{"id":48387,"date":"2026-05-25T13:32:14","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T18:32:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/portage.ca\/youth-mental-health-and-self-medication\/"},"modified":"2026-05-25T15:25:51","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T20:25:51","slug":"youth-mental-health-and-self-medication","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/portage.ca\/en\/youth-mental-health-and-self-medication\/","title":{"rendered":"Youth, Mental Health, and Self-Medication"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h1>\n\t\t\t<b>Youth, Mental Health, and<br \/>Self-Medication<\/b>\t<\/h1>\n<h3>\n\t\t\tUnderstanding Self-Medication Among Youth\t<\/h3>\n\t<p class=\"lead\">More and more young people are experiencing psychological distress they struggle to express. To calm their anxiety, escape painful memories, or simply &#8220;function,&#8221; some turn to substance use. This phenomenon, known as\u00a0<em>self-medication<\/em>, is often misunderstood &#8211; yet it lies at the heart of many situations faced by youth workers.<\/p>\n<p><strong>A mental health issue that must not be overlooked<\/strong><br \/>Self-medication is a sign of suffering. It can mask undiagnosed mental health disorders, trauma, or an urgent need for empathy and support. As youth workers, understanding this mechanism helps open up dialogue, adapt our approaches, and guide young people toward specialized resources like those offered by Portage.<\/p>\n\t<p><em>&#8220;I projected this image of being the cool kid by using, but in reality, I was trying to hide a deep feeling of loneliness. That feeling of being different, of not belonging.&#8221;<\/em><em>\u00a0&#8211; James, youth in treatment<\/em><\/p>\n<figure itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\">\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/portage.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/EN-Facebook.png\" alt=\"EN Facebook\" height=\"1080\" width=\"1080\" title=\"EN Facebook\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n\t<\/figure>\n<figure itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\">\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/portage.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Facebook-EN.png\" alt=\"Facebook EN\" height=\"1080\" width=\"1080\" title=\"Facebook EN\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n\t<\/figure>\n<figure itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\">\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/portage.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/20220912_Saint_Malachie_0241.jpg\" alt=\"20220912_Saint_Malachie_0241\" height=\"1365\" width=\"2048\" title=\"20220912_Saint_Malachie_0241\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n\t<\/figure>\n\t<h2>One pager<\/h2>\n<p><strong>When Pain Leads to Substance Use &#8211; Understanding and Supporting Youth<\/strong><br \/>Download our info sheet to better understand self-medication among youth and learn how to intervene effectively.<\/p>\n\t<p><a href=\"https:\/\/portage.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Youth-Mental-Health-Self-Medication-1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Download<\/a><\/p>\n\t<iframe allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay\" data-src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/1152234255?color&amp;autopause=0&amp;loop=0&amp;muted=0&amp;title=0&amp;portrait=0&amp;byline=0&amp;h&amp;share=copy&amp;fl=sv&amp;fe=ci\" title=\"Building skills, Finding Purpose, Anchoring Hope\"><\/iframe>\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tPlay Video\n\t\t\tBuilding skills, Finding Purpose, Anchoring Hope\n\t<iframe allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay\" data-src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/1152234386?color&amp;autopause=0&amp;loop=0&amp;muted=0&amp;title=0&amp;portrait=0&amp;byline=0&amp;h&amp;share=copy&amp;fl=sv&amp;fe=ci\" title=\"Using Substances To Operate?\"><\/iframe>\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tPlay Video\n\t\t\tUsing Substances To Operate?\n\t<iframe allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay\" data-src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/1152234273?color&amp;autopause=0&amp;loop=0&amp;muted=0&amp;title=0&amp;portrait=0&amp;byline=0&amp;h&amp;share=copy&amp;fl=sv&amp;fe=ci\" title=\"Adults Need To Hear This!\"><\/iframe>\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tPlay Video\n\t\t\tAdults Need To Hear This!\n\t<iframe allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay\" data-src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/1152234368?color&amp;autopause=0&amp;loop=0&amp;muted=0&amp;title=0&amp;portrait=0&amp;byline=0&amp;h&amp;share=copy&amp;fl=sv&amp;fe=ci\" title=\"Youth Don&#039;t Use For the Reasons You Think\"><\/iframe>\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tPlay Video\n\t\t\tYouth Don&#8217;t Use For the Reasons You Think\n\t<iframe allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay\" data-src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/1152234358?color&amp;autopause=0&amp;loop=0&amp;muted=0&amp;title=0&amp;portrait=0&amp;byline=0&amp;h&amp;share=copy&amp;fl=sv&amp;fe=ci\" title=\"One Talk Could Have Changed Everything\"><\/iframe>\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tPlay Video\n\t\t\tOne Talk Could Have Changed Everything\n\t<iframe allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay\" data-src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/1152234294?color&amp;autopause=0&amp;loop=0&amp;muted=0&amp;title=0&amp;portrait=0&amp;byline=0&amp;h&amp;share=copy&amp;fl=sv&amp;fe=ci\" title=\"I&#039;ve Won The Battle Against Addiction And I&#039;m Proud\"><\/iframe>\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tPlay Video\n\t\t\tI&#8217;ve Won The Battle Against Addiction And I&#8217;m Proud\n\t<h3>Blog Articles on This Topic<\/h3>\n\t<h2>Additional content<\/h2>\n<figure itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\">\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/portage.ca\/en\/social-media-and-drug-sales-fast-access-real-consequences\/\"  target=\"_self\" itemprop=\"url\">\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/portage.