Substance use and mental disorders

As highlighted in the previous article, in Part Two we will discuss the unhealthy or rather complicated relationship between substance use and mental illness. Remember how I stated that we have to be mindful of differences in culture when talking of substance abuse; that remains the case. However, we need to have an idea of a standardised approach that endorses substance abuse. For this one, I will borrow a page from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5-TR) and a few screening tools that we use to assess for substance abuse.