The Effects of Addiction on Mental Health

In patients who were addicted to drugs and alcohol, they were also almost uniformly very depressed and anxious. But stopping the addictive substance alone could have this profound effect on a patient's mood and well-being. The corollary to that was through my career. I've seen many patients with pain, physical pain, who have gotten addicted to opioids as a result of a doctor's prescription. And what I saw in those patients for many of them was that when they got off of opioids, their pain actually got better.