Did you know that millions of adults in the U.S. experience both a substance use disorder and a mental health issue at the same time? The phenomenon is known as having co-occurring disorders or a dual diagnosis, and it requires special attention when it comes to addiction treatment. Focusing on your mental health during recovery is essential, too.
If you feel the mental strain of addiction recovery, you should seek help and tell someone about it. You might be tempted to go back to substance use and go through a setback if you’re not prepared to deal with the strain. Make sure that you have mental health outlets in place, at least during the first year after your addiction treatment program.
Substance use and mental health disorders share many overlapping and underlying causes, such as exposure to stress or trauma and genetic susceptibility. Are you or someone you care about dealing with a possible dual diagnosis?
Find out about Midwest Detox Center’s addiction recovery programs that focus on co-occurring disorders. Call us at 833.647.0392 or contact our team online.
The Connection Between Mental Health and Recovery?
Mental health is as important as physical health and is not just an absence of any mental illness. It’s your overall mental well-being – emotional, psychological, and social.
You might think that addiction is a physical problem. However, alcohol or drug addiction are both medical and mental health disorders. Along with many physical symptoms, addiction also affects your brain and changes your behavior. Therefore, improving your mental health is connected to addiction recovery.
With a dual diagnosis, it’s often difficult to tell which one came first. You can have mental health issues and then turn to substance use to cope. Or you can misuse alcohol or other substances for long periods and then develop mental health issues. Even with this difficulty, co-occurring disorders can be properly treated with the right addiction treatment program.
What Is the Mental Strain of Addiction Recovery?
Recovery from addiction starts once substance use stops. Getting to this moment can put an immense amount of pressure on your mental health, along with the admission that you’re an addict and living with what that means for you and the people you love. However, it’s only the first step in addiction recovery.
Many situations and events that promote addiction recovery can strain people’s mental health, such as:
- Avoiding familiar places: Because your surroundings can shape how you think and behave, you will need to give up your usual hangouts – where you may have often abused substances – to avoid high-risk situations that may cause you to relapse.
- Developing new friendships: You might have to sever some friendships, too. If some of your old friends condoned your substance use disorder or are addicts themselves, you can’t be around them. It can hurt to give up friends you care about and it can be exhausting to work on new friendships while you’re in recovery, but it’s for the best.
- Finding a pursuit or passion to supplant the desire to use substances: When you do this, you are actually rewiring your brain circuitry and teaching yourself to desire something other than the focus of your addiction. It can be rewarding but also very tiring for you and your brain.
Even with the best of circumstances and all the professional help available, sustaining behavior changes until your new patterns are ingrained is difficult. When leaving addiction behind, you will have to completely restructure your life – from what you think about and who you spend time with, to how you use your time and what your goals are. On top of these, you need to build trust in yourself and believe that you want to stop being an addict.
How Midwest Detox Focuses on Mental Health During Recovery
It can be hard to find a treatment provider that focuses on addiction recovery and co-occurring mental health disorders. Midwest Detox Center can offer you addiction treatment within a relaxing facility, with professional staff and a program that focuses on mental health and recovery. Away from your typical stressors, you can get clean and start recovering.
Typically, treatment plans for dual diagnosis start with medical detoxification. After that comes inpatient rehabilitation, which includes mental and medical health care. There’s even an alumni program that allows you to build relationships with and stay connected with other people in recovery as part of your aftercare.
Learn More About Midwest Detox Center’s Addiction Recovery Programs
If you or someone you care about is living with an addiction, get professional help right away. To learn more about our addiction recovery programs, contact Midwest Detox Center online or call us at 833.647.0392.
