder, PTSD, panic , or other anxiety disorders to drink excessively to cope with symptoms or try to escape them.
Murray Stein, MD, MPH, and John Walker, PhD, write in Triumph Over Shyness: Conquering Social Anxiety Disorder that social anxiety disorder “frequently travels in the company of other emotional difficulties” such as alcohol or drug abuse, depression, and other anxiety disorders.
Those with an anxiety disorder—some 40 million adults in the U.S.—are two to three times more likely to have an alcohol or other substance abuse disorder at some point in their lives than the general population.
This is true for about 20 percent of American adults with an anxiety or mood disorder. And about 20 percent of those with an alcohol or substance abuse disorder also have an anxiety or mood disorder.

Get Help
Treatment is available. But treating substance abuse will not eliminate an anxiety disorder, so it’s necessary to treat both together, particularly to lessen the chance of relapse. Read one woman’s personal story of triumph over her alcohol abuse related to social anxiety disorder (http://www.adaa.org/living-with-anxiety/personal-stories/...).
Learn more about stress and how to manage it, including tips (http://www.adaa.org/living-with-anxiety/managing-anxiety/...).

Use Resources
ADAA publications: Triumph Over Shyness: Conquering Social Anxiety Disorder (2nd ed.) and Facing Panic: Self-Help for People with Panic Attacks (http://www.adaa.org/taking-action/shop)
ADAA Find a Therapist http://www.adaa.org/findatherapist

Give Help
Donate to ADAA today (https://www.givedirect.org/give/givefrm.asp?action=Gc&CID=4677). Help us increase awareness that anxiety disorders are real, serious, and treatable. With your support, we can accomplish these goals:
•   Provide free educational information about anxiety and stress-related disorders.
•   Help people who are struggling find the treatment they need.
•   Advocate for anxiety research and better care for those who suffer from anxiety-related disorders.

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About ADAA: The Anxiety Disorders Association of America (ADAA) is the only national nonprofit organization solely dedicated to informing the public, health care professionals and media that anxiety disorders are real, serious and treatable. ADAA promotes the early diagnosis, treatment and cure of anxiety and stress-related disorders, and it is committed to improving the lives of the people who suffer from them. Visit http://www.adaa.org/.