A new study has found that people with a history of substance abuse are much less likely to have flourishing mental health and are more likely to have mental illnesses. The results of the study were published in the ‘International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction’.

Researchers compared a nationally representative sample of 460 Canadians with a history of illicit drug addiction (excluding cannabis) to 20,305 Canadians without a history of illicit drug dependence using data from Statistics Canada’s Canadian Community Health Survey-Mental Health.

While 80 percent of people with a history of substance abuse were in remission, more than half (52.1 percent) still suffered from mental illness. In addition, only 37.9 percent were in excellent mental health, which is significantly lower than the 74.1 percent of Canadians without a history of substance abuse who had excellent mental health.

To be considered in excellent mental health, participants had to report: 1) being free from mental illness in the previous year (ie substance dependence, psychiatric disorder, suicidality); 2) an almost daily happiness or life satisfaction over the past month; and 3) high levels of social and psychological well-being in the past month.

“Remission from addiction is an important factor in the recovery process, but we also want to consider mental health outcomes beyond abstinence,” said lead author Andie MacNeil, a recent graduate of a master’s degree in social work from the University of Toronto. “We want to think about how we can support the psychological and social well-being of people recovering from drug addiction.”

The present study found several factors associated with excellent mental health in people in remission from drug addiction, including advanced age and social support.

“As people age, people often experience a decrease in their impulsiveness and increased responsibilities in their roles in their personal and professional lives,” said Esme Fuller-Thomson, senior author, professor at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work at the ‘University of Toronto and Director of the Institute for Life Pathways and Aging. “Seniors often move away from social circles and settings where drug use is more prevalent, which in turn can help support their recovery.”

Post-secondary education, being married, and having no life history of major depressive disorder or generalized anxiety disorder were among the other factors associated with both substance abuse remission and excellent mental health.

Although the Statistics Canada survey used for the study did not collect information on interventions participants may have used to support their recovery, other research indicates that various psychosocial approaches (such as interviewing Motivational, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) and pharmacological approaches (such as Opioid Agonist Therapy) can help individuals reduce their drug use and recover from addiction.

Drug addiction is a major public health crisis, with drug overdoses now one of the leading causes of death among adults under 50 in the United States.

Although opioids tend to be the main cause of overdose deaths, there have been significant increases in cocaine and psychostimulant-related deaths in recent years. In the United States, illicit drug use comes at an estimated cost of $ 193 billion per year due to health care costs, criminal justice costs, and lost productivity.

“In view of the considerable loss of life from drug addiction and the associated economic consequences, there is a need to better understand the factors associated with both remission and broader aspects of recovery, such as well-being. mental, ”MacNeil said.