Recreational drugs and alcohol can affect your mental health in lots of different ways. And it can be hard to know where to find support if you are struggling with addiction.
These pages have information to help you understand the impact drugs and alcohol can have on your mental health.
We also have guidance on how to find the support you need – whether it’s for yourself, or to help someone else.
Learn how recreational drugs and alcohol can affect your mental health, and whether they can cause mental health problems.
All drugs have some kind of effect on your mental health. They can affect the way you see and experience things, your mood and your behaviour.
The effects of recreational drugs might feel pleasant or unpleasant. They may last for a short time or a longer period. Some effects may continue after the drug itself has worn off.
How you react to recreational drugs is likely to depend on what you take, how you take it, and how you feel at the time.
In certain cases, using recreational drugs can lead to long-term mental health problems. For example, taking they might lead to depression or schizophrenia. Or they may cause similar feelings to those you already experience as part of a mental health problem.
You may also depend on recreational drugs and alcohol to help with feelings that you struggle to deal with in other ways. If you use drugs and alcohol in this way, you may be experiencing addiction. See below for useful contacts for drug and alcohol addiction to find support.
Visit FRANK’s A-Z of drugs for detailed information about how specific drugs can affect your mental health.
Some recreational drugs may be available for medical use, even if they are usually illegal for the general public. This might include using them to help with mental health problems. For example:
It can feel hard to ask for help for drug and alcohol problems. This may feel especially difficult if you also struggle with your mental health. But there are ways to get treatment and support for both.
This page covers:
Visit our section below with useful contacts for drug and alcohol addiction to find details of organisations and services which offer support.
If you are looking for support with your drug or alcohol use, often the first option is to:
These services can discuss your drug use and how it is affecting you. They can also explain your treatment options, and refer you to a specialist for more support.
If you visit your local drug and alcohol service, they should assign you a key worker. This is likely to be a doctor, nurse or drug worker. They can make a care plan with you, and keep seeing you regularly to offer support.
Whichever service you use, they should discuss your options with you and take your opinions into account. They should do this before you start any treatment or support.
A ‘dual diagnosis’ is when doctors diagnose you with both severe mental health problems and problems with recreational drug use. Having a dual diagnosis can help you access the support you need.
Visit Rethink’s website to find information on getting help if you have a dual diagnosis.
You might find it helpful to join a self-help group for your drug or alcohol problem. For example, Alcoholic Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous.
These groups can provide support with drug use and addiction. And they can help you find a community of people who have experienced drug and alcohol problems.
You can often join these groups yourself. But if you’re finding it difficult to contact these groups, your GP or drugs and alcohol service might be able to help. Someone from a drug and alcohol service may also be able to attend your first meeting with you.
Drug and alcohol services may offer a programme called contingency management.
This programme offers incentives for positive behaviour with certain drugs. These are often to encourage you to stop or reduce your drug use. The incentives might include vouchers for food and other rewards.
You can speak to your local drug and alcohol service if you would like to know more about contingency management.
Your GP or drug and alcohol service might offer you a talking therapy. This may include behavioural couples therapy or cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).
If you are in a relationship, you and your partner may be offered couples therapy. This can help you and your partner work through any issues, including problems with drugs and alcohol.
It can also help your partner find ways to support you. In certain cases, you may be able to have therapy with a close family member.
If you are offered this therapy, it should be for at least 12 weekly sessions. You are only likely to be offered this if your partner or family member does not also experience drug problems.
Your GP or drug and alcohol service may offer you talking therapy to help with your mental health. This includes if you have stopped using drugs but still experience mental health problems.
If you experience depression or anxiety, they are likely to offer cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). CBT aims to help you change your behaviour by focusing on how your thoughts, beliefs and attitudes affect your feelings and actions.
Mind’s pages on talking therapy and counselling have lots more information about different types of therapy, including how to access them.
If you have addiction problems with opioids such as heroin, your doctor or drug service might offer you a substitute medication. This will be another type of opioid drug that you take instead, such as methadone.
You might continue to take the substitute medication for a long period. This is known as ‘maintenance’ treatment. It can help prevent you experiencing cravings and withdrawal symptoms.
Or you might take the substitute medication for a shorter period, and eventually come off the drug completely. This is known as detoxification, or ‘detox’. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has more information about opioid detoxification.
You can only access these substitute drugs with a prescription. You can speak to your GP or local drug and alcohol service if you would like to learn more.
If you take two or more types of drug around the same time, this can sometimes affect how the drugs work. This is known as an interaction.
Some types of recreational drugs and alcohol can interact with prescribed medication. This includes interactions with certain psychiatric medications.
