{"id":115,"date":"2025-10-23T09:49:17","date_gmt":"2025-10-23T09:49:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.anxiety.co.za\/blog\/?p=115"},"modified":"2025-10-23T09:49:17","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T09:49:17","slug":"how-mood-disorders-and-addiction-go-hand-in-hand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.anxiety.co.za\/blog\/how-mood-disorders-and-addiction-go-hand-in-hand\/","title":{"rendered":"How Mood Disorders and Addiction Go Hand in Hand"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s easy to separate mental health and addiction as two different beasts, one emotional, one chemical. But in reality, they\u2019re tangled together like barbed wire. You can\u2019t pull one without bleeding from the other. <\/span>Mood disorders and addiction don\u2019t just coexist, they feed each other. Depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, these aren\u2019t just side stories in addiction. They\u2019re often the root system beneath it, quietly fueling the need to numb out, to escape, to self-destruct in peace.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Two-Way Street Nobody Wants to Talk About<\/span><\/h2>\n

Addiction and mood disorders have a codependent relationship. One doesn\u2019t politely wait for the other to leave before moving in. They move together. Sometimes the mental health problem comes first, a person tries to self-medicate feelings they can\u2019t handle. Other times, the addiction creates the mood disorder, rewiring the brain until balance becomes impossible without the next fix.<\/span><\/p>\n

The result is the same, chaos. You can\u2019t tell where the depression ends and the addiction begins. They blend into one another until all you know is the cycle, high, crash, guilt, repeat.<\/span><\/p>\n

People often say things like, \u201cIf I could just quit drinking, my life would get better.\u201d But for many, the drinking isn\u2019t the problem, it\u2019s the attempt at a solution. The real problem is what lives underneath: the panic, the darkness, the deep sense of not being enough.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Oldest Coping Mechanism in the Book<\/span><\/h2>\n

People don\u2019t wake up one day and decide to ruin their lives for fun. Addiction usually starts with pain. Maybe not a dramatic trauma, but something quieter, an ache that never went away. For someone with depression or anxiety, substances can feel like medicine at first. <\/span>Alcohol softens the noise. Drugs create false peace. Even behavioural addictions, gambling, sex, spending, provide a temporary sense of control in a world that feels unpredictable.<\/span><\/p>\n

For a while, it works. You feel lighter. More in control. More alive. But that relief is short-lived. Over time, the substance that dulled your pain begins to amplify it. The hangovers, the withdrawals, the shame, they add new layers to an already fragile mind.<\/span><\/p>\n

And yet, you keep going back. Not because you want to, but because it\u2019s the only thing that\u2019s ever worked, until it doesn\u2019t.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Chemical War Inside the Brain<\/span><\/h2>\n

Science backs up what most people in recovery already know intuitively, addiction changes the brain. Dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine, all the chemicals responsible for mood regulation, get hijacked. The brain learns to rely on substances for emotional balance. <\/span>When you remove the substance, those systems don\u2019t just snap back. The brain doesn\u2019t remember how to function without artificial stimulation. So the depression deepens. The anxiety spikes. The emotional chaos intensifies before it calms.<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s why people relapse, not because they\u2019re weak, but because their brain is begging for stability. It\u2019s not about chasing a high anymore. It\u2019s about avoiding the crash.<\/span><\/p>\n

Recovery takes time, and during that time, your brain is relearning how to feel. That\u2019s a brutal process. People often mistake it for failure when, in fact, it\u2019s biology doing its slow repair work.<\/span><\/p>\n

Depression\u2019s Dangerous Whisper<\/span><\/h2>\n

Depression is one of addiction\u2019s most loyal partners. It tells you the same story that addiction does: \u201cYou\u2019re worthless. You\u2019ll never change. Why bother trying?\u201d <\/span>Depression doesn\u2019t shout, it whispers. It convinces you that nothing matters, that you\u2019re beyond help, that the best you can do is get through the day numb. That mindset makes addiction feel like the only friend left standing.<\/span><\/p>\n

When you\u2019re depressed, the idea of getting sober can actually make things worse at first. Sobriety strips away your coping mechanism and leaves you alone with a brain that wants to give up. That\u2019s why dual diagnosis treatment, addressing both the addiction and the underlying mood disorder, isn\u2019t optional. It\u2019s survival.<\/span><\/p>\n

You can\u2019t treat depression by removing the alcohol any more than you can treat alcoholism by prescribing an antidepressant and hoping for the best. Both problems speak the same language of despair, and they have to be treated in unison.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Fuel That Never Runs Out<\/span><\/h2>\n

