Understanding Self-Medication
Understanding the Need Beneath Substance Use
This resource explores what self-medication means and why people may turn to substances or repeated behaviours to manage difficult internal experiences. It looks beyond assumptions about “bad choices” and considers the function a behaviour may be serving, such as reducing anxiety, changing mood, creating emotional distance, increasing stimulation or helping someone cope in the short term.
It also explores how something that initially feels useful can gradually become less effective or begin creating additional difficulties. The resource encourages a compassionate, curious approach that considers both the immediate benefit and the longer-term impact.
Useful for: understanding self-medication patterns, reflecting on what a behaviour provides, and beginning to identify needs that may require safer or more sustainable support.
Space to Breathe Therapy
