Although the nature of this association remains unclear, it has been argued that the increased level of smoking in schizophrenia may be due to a desire to self-medicate with nicotine.
While these side effects are usually controllable, it is recommended that patients undertake light therapy under the supervision of an experienced clinician, rather than attempting to self-medicate.
Patients often self-medicate by naturally gravitating toward a high-sodium diet and by dramatically increasing their water intake.
Many animals are also known to self-medicate using plants and other materials available to them.
They may self-medicate themselves during attacks of separation anxiety by focusing on these items.
Ruminants appear to learn to self-medicate against gastrointestinal parasites by increasing consumption of plant secondary compounds with antiparasitic actions.
Drosophila melanogaster larvae also "self-medicate" with ethanol to treat parasitism.
Sufferers of post-traumatic stress disorder have been known to self-medicate, as well as many individuals without this diagnosis who have suffered from (mental) trauma.
