How are addictions and mental health related? I think there are… 3 possible ways. The first is that addictions can lead to mental health symptoms (cannabis can be a trigger for psychosis), mental health symptoms can lead to addiction, commonly known as the self-medication hypothesis, where people are using or engaging in addictive behaviours to help cope with negative emotions and distress. And third, there is a common factors model. So, there is something common to both, at least, addictions and mental health. A good example of this is early childhood trauma which is a risk factor to mental health and addiction.