Self-diagnosing is a doorway to drug abuse. The dangers go far beyond addiction, and can easily lead to life altering experiences. To prevent this from happening, find out if you have been self-medicating to treat symptoms.

1. Bipolar Disorder

No matter what side you’re on, bipolar disorder is a complicated disorder to tackle. From the perspective of a professional, it makes sense to check into a rehab center in orange county. From the sufferer’s perspective, things have been ‘neutral’ for a few days running so there is no need for help.

The up and down symptoms of bipolar disorder always require the help of a professional. When you use self-medication techniques on bipolar disorder, there is a good chance that you’ll introduce psychosis to the mix. This is a dangerous state to be in, and is often mistaken by the sufferer as a sense of euphoria.

2. Depression

Some people use food to combat depression. A bowl of ice cream and cookies will put on a few pounds, but won’t cause major damage to your life. When food doesn’t cut it, weed and antidepressant medications are used to fill the void. Too much weed will cause its own set of symptoms, and without a prescription, antidepressants become a very dangerous drug.

Besides the dangers of getting fake antidepressants from third parties, there is the ever-present danger of being wrong about your original diagnosis. Instead of depression, you may be mistakenly treating bipolar disorder.  

3. Anxiety

If you actually suffer from anxiety, self-medications can lead to more anxiety, or even panic attacks. There are people that have diagnosed themselves as having bad anxiety, yet the reality is that they have high blood pressure.

One bad side effect from a medication can cause permanent heart damage that leads to actual anxiety. If you look at the side effects of a lot of medications used for self-treatment, many of them have vital warnings that are often ignored.

4. Antisocial Behavior

Self-medicating can lead to situations where you cut yourself out of society. It could be a finance issue, with all of your money going to a new addiction. Or it could just be the side effect of an intense emotional experience brought on by a misdiagnosis.

Getting prescribed medicine is a multistep process, so all shortcuts will eventually lead to the same place. Antisocial behavior is an especially traumatic side effect that can lead to illegal drug usage.

5. Insomnia

Insomnia is one of those big problems with a million different solutions. One of the solutions was taking NyQuil night time to get ‘knocked out’ into sleep. That is why the company came out publicly to push back against the unauthorized use of NyQuil as a sleep aid. The key drug here is doxylamine, one of the main ingredients of NyQuil. Although it is non-habit forming, the abuse levels are still at an all-time high. Self-medicating with any form of this drug can lead to a coma, kidney problems or seizures.

Do It the Right Way

There are plenty of ways to treat real symptoms so that they don’t turn into addiction. Treat your body right by staying away from practices that can cause irreversible harm. Medicine can be just as dangerous as drugs, so don’t misuse them for personal benefit.