If depression is a quiet fog, anxiety is a wildfire. It\u2019s the constant hum of dread, the endless loop of \u201cwhat if.\u201d For someone with an anxiety disorder, substances offer brief relief, the stillness between storms. <\/span>A few drinks take the edge off. A pill slows the racing heart. But the body always collects its debt. When the high wears off, the anxiety doubles down. The nervous system rebounds harder, the panic attacks return stronger, and suddenly you\u2019re not managing anxiety, you\u2019re managing withdrawal.<\/span><\/p>\n

Many people with anxiety describe drinking or using as the only time they feel normal. That\u2019s the danger. When the drug becomes the only space of calm, giving it up feels impossible. Recovery feels like jumping without a parachute.<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s why so many people in treatment resist letting go, they\u2019re not addicted to the pleasure, they\u2019re addicted to the pause.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bipolar Disorder and the Addictive Rollercoaster<\/span><\/h2>\n

Bipolar disorder is a different kind of monster. The highs are intoxicating, the lows unbearable. Substances often become part of the self-management system, uppers to match mania, downers to soften the crash. <\/span>But substances twist the cycle. They push the highs higher and the lows deeper. A manic episode combined with substance use can lead to reckless choices, while a depressive phase mixed with withdrawal can become life-threatening.<\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s worse, bipolar disorder is often misdiagnosed in people with addiction. The symptoms overlap, mood swings, impulsivity, erratic behaviour. Doctors see the chaos and label it addiction, missing the chemical instability underneath. That\u2019s why many people spend years bouncing between rehabs and psychiatrists, never getting the right help because nobody\u2019s treating both sides of the equation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Shame, The Silent Middleman<\/span><\/h2>\n

Both addiction and mood disorders feed off shame. It\u2019s the invisible thread connecting every relapse, every dark night, every \u201cI\u2019ll do better tomorrow.\u201d <\/span>You drink because you\u2019re ashamed of your depression. Then you\u2019re ashamed of drinking. You use because you can\u2019t handle your anxiety, then you hate yourself for needing it. The shame deepens, the spiral tightens, and soon you\u2019re not even sure which came first, the mood disorder or the addiction.<\/span><\/p>\n

Shame isolates. It convinces you that nobody else feels this broken, that you don\u2019t deserve help. And that isolation becomes a trap. You stop talking, you stop reaching out, and the illness wins quietly. <\/span>The antidote to shame isn\u2019t perfection, it\u2019s honesty. Recovery begins when someone stops pretending and starts telling the truth, even when that truth is ugly. Especially when it\u2019s ugly.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Treatment Mistake That Keeps People Sick<\/span><\/h2>\n

Too many treatment centres still focus on one side of the problem. They detox the body and send people home with their minds still on fire. Or they medicate the mind without addressing the behaviours that keep the addiction alive. <\/span>That\u2019s why relapse rates are so high. You can\u2019t treat one head of a two-headed beast. The only way out is integrated treatment, rehab and therapy working together, psychiatrists and counsellors talking to each other, the addict learning how to manage both mood and craving.<\/span><\/p>\n

Medication can help, but it\u2019s not magic. The real transformation comes from therapy, from understanding your triggers, your thinking patterns, your emotional wiring. It\u2019s learning how to live with your own brain instead of against it.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Role of Routine and Structure<\/span><\/h2>\n

When mood and addiction collide, chaos becomes normal. Days blur, nights stretch. The body loses its rhythm. That\u2019s why structure is such a powerful tool in recovery. It gives the mind something predictable when emotions aren\u2019t.<\/span><\/p>\n

Simple things, eating regularly, sleeping enough, exercising, sound trivial but they\u2019re chemical weapons in the fight for stability. Every consistent habit teaches the brain what balance feels like again. It\u2019s not glamorous work, but it\u2019s what rewires you.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mood stability isn\u2019t built in a therapy session, it\u2019s built in the quiet hours between them.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Long Game<\/span><\/h2>\n

Recovery from co-occurring addiction and mood disorders isn\u2019t quick. It\u2019s not about \u201cfixing\u201d yourself, it\u2019s about learning how to live with yourself. There will be setbacks, medication changes, emotional crashes. There will be days when you want to quit. <\/span>But if you keep going, if you stay long enough in the process, something shifts. The moods start to even out. The cravings lose their power. The brain starts to trust calm again.<\/span><\/p>\n

