Addiction and mental health concerns often occur together. Each of these illnesses is difficult to treat, but together, they present unique challenges that require dual-diagnosis treatment. If you have mental illness and substance use disorders, the team at Silver Sands Recovery offers help as you navigate these challenges. Learn more about why dual-diagnosis treatment is essential.
The Connection Between Addiction and Mental Health Problems
In 2021, 19.4 million Americans over the age of 12 suffered both a substance use disorder and a mental health issue.[1] Co-occurring disorders share many common risk factors, so it’s not unusual for them to develop at almost the same time.
Addiction and mental illness both have a genetic component that puts you at a higher risk of developing them if you have family members with these issues. Environmental factors, like living a high-stress life or having experienced trauma, can also contribute to both of these problems.[2] Additionally, these illnesses affect the same areas of the brain, so having one makes you more likely to have the other.
For some people, mental health problems appear first. Issues like depression and anxiety can cause such severe symptoms that you may reach for alcohol or drugs to get relief. Although it can seem like these substances help, they actually make mental illness worse because they cause further chemical imbalances in the brain.
Sometimes, the opposite can occur. Using drugs or alcohol can trigger mental health disorders because of the changes substance misuse causes to critical brain regions.
No matter which condition came first, once you’re facing addiction and mental health concerns, the best step you can take is to find treatment facilities that offer dual-diagnosis programs.
Why Dual-Diagnosis Treatment Is Essential
Individuals with co-occurring disorders don’t benefit from treatment programs that only address one of the conditions. When you are battling both mental illness and addiction, the disorders become tangled, with the effects of one contributing to the other.
People struggling with anxiety disorders, for example, might stop drinking when they enter a rehabilitation facility. If they don’t address the underlying anxiety, however, the root cause of why they began drinking is still there and could trigger the addiction at any moment. If they treat the anxiety alone but not the addiction, the next time they drink, it can lead to a resurgence of mental health concerns.
The only effective option is undergoing addiction and mental health treatment at the same time. To do this, treatment facilities offer dual-diagnosis programs that combine individual and group therapy sessions where you can look closely at why you may have developed these conditions.
Individual therapy can help you understand the negative thought patterns that could have prompted or worsened mental illness and addiction. These therapies show you how to identify the thought patterns so you can change them.
At the same time, you can learn mindfulness techniques that help you better manage stress, anxiety, and other distressing emotions so that you can avoid reaching for alcohol or drugs.
Treatment facilities also provide group therapy sessions so you can learn better communication skills and ensure you understand that you’re not alone. Alongside these group sessions, you’ll also be introduced to 12-step programs and other support groups that will assist you once you leave treatment.
Beginning Your Path Toward a Healthier Life
If you are struggling with both a mental health concern and a substance use disorder, it’s imperative that you get help from professionals. You deserve the chance to address both of these issues simultaneously, and our facilities will help you do so.
At Silver Sands Recovery, we provide dual-diagnosis treatment that combines evidence-based therapies with holistic care to offer comprehensive assistance. Our team can help you understand the root cause of the issues and start making the necessary behavioral changes.
There is a healthier, happier life waiting for you. Take that first step and contact us at Silver Sands Recovery to learn how to begin.
Sources:
[1] https://www.columbiapsychiatry.org/news/mental-health-and-substance-use-disorders-often-go-hand-hand-both-must-be-addressed
[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK571451/
About the author:
Lisa Waknin is the Founder and Director of Silver Sands Recovery, located in Prescott, Arizona. Lisa started Silver Sands Recovery after immersing herself in the addiction treatment world for several years to figure out what could be done differently to help her daughter and others like her to overcome addiction and stay sober. She believes in a hands-on treatment approach, which includes taking someone out of their environment, providing a 90-day program in a structured environment. During treatment, clients not only recover physically but also learn to live their life again. Lisa is a sought-after expert speaker for recovery support groups, charities, schools, communities, and companies wanting to educate themselves on the explosion of opiate and heroin abuse in our country and the best way to understand, treat, and beat it.
