Self-Medicating
The process of using a substance that is not under the care of a physician to treat a condition is known as “self-medicating”. People often self-medicate for anxiety problems like generalized anxiety disorder though use of tobacco, marijuana, alcohol, and other substances. The common problems with self-medicating are (a) the relieving effect is usually short-term, (b) the actual source of the anxiety is often avoided and left to cause more problems, and (c) there are typically significant physical health side effects.Smoking and Anxiety: read this after if you are interested in getting more information on how smoking is related to anxiety.
Marijuana and Anxiety: read this article to learn more about the relationship between marijuana use and anxiety.
Alcohol and Anxiety: read this to understand the link between alcohol use and anxiety problems.
