The Self-Medication Hypothesis

Myth or Reality Developing Professional Practice in Dual Diagnosis Level 2 The aim of this piece of work is to appraise Khantzian's (1985) hypothesis relating to the relationship between substance misuse and mental illness. It is well reported that psychoactive substances generally have a negative effect on the central nervous system, changing mood and behaviour (Rassool, 2002b), often to an extent that behaviour is uncontrollable by the individual. However knowing this many individuals choose to use substances …

…McBride, A (eds.) Working with substance misusers 2nd ed Routledge: London Rassool, G. (2002a) Substance misuse and mental health: an overview Nursing Standard vol 16(50) pp47-55 Rassool, G. (2002b) Dual Diagnosis: Substance misuse and Psychiatric Disorders Blackwell Science Ltd, London Warner, R., Taylor, D., Wright, J., Sloat, A., Sprigett, G., Arnold, S., Weinberg, H. (1994) Substance misuse among the mentally ill: Prevalence, reasons for use, and effects on illness American Journal of Orthopsychiatry vol 63, pp30-39