The storm and the fire no longer feed each other. They burn out. And what\u2019s left is a kind of peace you can\u2019t fake, the peace that comes from knowing your mind, not fearing it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mood disorders and addiction don\u2019t happen in isolation. They\u2019re partners in crime, locked in a feedback loop that keeps people sick until both are faced head-on. Treating one without the other is like patching a roof while the foundation rots. <\/span>The truth is, healing doesn\u2019t happen when the symptoms disappear, it happens when understanding replaces shame. When someone realises they\u2019re not broken, just human. When they stop running from their mind and start learning how to live inside it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Addiction isn\u2019t just about what you drink, smoke, or swallow. It\u2019s about what you feel, what you fear, and what you\u2019ve been trying to silence. And the day you stop numbing and start listening, that\u2019s the day recovery truly begins.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s easy to separate mental health and addiction as two different beasts, one emotional, one chemical. But in reality, they\u2019re tangled together like barbed wire. You can\u2019t pull one without … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":116,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-115","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","has-meta has-sticky-meta"],"yoast_head":"\nHow Mood Disorders and Addiction Go Hand in Hand - Anxiety Care South Africa<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It\u2019s easy to separate mental health and addiction as two different beasts, one emotional, one chemical. But in reality, they\u2019re tangled together like\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.anxiety.co.za\/blog\/how-mood-disorders-and-addiction-go-hand-in-hand\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Mood Disorders and Addiction Go Hand in Hand - Anxiety Care South Africa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It\u2019s easy to separate mental health and addiction as two different beasts, one emotional, one chemical. But in reality, they\u2019re tangled together like\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.anxiety.co.za\/blog\/how-mood-disorders-and-addiction-go-hand-in-hand\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Anxiety Care South Africa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-10-23T09:49:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.anxiety.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/moods.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"anxiety.co.za\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"anxiety.co.za\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.anxiety.co.za\\\/blog\\\/how-mood-disorders-and-addiction-go-hand-in-hand\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.anxiety.co.za\\\/blog\\\/how-mood-disorders-and-addiction-go-hand-in-hand\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"anxiety.co.za\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.anxiety.co.za\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d443f9fef8888c10378dbed284f80683\"},\"headline\":\"How Mood Disorders and Addiction Go Hand in Hand\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-23T09:49:17+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.anxiety.co.za\\\/blog\\\/how-mood-disorders-and-addiction-go-hand-in-hand\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1626,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.anxiety.co.za\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.anxiety.co.za\\\/blog\\\/how-mood-disorders-and-addiction-go-hand-in-hand\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.anxiety.co.za\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/moods.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.anxiety.co.za\\\/blog\\\/how-mood-disorders-and-addiction-go-hand-in-hand\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.anxiety.co.za\\\/blog\\\/how-mood-disorders-and-addiction-go-hand-in-hand\\\/\",\"name\":\"How Mood Disorders and Addiction Go Hand in Hand - Anxiety Care South Africa\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.anxiety.co.za\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.anxiety.co.za\\\/blog\\\/how-mood-disorders-and-addiction-go-hand-in-hand\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.anxiety.co.za\\\/blog\\\/how-mood-disorders-and-addiction-go-hand-in-hand\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.anxiety.co.za\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/moods.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-23T09:49:17+00:00\",\"description\":\"It\u2019s easy to separate mental health and addiction as two different beasts, one emotional, one chemical. But in reality, they\u2019re tangled together like\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.anxiety.co.za\\\/blog\\\/how-mood-disorders-and-addiction-go-hand-in-hand\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.anxiety.co.za\\\/blog\\\/how-mood-disorders-and-addiction-go-hand-in-hand\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.anxiety.co.za\\\/blog\\\/how-mood-disorders-and-addiction-go-hand-in-hand\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.anxiety.co.za\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/moods.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.anxiety.co.za\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/moods.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":500},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.anxiety.co.za\\\/blog\\\/how-mood-disorders-and-addiction-go-hand-in-hand\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.anxiety.co.za\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How Mood Disorders and Addiction Go Hand in Hand\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.anxiety.co.za\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.anxiety.co.za\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Anxiety Care South Africa\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.anxiety.co.za\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.anxiety.co.za\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.anxiety.co.za\\\/blog\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Anxiety Care South Africa\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.anxiety.co.za\\\/blog\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.anxiety.co.za\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.anxiety.co.za\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/21.