Millions of people are living with anxiety, with 1 in 5 using alcohol or other substances to self-medicate. For many, they believe that this is what gets them through the day, that without it their anxiety would be overwhelming. But when that self-medication is done with cocaine, things can quickly go wrong.
Cocaine use is strongly linked with anxiety disorders. But does anxiety cause cocaine use, or does cocaine use cause anxiety? What determines this connection? How concerned should you be?
At Tranquil Shores, we understand the fear and uncertainty these questions can cause. Our facilities may be on the beach, but we’re proud to come from a diverse background, with clinical staff that includes LGBTQ+ members.
In this article, our goal is to give you the tools you need to understand the link between cocaine and anxiety, and help you navigate the path toward reclaiming your life.
What Cocaine Does to the Brain
Cocaine is a stimulant derived from the coca plant, native to South America. Historically, the leaves of coca plants were used to treat mild pain and to help with altitude sickness. However, eventually, these leaves came to be crushed and refined with other chemicals to create bricks of white powder, known today as cocaine.
Cocaine is often consumed by snorting it through the nose or by rubbing it directly on the gums. In some cases, the substance may come in a crystal or rock form, often known as “crack” or “crack-cocaine”. While cocaine is prescribed in rare instances as a painkiller for minor surgeries, it is largely used as a recreational drug.
Cocaine use directly impacts several processes in the brain. It can limit the pain response, numbing the body. It causes a build up of specific chemicals, such as dopamine and norepinephrine, by preventing the body from removing them from the brain. As dopamine increases beyond normal levels, intense euphoria and giddiness can set in. Other chemicals, like norepinephrine or cortisol, can also reach higher concentrations.
While these chemicals provide what feels like a boost in energy, they also lead to higher blood pressure, restlessness, and increases in stress, fear, and anxiety. Research shows that paranoia, psychosis, and mental health disorders can result from long-term use. Cognitive impairment, memory problems, and other mental and psychological disorders can result from extended cocaine use.
The Connection Between Cocaine and Anxiety
In the short term, cocaine use can lead to feelings of energy and happiness. For some users, this feels like an escape from their anxieties and fears. However, these positive emotions are temporary, and anxiety can quickly set in stronger than ever.
With prolonged use, this can lead to a spiraling cycle, where your partner feels trapped, unable to function without using cocaine to calm their own anxieties. Understanding how this process works is the first step toward getting them the help and care they need.
Why Does Cocaine Cause Anxiety?
While many factors are involved with any complex psychological process, there are several key elements to keep in mind. Cocaine impacts several key systems in the body, from the brain’s reward pathways to the body’s stress response. Additionally, cocaine can increase any underlying anxieties or fears due to its psychological effects.
The Brain’s Reward System
Cocaine use increases the levels of a neurotransmitter called dopamine. This chemical signals pleasure in the brain’s reward pathway, and can calm other emotions such as anxiety or fear. Cocaine prevents the body from recycling excess dopamine, causing these levels to spike far beyond what is considered typical. This is the primary source of the feelings of euphoria and energy that cocaine can cause.
As the body builds up tolerance through repeated use, the brain can come to rely on cocaine to reach baseline levels of dopamine. This means individuals often find themselves unable to feel happy or energized unless taking cocaine, or feel anxious without it. Anxiety often builds as their dopamine levels fall, and cravings for cocaine can set in.
Since their body has become accustomed to a higher baseline of dopamine through repeated cocaine use, it takes more and more of the substance to reach the same feeling of high. Your loved one may feel like they’re being forced to do more and more cocaine just to feel alive, trapped by what has become an addiction. Anxiety, irritability, and even depression can continue to build until these cravings are sated.
Interrupted Stress Response
One of the effects of cocaine is to flood the body with cortisol, often referred to as the “stress” hormone. While cortisol doesn’t necessarily cause stress, it’s involved in how the body copes with stressors in a variety of ways. When anxiety is present, cortisol is sure to be involved.
As the body is repeatedly flooded with high levels of cortisol, the system in charge of controlling the stress response gets overwhelmed. Over time, and with repeated use of cocaine, this system becomes less sensitive, unable to respond appropriately. When everyday anxieties crop up, they can quickly spiral with even mild levels of cortisol, causing this system to stop functioning.
Worsening Pre-Existing Anxiety
Your loved one might use the confidence, energy, and euphoria cocaine offers as a treatment for their own anxiety. Unfortunately, these benefits are short term, and cocaine worsens anxiety far more often than it helps. This can lead to a cycle where cocaine is used to treat anxiety, only to cause the feelings of anxiety to increase further, and more cocaine to be used – on and on, as tolerance and dependence grow side by side.
Other side effects of cocaine – increased heart rate, sweating, and paranoia – become more prevalent as use and dosage increases. These can contribute further, as these are common triggers and symptoms for anxiety.
Cocaine can also result in psychosis and insomnia. These can increase underlying anxieties, worsening and intensifying any symptoms. Psychosis is known to lead to and increase anxiety, and being unable to sleep only causes more problems.
The Effects of Cocaine on Anxiety Disorders
Research has shown that cocaine use significantly increases the likelihood an anxiety disorder will form. This can be for a variety of factors. A dependence may form, and often addiction and anxiety are coexisting (comorbid) disorders. Cocaine use can lead to psychosis and paranoia in the long term, creating anxiety disorders where none existed before.
For individuals with existing anxiety disorders, cocaine can cause even more problems. In the short term, symptoms may be relieved by the upswing from cocaine. However, in the long run, this ultimately results in a crash. The effects of these disorders can be greatly increased by the upswings and downswings of cocaine.
Importantly, cocaine can reduce the effect of treatments for anxiety disorders. Since cocaine floods the body with such high levels of neurotransmitters, many typical treatments can struggle to make progress. This can cause existing anxiety disorders to feel impossible to escape from, only contributing to the cycle of addiction with cocaine. If you believe a loved one is experiencing cocaine addiction, it’s important to seek professional help.
Treating Anxiety and Cocaine Addiction in Madeira Beach, Florida
Anxiety and cocaine addiction are two things that, even on their own, can feel overwhelming. When present at the same time, they pose unique challenges. Each can feed off of the other – the anxiety leading to cocaine use, and the cocaine use increasing the feelings of anxiety. However, it’s important to know that help is available, and that this cycle can be broken.
Therapy and cocaine addiction treatment are important steps, but it’s critical you find professionals who specialize in dual-diagnosis treatment. That way, your loved one can receive the care that serves all of their needs, not only a single aspect.
That’s why, at Tranquil Shores, our clinicians offer dual-diagnosis treatment. We bring you the peaceful environment you need to recover, while taking a comprehensive approach to each of clients. We don’t treat the addiction, we treat the person. If you or your loved ones are ready to take the first steps toward recovery from a cocaine use disorder, please call us today at 727-391-7001. You can also reach us through our contact page here.
