self-medicate

verb

self-med·​i·​cate ˌself-ˈme-di-ˌkāt 

self-medicated; self-medicating; self-medicates

1

transitive : to treat (something) by self-medication

people who attempt to self-medicate depression

2

intransitive : to treat oneself by self-medication

self-medicated with analgesics to control arthritic pain

These courts are a lifeline for veterans, many of whom struggle with post-traumatic stress and brain injury when they return home after serving, often using drugs and alcohol to self-medicate.

—Claire Handscombe

Examples of self-medicate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

All those years of self-medicating, watching Rachel Maddow with a glass of white wine or a beer. —Los Angeles Times, 10 July 2025

Growing need for treatment, and not enough help available Litwack, from UWM, believes alcohol is increasingly used to self-medicate depression and anxiety. —Natalie Eilbert, jsonline.com, 3 July 2025

After a question about how judges influence people’s lives, Chris Wagner, who runs a court program for veterans, talked about a man in the program who served in Afghanistan, had post-traumatic stress disorder and was self-medicating with vodka. —Kevin Grasha, The Enquirer, 2 July 2025

The facility believed his past behavior stemmed from his attempts to self-medicate his troubles. —Alex Heigl, People.com, 16 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1902, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for self-medicate

• abbreviate
• accelerate
• accommodate
• accumulate
• acuminate
• adjudicate
• adulterate
• affiliate
• agglomerate
• agglutinate
• alleviate
• amalgamate

Medical Definition

self-medicate

verb

self-med·​i·​cate -ˈmed-ə-ˌkāt 

self-medicated; self-medicating

transitive verb

: to treat by self-medication

the patient had attempted to self-medicate depression

intransitive verb

: to treat oneself by self-medication

patients with dental pain often self-medicate with analgesics