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.anxiety.co.za\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/21.png\",\"width\":470,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"Anxiety Care South Africa\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.anxiety.co.za\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.anxiety.co.za\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d443f9fef8888c10378dbed284f80683\",\"name\":\"anxiety.co.za\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.anxiety.co.za\\\/blog\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.anxiety.co.za\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/anxiety-co-za\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How Mood Disorders and Addiction Go Hand in Hand - Anxiety Care South Africa","description":"It\u2019s easy to separate mental health and addiction as two different beasts, one emotional, one chemical. But in reality, they\u2019re tangled together like","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.anxiety.co.za\/blog\/how-mood-disorders-and-addiction-go-hand-in-hand\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How Mood Disorders and Addiction Go Hand in Hand - Anxiety Care South Africa","og_description":"It\u2019s easy to separate mental health and addiction as two different beasts, one emotional, one chemical. But in reality, they\u2019re tangled together like","og_url":"https:\/\/www.anxiety.co.za\/blog\/how-mood-disorders-and-addiction-go-hand-in-hand\/","og_site_name":"Anxiety Care South Africa","article_published_time":"2025-10-23T09:49:17+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":500,"url":"https:\/\/www.anxiety.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/moods.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"anxiety.co.za","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"anxiety.co.za","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.anxiety.co.za\/blog\/how-mood-disorders-and-addiction-go-hand-in-hand\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.anxiety.co.za\/blog\/how-mood-disorders-and-addiction-go-hand-in-hand\/"},"author":{"name":"anxiety.co.za","@id":"https:\/\/www.anxiety.co.za\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d443f9fef8888c10378dbed284f80683"},"headline":"How Mood Disorders and Addiction Go Hand in Hand","datePublished":"2025-10-23T09:49:17+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.anxiety.co.za\/blog\/how-mood-disorders-and-addiction-go-hand-in-hand\/"},"wordCount":1626,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.anxiety.co.za\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.anxiety.co.za\/blog\/how-mood-disorders-and-addiction-go-hand-in-hand\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.anxiety.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/moods.jpg","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-ZA"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.anxiety.co.za\/blog\/how-mood-disorders-and-addiction-go-hand-in-hand\/","url":"https:\/\/www.anxiety.co.za\/blog\/how-mood-disorders-and-addiction-go-hand-in-hand\/","name":"How Mood Disorders and Addiction Go Hand in Hand - Anxiety Care South Africa","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.anxiety.co.za\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.anxiety.co.za\/blog\/how-mood-disorders-and-addiction-go-hand-in-hand\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.anxiety.co.za\/blog\/how-mood-disorders-and-addiction-go-hand-in-hand\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.anxiety.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/moods.jpg","datePublished":"2025-10-23T09:49:17+00:00","description":"It\u2019s easy to separate mental health and addiction as two different beasts, one emotional, one chemical. But in reality, they\u2019re tangled together like","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.anxiety.co.za\/blog\/how-mood-disorders-and-addiction-go-hand-in-hand\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-ZA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.anxiety.co.za\/blog\/how-mood-disorders-and-addiction-go-hand-in-hand\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-ZA","@id":"https:\/\/www.anxiety.co.za\/blog\/how-mood-disorders-and-addiction-go-hand-in-hand\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.anxiety.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/moods.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.anxiety.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/moods.jpg","width":1000,"height":500},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.anxiety.co.za\/blog\/how-mood-disorders-and-addiction-go-hand-in-hand\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.anxiety.co.za\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How Mood Disorders and Addiction Go Hand in Hand"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.anxiety.co.za\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.anxiety.co.za\/blog\/","name":"Anxiety Care South Africa","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.anxiety.co.za\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.anxiety.co.za\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-ZA"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.anxiety.co.za\/blog\/#organization","name":"Anxiety Care South Africa","url":"https:\/\/www.anxiety.co.za\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-ZA","@id":"https:\/\/www.anxiety.co.za\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.anxiety.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/21.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.anxiety.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/21.png","width":470,"height":512,"caption":"Anxiety Care South Africa"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.anxiety.co.za\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.anxiety.co.za\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d443f9fef8888c10378dbed284f80683","name":"anxiety.co.za","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.anxiety.co.za\/blog"],"url":"https:\/\/www.anxiety.co.za\/blog\/author\/anxiety-co-za\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.anxiety.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.anxiety.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.anxiety.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.anxiety.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.anxiety.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.anxiety.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":117,"href":"https:\/\/www.anxiety.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115\/revisions\/117"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.anxiety.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.anxiety.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.anxiety.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=115"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.anxiety.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=115"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}