CAUGHT IN A VICIOUS CIRCLE

Mental Illness Often Linked to Substance Use

KITCHENER -- Teens facing the double whammy of mental illness and
substance abuse drift toward different drugs, depending on their
condition, says a local counsellor.

Mark Bergen, a clinical social worker with Grand River Hospital's
adolescent out-patient mental health program, said marijuana is the
preferred drug among his teenage clients.

Alcohol is a close second.

"Marijuana is back on the rise again," Bergen said. "It seems to have
gone up and down, but in the last five years, it's gone up."

What's more significant is that although society accepts teens
experimenting with alcohol, it's alcohol that results in more deaths,
he said.

Some of his teenage clients take magic mushrooms. Speed, also known as
crystal meth, is gaining popularity. Bergen believes the use of such
drugs as LSD and cocaine is declining, while heroin use isn't common
because it's harder to get.

Bergen said more than 50 per cent of the teens in therapy say they use
illegal drugs or alcohol.

"At times it's difficult to make a distinction between someone using
them to cope or someone who has a concurrent disorder -- a psychiatric
disorder and an addiction disorder," he said.

The Grand River program treats youth whose problems range from
clinical depression or obsessive-compulsive disorder to bi-polar
disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and
schizophrenia.

Bergen's seen youth as young as 13 who have had "a drug experience."
He doesn't keep statistics, but he doesn't believe drug and alcohol
use among teens generally is increasing. "For us, it seems fairly
consistent."

People suffering from clinical depression may be more attracted to
alcohol, Bergen said. "It depresses the depression and creates a loss
of inhibitions."

But people may also drink to deal with anxiety or panic disorders,
whereas "people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder may be
more attracted to marijuana or hashish because it makes them less
hyper." The downside is they may become paranoid if they continue to
smoke it.

Crystal meth, known formally as methamphetamine, is also used by teens
with ADHD. Although it is a powerful stimulant to the central nervous
system, it has the opposite effect on that group, actually calming
them down.

Other people take crystal meth to stay awake, drink longer or lose
weight, he said.

Some use alcohol or marijuana to help them sleep or deal with suicidal
thoughts.

For young people at risk of schizophrenia, an illness which shows up
in early adulthood, drugs like LSD or Ecstasy are particularly
dangerous. They can accelerate the onset of the disease by prompting a
first psychosis, characterized by hallucinations and delusions.

Another drug popular with teens, magic mushrooms, contains compounds
that are hallucinogenic and -- in high doses -- can cause trips
similar to those of LSD, causing loss of reality, severe paranoia and
anxiety. Its use is not specific to certain types of mental illness,
Bergen said.

Teens with addictions are typically referred to St. Mary's Counselling
Services or Homewood Health Centre in Guelph until they are
stabilized. Then they may transfer to Grand River's out-patient
program to get help for their mental health problems.

Confidentiality is an important part of the process, he said.
Legislation gives anyone age 12 and up the right to seek therapy
without parental knowledge or involvement.

Bergen said Grand River's program has had success by reaffirming with
its young patients the importance of a healthy lifestyle. "They want
to feel better. Most kids are willing to give it a chance," he said.

"Once someone gets to know themselves without using (substances) and
takes care of their emotional and mental health, they find they don't
have to use anymore.

"I think there is a trend toward our population in general, and
adolescents, to accept the fact that they may have a problem with
their emotional health. They're willing to do something about it.
There's not as much stigma."