Dual Diagnosis Holistic Treatment For PTSD and Addiction

Dual Diagnosis Holistic Treatment For PTSD and Addiction

If you’re struggling with substance misuse and addiction, you know what it’s like to battle unseen demons. If you’re struggling with PTSD and addiction, those demons may be worse, as they habitually come back to haunt you. There’s hope, though. With the right dual diagnosis holistic treatment, you can learn to leave the demons of the past behind. Instead, you will start a new life of sobriety and freedom.

What Is PTSD And How Are PTSD and Addiction-Related?

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a disorder that plagues nearly 4% (almost 9 million people) of the American population.^[1] It occurs when you face any physical or psychological trauma that leaves you with recurrent flashbacks, nightmares, intense anxiety, and even physical pain when you remember the incident. Some of the most common traumas people with PTSD face stem from childhood abuse, sexual assault, physical assault, military combat trauma, death of a loved one, or even surviving natural disasters.

The anxiety and intrusive thoughts and flashbacks can bring you so much pain you may turn to drugs or alcohol to ward them off. At first, you’re able to numb the pain, but as your body adjusts to the introduction of substances, your cravings start to set in, and you now may find yourself addicted to the substances. It’s now that you find you’re most likely diagnosed with a dual diagnosis of both PTSD and addiction. And you’re not alone.

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Research suggests that there are significantly high numbers of people who experience both substance abuse disorder and PTSD, and that group of those who suffer from PTSD and Addiction dual diagnosis are a “substantial and vulnerable subgroup in addiction,”^[2]

It’s because you are so vulnerable when you suffer PTSD and addiction^[3] that you find a dual diagnosis holistic treatment program to help you battle both.

How Dual Diagnosis Holistic Treatment Programs Battle PTSD and Addiction

When you’re facing the trauma of past events and dealing with the anxiety and often-debilitating nightmares and flashbacks that come with PTSD, struggling with addiction is an additional insult to injury. When you begin using drugs or alcohol to battle your PTSD symptoms, the denial can only last for so long. Unfortunately, alcohol and drugs only exacerbate the symptoms of PTSD. Those substances disturb your central nervous system, your sleep patterns, your risk-taking behavior, and more. PTSD symptoms become worse too. It’s a vicious cycle, and one a dual diagnosis program specifically focuses on.

When you are trying to recover from a dual diagnosis of PTSD and addiction, you need the help of accredited, licensed clinicians with experience and education in getting to the root of your PTSD and your addiction. You need a program that will help you face the guilt and shame you may feel about the traumatic events in your life and one that will do so in a way that treats your mind, body, and spirit. A dual diagnosis holistic treatment program like ours is a three-part approach. We address your physical, emotional, and spiritual needs with a focus on how each plays a part in your PTSD and your substance addiction. A dual diagnosis holistic treatment program will work to help you recover as a whole, unique human, and to battle your demons with a clean and holistic approach.

Desert Cove Recovery: The Holistic Difference

At Desert Cove Recovery, our holistic treatment program focuses on you as an individual. No treatment program is one size fits all, and we take your dual diagnosis recovery very seriously.

We help teach you coping skills that will offer you ways to deal with your PTSD effectively and to deal with the other stressors of life that had you turn to drugs or alcohol. During treatment, you will identify your triggers for PTSD flashbacks as well as dependency behaviors, and we focus on ensuring you develop healthy skills and behaviors from the inside out. We offer a proven 12-step program as well as intensive and individual therapy sessions, and we do so in an intimate and health-focused setting here in Scottsdale.

If you’re struggling with PTSD and addiction, we can help. You don’t have to continue to battle alone. Contact us today for help.

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Blake Nichols

Blake Nichols is the Director of Operations at Desert Cove Recovery. Blake battled his own addiction to drugs and alcohol and was given the gift of recovery at the age of 23. Since 2008, Blake has dedicated his life and career to the field of addiction. He has experience in all aspects of addiction treatment including direct care, admissions, marketing, and administration.

Blake feels that the greatest reward of working in the recovery field is being part of the transformation that a person goes through from the time they arrive and begin treatment, through the hard work and the Miracle of recovery, and ultimately the change into a confident and capable person ready to carry the message of recovery.

“My career has focused on serving others. I have accepted ownership of my responsibilities as that is the key to working at the highest level of professionalism. I have worked to be positive and offer solution-based suggestions in my work and personal life.”