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

Health Humans are not the only animals that self-medicate Research shows that sparrows and other animals use plants to heal themselves. —Big Think, 24 June 2024

Observers have long suspected that chimpanzees use plants to self-medicate. —Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 June 2024

But that same year, Yale psychiatrist R. Andrew Sewell also published a paper that reviewed 53 cluster headache patients who’d self-medicated with either psilocybin or LSD. —Oshan Jarow, Vox, 15 May 2024

Despite the pain in her life, she never self-medicated. —Lisa Depaulo, Vulture, 30 Apr. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1902, in the meaning defined at sense 2

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