SOMETIMES you're the last to know why you're having that finger of Scotch, or joint. Self-medicating - using alcohol or other drugs to deal with problems and feelings - can creep up on anyone.
The chief executive officer of Laverton Community Centre and Neighbourhood House, Michael Pernar, says most clients of the Hobsons Bay counselling service self-medicate to deal with undiagnosed mental-health issues.
"The person has found, not a cure, but an avenue of addressing that feeling ... not always a positive [avenue]."
Mr Pernar knows what he's talking about. "I myself have been medicating for nine years and just recently went to my quacks and had a good talk to them about it," he said.
"It took years for them to realise that it wasn't depression; it was anxiety.
"I always thought it was because I was working in a high-stress area like community services. Because you're not producing widgets, you're dealing with people, you're dealing with emotion, you're dealing with family situations.
"I mean, we debrief with each other after we see a client. You want to ensure that you're not carrying the work home.
"Aside from dealing with your clients, you've got to make your organisation run, you've got to do all that operational and organisational stuff.
"You'd go home and you'd be kicking the dog and the cat. I had kids and a family and I was just not a nice person to be around.
"It was only when my relationship hit rock bottom that I said, 'Geez, I need to go and talk to someone', and that person went, 'Hey, son, you're self-medicating, you have been doing it a long time, you've been using alcohol and other variances to get by'."
Mr Pernar said once people realised why they were self-medicating, they could address the issues.
"My father passed away in September, which happens to be the month when you've got Father's Day," he said.
"Which is also the Green Day song, 'Wake me up When September Ends'.
"I hate September. I'm never gonna get away from it totally - but it's how you cope with it.
"The people we're dealing with a lot of times here - and a lot of the men that are coming through - are retrospective geniuses. They're not alone. This is a major problem in society.
"They're not a freak. This is normal."
Fellow counsellor Maureen Judd said women tended to favour prescription drugs - the sort that used to be referred to as 'Mother's little helper'.
"We found that prescribed medication and overuse was really predominant, particularly among women in this area," she said. "There are some of the older drugs that have been around, like Xanax, that people use like lollies. With self-medication, people who are suffering will either use alcohol or something else they can get their hands on to make themselves feel better.
"To get off some of the tranquillisers is just as hard as getting off heroin or any of the other major drugs."
Mr Pernar said while society focused mainly on the "heroin scourge" and cannabis, most of the centre's clients went "doctor shopping" for over-the-counter drugs.
"Believe you me, just like someone who's chasing illicit drugs, they work out how they can access prescribed medication," he said.
"They don't see themselves as addicts.
"The saddest thing is, we get a lot of doctors who are addicts."
Laverton Community Centre and Neighbourhood House provides crisis intervention and family support.
For counselling or a referral, call 93692726.
SELF-MEDICA TION
SELF-medicating refers to people using alcohol, cigarettes, marijuana and other drugs to deal with their problems and feelings.
One in 13 Australian adults has a substance-use disorder, with men more than twice as likely as women to be affected.
Many people use illegal drugs to deal with their depression or anxiety, but the illegal drugs may increase both.
If you are depressed and drinking alcohol or taking other drugs, it is worth remembering that you need to set out to address both problems.
The two problems may relate closely to each other, but once your pattern of substance use is habitual, you will need to do something about it as well as the depression in order to make a full recovery.
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