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Picture1.png\" alt=\"Picture1\" height=\"398\" width=\"598\" title=\"Picture1\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/figure>\n\t<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/portage.ca\/en\/social-media-and-drug-sales-fast-access-real-consequences\/\">Social Media and Drug Sales<\/a><\/h3>\n<figure itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\">\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/portage.ca\/en\/social-media-and-drug-sales-fast-access-real-consequences\/\"  target=\"_self\" itemprop=\"url\">\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/portage.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Parent-et-ados.jpg\" alt=\"Parent et ados\" height=\"1365\" width=\"2048\" title=\"Parent et ados\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/figure>\n\t<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/portage.ca\/en\/resources-for-counsellors\/\">Teens and Drugs: How to Talk to Them About Substance Use<\/a><\/h3>\n\t<h3>Want to open the discussion with your teenager?<\/h3>\n\t<p>Here is some special content to help him make a decision.<\/p>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/portage.ca\/en\/freedom-from-addiction\/\"  target=\"_self\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThis way\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n<h3>\n\t\t\tAdolescent and Young Adult Programs (14-21)\t<\/h3>\n\t\t<figure itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\">\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"\/en\/quebec\/french-adolescent-program-west\/\"  target=\"_self\" itemprop=\"url\">\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/portage.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/202208_Portage_0194.jpg\" alt=\"202208_Portage_0194\" height=\"1365\" width=\"2048\" title=\"202208_Portage_0194\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/figure>\n<h4><a href=\"\/en\/quebec\/french-adolescent-program-west\/\" target=\"_self\">Quebec &#8211; Laurentians<\/a><\/h4><p>For youth from Western Quebec<\/p>\n\t\t<figure itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\">\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"\/en\/atlantic\/adolescent-program\/\"  target=\"_self\" itemprop=\"url\">\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/portage.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/202208_Portage_0206-photoshop-scaled.png\" alt=\"202208_Portage_0206-photoshop\" height=\"1707\" width=\"2560\" title=\"202208_Portage_0206-photoshop\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/figure>\n<h4><a href=\"\/en\/atlantic\/adolescent-program\/\" target=\"_self\">New Brunswick, Cassidy Lake<\/a><\/h4><p>For youth from the Atlantic provinces<\/p>\n\t\t<figure itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\">\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"\/en\/quebec\/french-adolescent-program-east\/\"  target=\"_self\" itemprop=\"url\">\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/portage.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/20220912_Saint_Malachie_0247.jpg\" alt=\"20220912_Saint_Malachie_0247\" height=\"1365\" width=\"2048\" title=\"20220912_Saint_Malachie_0247\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/figure>\n<h4><a href=\"\/en\/quebec\/french-adolescent-program-east\/\" target=\"_self\">Quebec &#8211; Chaudi\u00e8re-Appalaches<\/a><\/h4><p>For francophone youth from Eastern Quebec<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Youth, Mental Health, andSelf-Medication Understanding Self-Medication Among Youth More and more young people are experiencing psychological distress they struggle to express. To calm their anxiety, escape painful memories, or simply &#8220;function,&#8221; some turn to substance use. This phenomenon, known as\u00a0self-medication, is often misunderstood &#8211; yet it lies at the heart of many situations faced by&#8230;  <a href=\"https:\/\/portage.ca\/en\/youth-mental-health-and-self-medication\/\" class=\"more-link\" title=\"Read Youth, Mental Health, and Self-Medication\">Read more &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":10157,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-full-width.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-48387","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/portage.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/48387","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/portage.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/portage.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/portage.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/portage.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48387"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/portage.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/48387\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48405,"href":"https:\/\/portage.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/48387\/revisions\/48405"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/portage.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10157"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/portage.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}