If you’re one of the 18 percent of Americans that suffer from an anxiety disorder, you are at greater risk of acquiring an addiction, or substance abuse disorder. People with anxiety are two to three times more likely to become dependent on drugs. 20 percent of the people with an anxiety disorder also develop an addiction. The impending, and often irrational, fears that an anxiety disorder induces make it more likely for an individual to try using drugs or alcohol in the first place. People with social anxiety may drink or use drugs to feel at ease, to fit in, or to be able to engage in social conversation with people they don’t know. Even if the high from a substance makes a person’s anxiety more acute or intense, an individual may continue to experiment with drugs for the veil that they wrap around reality. Then, becoming addicted to the substance that is experimented with is more plausible with anxiety because drugs often generate a euphoric feeling that relieves or masks the person’s anxiety and depression. However, it is never a sound strategy to combat mental instability with drugs because the dopamine releasing effects of intoxicating substances makes the anxiety-ridden person feel more anxious and depressed after they have stopped using the drug, which is one of the tell-tale details of the vicious cycle of addiction. If you or anyone you know is addicted to drugs or alcohol, please call…