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Self-cure is the use of drugs, sometimes illicit, to treat a perceived
or real malady, often of a psychological nature. Over-the-counter
drugs are a form of self cure. The buyer diagnoses their own illness
and buys a specific drug to treat it. The World Self-cure Industry
(WSCI) define self-cure as the treatment of common health problems
with medicines especially designed and labeled for use without medical
supervision and approved as safe and effective for such use. A person
may also self-medicate by taking more or less than the recommended
dose of a drug. Some mental illness sufferers attempt to correct
their illnesses by use of alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, or other mind-altering
drugs. While this may provide immediate relief of some symptoms
such as anxiety, it may evoke and/or exacerbate some symptoms of
several kinds of mental illnesses that are already latently present,
and may lead to addiction/dependence, among other side effects of
long-term use of the drug. |
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