Is There A Connection Between Mental Health And Addiction Near Roxbury?
December 05, 2024
Have you ever thought about what triggers substance use disorders (SUD)? Finding the answer could help us avoid and address these disorders. Thankfully, modern research is uncovering insights that heighten our understanding and refine care. Recent studies have discovered a compelling bond between substance use and mental illness. If you are struggling with a SUD, you could also be facing a co-occurring mental disorder. By understanding this, you can seek more beneficial treatment that addresses both mental health and addiction near Roxbury.
What’s The Connection Between Mental Health And Substance Use Near Roxbury?
In a recent study, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) determined that around 17 million adults in the U.S. live with both a mental illness and a SUD. They also discovered that adolescents and adults with mental illnesses were more prone to use addictive substances. This data shows a significant connection between mental health and substance use in Roxbury and the rest of the country. But how can mental health disorders cause substance use?
How Does Mental Illness Lead To Substance Use?
It’s no secret that mental disorders are typically difficult to live with. If not addressed properly, your disorder can have you feeling confused, fearful, angry, and hopeless. You might even feel some crippling physical symptoms. This is true whether you have been officially diagnosed with a condition or do not realize you have one.
If a mental disorder makes your life challenging, it’s understandable you may have been driven to use addictive alcohol or drugs to manage. The chemicals in these substances make you feel temporarily better. They may reduce the agony you feel or give you a “high” that makes you feel good. When using, you may feel more capable and balanced.
When you consume dependency-causing substances to offset the symptoms of a mental disorder, it’s referred to as self-medicating. You might ingest these substances to feel temporarily happier, more energetic, or less troubled. You could also use them to alleviate physical pains and discomforts. Self-medication involves using substances not ordered by a healthcare professional, such as alcohol or illicit drugs, as well as misuse or excessive use of prescription medications.
Self-medication often starts inadvertently. Drinking too much alcohol or excessively using drugs seems like an escape and a method of managing reality. Regrettably, it’s hard to stop ingesting something that makes you feel better. Your body and brain become reliant on those substances, and you are unable to survive without them. What follows is a cycle of self-medication that can spiral beyond your control and produce hazardous and damaging actions.
Grasping the root cause of your substance use provides a a place to begin your recovery. Once you realize that mental illness resides at the core of your drug or alcohol use, you can address both and have a better opportunity for recovery.
Will Substance Use Affect Mental Health Too?
The effects of mental disorders and substance use disorders can be cyclical. The chemicals in addictive substances modify brain pathways. They can cause or worsen mental illnesses. The distress of succumbing to addiction can also cause mental disorders like depression and anxiety. In return, you might rely on drugs and alcohol even more to cope, and the cycle starts over.
Why Address Mental Health And Addiction Together?
Dealing with a substance use and mental health disorder could feel overwhelming, even impossible. But digging into the origin of your substance use is crucial for enduring recovery. Once you understand what co-occurring disorder led to your alcohol or drug use, you have a solid foundation for treatment. Managing mental conditions with therapy and approved medications puts you in a better place mentally for refraining from addictive substances. Various skills you develop in therapy for handling mental health will aid you in staying sober, too. You’ll be more successful in navigating your addiction when you deal with any core mental health disorders first.
Get Help For Substance Use Disorders And Mental Illness Near Roxbury
If you are facing co-occurring addiction and mental health conditions, The Counseling Center at Roxbury-Succasunna is here for you. Our specially trained staff know how to help you navigate the obstacles you encounter with proven treatment. Dial 862-707-2469 or complete our contact form to converse with someone at once about admissions.
Author
Born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, Stephen Cooke brings over a decade of experience in international and American healthcare communications to Praesum. A prolific writer and published author, Stephen has dedicated his career to promoting health and recovery across various organizations.
