Stimulants are a classification of substances that speed up your brain’s average activity level. As strange as it may sound, this increased level of activity can actually ease feelings of anxiety. This helps explain why stimulants are used in the treatment of ADHD. However, stimulants may also have the opposite effect on your anxious feelings. If you’re affected by life-disrupting anxiousness, you may need professional help from an anxiety treatment center.
At Springfield Wellness Center, we provide comprehensive care for life-disrupting anxiety. That’s true whether your problems are caused by stimulants or some other issue. In all circumstances, our goal is to support your return to well-being and a functional routine.
What Is Anxiety?
Anxiety is an uncomfortable feeling that affects both your mind and your body. Common symptoms may include:
- A general sense of uneasiness
- Dread of what’s to come
- Restlessness
- Outright fear
On the physical side, common signs of anxiety involve a racing heartbeat and stomach distress. They also include increased sweating, faster breathing, and muscle tension.
Anxiety is part of your natural emotional toolkit. However, if it persists or grows too intense, problems may follow. If they’re strong enough to damage your ability to function, these problems are known as anxiety disorders. Together, conditions of this type occur more often than any other serious mental health issue.
Stimulant Use and Anxiety
If you have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or ADHD, there’s a good chance that you’ll be treated with medication. Many of the most widely prescribed ADHD medications are stimulants. The list of common stimulants includes:
- Amphetamine
- Dextroamphetamine
- Methylphenidate
- Dexmethylphenidate
For most people, these medications provide significant treatment benefits. Those benefits include reducing hyperactivity, an increased attention span, and fewer impulsive behaviors.
Many people with ADHD also suffer from symptoms of anxiety. These symptoms sometimes are a result of ADHD. However, about 50% of all adults with this illness also have a separate anxiety disorder. Severe anxiety can make your ADHD symptoms worse.
Can Stimulants Make Anxiety Worse?
Can stimulants make anxiety worse instead of helping you get better? Unfortunately, yes, they can. All stimulants have the potential to trigger feelings of anxiety. You are most likely to experience this problem if you take high doses of a stimulant. However, you may also run into trouble when using smaller doses. Unfortunately, no one can tell in advance if any specific medication will increase your anxiety levels. These facts hold true whether or not you also have an anxiety disorder.
People addicted to stimulants often experience anxiety as one of their core symptoms. Your levels of anxiousness can grow worse and worse over time. Eventually, you may even develop a stimulant-induced anxiety disorder. That’s true whether you’re suffering from an addiction to prescription medication or a street drug like cocaine.
Get Help for Stimulants and Anxiety at Springfield Wellness
Are you suffering from anxiety as a result of your stimulant use? The experts at Springfield Wellness Center can help. We feature an in-depth anxiety treatment program that supports your recovery in multiple ways, which includes help from an advanced technique called NAD+ therapy. Regardless of the nature of your anxiety disorder, we have a customized treatment plan for you.
Springfield Wellness Center also features a stimulant detox program. With our assistance, you can increase your odds of breaking your reliance on any stimulant substance. In this way, we help provide you with a critical first step in your overall journey back to sobriety and stability. Don’t let your mental health condition or your addiction hold you back anymore. For more information on our programs, call us today at 844.334.4727 or fill out our convenient online form.