Below is a list of some reported interactions between psychiatric medications and recreational drugs. There may be other interactions that we haven’t listed here.
This page covers:
See below for useful contacts for drug and alcohol addiction to find details of organisations which may be able to help.
It can feel difficult to support someone who is struggling with recreational drug or alcohol use. It might make you feel worried, frustrated or lonely. But there are things you can do to help. This might include encouraging them to seek help for the first time.
If you are supporting someone seeking help for the first time, you could:
If they already receive treatment or support, you could help them stick to their treatment plan, go to appointments and meet their targets.
As well as helping them find treatment and support, these are some ways to help someone feel supported:
If you are a parent concerned about your child’s drug use, the charity Adfam has information for parents supporting children who use recreational drugs.
Doctors cannot section someone just because they are addicted to drugs or alcohol.
But if someone who takes drugs or alcohol also has mental health problems, doctors may be able to section them. This is usually only for a mental health emergency, for example if their safety is at risk. If you are someone’s nearest relative, you may be able to ask for them to have a mental health assessment.
Mind’s pages on sectioning have more information.
Supporting someone else can have a big impact on your own life. By looking after yourself, you might also find it easier to offer support to others.
These are some things you can do to help yourself:
On this page:
Below are some organisations which can help if you have problems with alcohol.
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)
0800 9177 650
help@aamail.org (email helpline)
alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk
Help and support for anyone with alcohol problems.
Alcohol Change UK
alcoholchange.org.uk
Information and support options for people worried about how much alcohol they are drinking.
Change Grow Live
changegrowlive.org
Find information and local support services for alcohol and drug use. Also offers support for mental wellbeing, and issues like housing and work.
FRANK
0300 123 6600
talktofrank.com
Confidential advice and information about drugs, their effects and the law.
Turning Point
turning-point.co.uk
Health and social care services in England for people with a learning disability. Also supports people with mental health problems, drug and alcohol abuse or unemployment.
We Are With You
wearewithyou.org.uk
Supports people with drug, alcohol or mental health problems, and their friends and family.
Below are some organisations which can help if you have problems with using recreational drugs.
Change Grow Live
changegrowlive.org
Find information and local support services for alcohol and drug use. Also offers support for mental wellbeing, and issues like housing and work.
Cocaine Anonymous UK
0800 612 0225
helpline@cauk.org.uk
cauk.org.uk
Help and support for anyone who wants to stop using cocaine.
FRANK
0300 123 6600
talktofrank.com
Confidential advice and information about drugs, their effects and the law.
Marijuana Anonymous
0300 124 0373
helpline@marijuana-anonymous.org.uk
marijuana-anonymous.co.uk
Help for anyone worried about cannabis use.
Narcotics Anonymous
0300 999 1212
ukna.org
Support for anyone who wants to stop using drugs.
Release
020 7324 2989
ask@release.org.uk (email helpline)
release.org.uk
National charity that offers free and confidential advice about drugs and the law.
Turning Point
turning-point.co.uk
Health and social care services in England for people with a learning disability. Also supports people with mental health problems, drug and alcohol abuse or unemployment.
We Are With You
wearewithyou.org.uk
Supports people with drug, alcohol or mental health problems, and their friends and family.
Below are some organisations which can help you if you are affected by someone else’s recreational drug and alcohol use.
Adfam
adfam.org.uk
Information and support for friends and family of people with drug or alcohol problems.
Addiction Family Support
0300 888 3853
addictionfamilysupport.org.uk
Provides support to anyone affected by someone else’s harmful use of drugs, alcohol or gambling.
Al-Anon
0800 0086 811
helpline@al-anonuk.org.uk
al-anonuk.org.uk
Offers support meetings across the UK for anyone whose life is affected, or has been affected, by someone else’s drinking. Also provides online support meetings, and a confidential helpline.
Families Anonymous
0207 4984 680
famanon.org.uk
Support for friends and family of people with drug problems.
National Association for Children of Alcoholics (Nacoa)
0800 358 3456
helpline@nacoa.org.uk
nacoa.org.uk
Provides information, advice and support for anyone affected by a parent’s drinking, including adults.
We Are With You
wearewithyou.org.uk
Supports people with drug, alcohol or mental health problems, and their friends and family.
Our friendly team at the Portsmouth Mental Health Hub are here to help.
Enter your details and someone will call you back between 8am and 6pm, Monday to Friday.
If you or someone you know needs urgent mental health help, please call 111 – the NHS non-emergency number. It’s available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and is free from any phone. They have specialist mental health nurses who can support adults and young people.
In a life-threatening emergency, always call 999.