Poor mental health leads to unhealthy behaviors in low-income adults - not the other way around, according to a new study by Dr. Jennifer Walsh at The Miriam Hospital in the US. In this study, stress and anxiety predicted subsequent health-compromising behaviors, such as smoking, binge drinking, illegal drug use, unprotected sex and unhealthy diets. One possible explanation for these findings is that health compromising behaviors may be used as coping mechanisms to manage the effects of stress and anxiety.Well, I think risky sex is a symptom of mania rather than self-medicating behavior like the others, but this is promising.
Rule #1 The pathology Always, Always, Always comes first.
