Up to 9.2 million adults in the United States struggle with co-occurring substance use disorders and mental health concerns.[1] Dealing with both conditions at the same time can be complex, but it is essential to do so to achieve and maintain sobriety. When you turn to rehabs in Arizona, like Desert Cove Recovery, you can receive the addiction treatment and mental health care you need.
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Understanding Co-Occurring Conditions
People who have mental health conditions like anxiety, depression, and PTSD, among others, are more likely to develop substance use disorders.[1] In some cases, the conditions are so entwined that it is impossible to know which one came first.
Mental health concerns and drug and alcohol addiction have common risk factors. Environmental factors, like high levels of stress, trauma, and abuse, all contribute to the development of these conditions. Genetics also plays a role, and people who have close relatives with addiction or mental health concerns are much more likely to develop them, too.
How The Brain Comes Into Play
It’s important to understand that both conditions are chronic brain disorders. Someone who struggles with addiction has a brain that substance abuse has essentially rewired, leading it to function differently than it used to. That is why addiction is a lifelong and relapsing condition. The same applies to mental illnesses like depression, PTSD, and more.
The same areas of the brain that addiction affects are also affected by mental health concerns. Both conditions impact areas that deal with:
- Impulse control
- Reward
- Emotional regulation
Neurotransmitters like GABA, serotonin, glutamate, and more are also implicated in both conditions.[2] The ages at which mental health concerns and addiction tend to begin are similar as well, with most conditions appearing around the teen and young adult years when the brain is still maturing.
Mental illness can contribute to the development of addiction. This is because the powerful symptoms of mental illness may lead you to seek out any relief you can find, and that includes alcohol or drugs. Although using substances seems to help with symptoms at first, it will make mental illness worse because they affect the same areas of the brain, causing more structural changes and damage.
For many people who have mental health concerns, the changes in the brain that cause mental illness can also heighten the pleasure substances like drugs and alcohol provide. That makes the development of a substance use disorder more likely.
In other instances, substance use disorders can cause mental illness. That happens because drugs and alcohol change the brain structure, potentially kindling a predisposition to developing a mental illness.
Desert Cove Recovery: What Our Treatment Programs Offer
Rehabs in Arizona, like ours, provide a dual diagnosis program to tackle the challenges people struggling with addictions have when facing a mental illness as well. Treating both conditions simultaneously is crucial because they can feed off one another.
A dual diagnosis program helps address the symptoms of both mental illness and addiction, aiding you with the processes of emotional regulation and trigger management. One of the main problems of getting the appropriate level of care, however, is that not everyone who begins a drug or alcohol rehab program knows they have a mental health condition as well.
To deal with this issue, a rehab center in Arizona like ours will always perform a thorough evaluation to ensure we prepare the proper treatment plans each individual needs. Our dual diagnosis programs offer individual and group therapy sessions that help uncover the underlying causes of mental illness and addiction.
The Best that Rehabs in Arizona Can Offer: Evidence-Based Therapies For The Individual
We apply a variety of evidence-based therapies when offering a person treatment for addiction and mental illness. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is one of the most trusted and effective options, offering the chance to make lasting changes to negative thinking processes.
CBT helps you recognize how your thoughts impact your moods and actions. It allows you to identify the negative patterns and make necessary changes. CBT is helpful for a variety of mental health concerns, including:
- Depression
- Generalized anxiety
- Bipolar disorder
- PTSD
- Panic disorder
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder
- Eating disorders
Treatment centers like ours also use dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). DBT builds on CBT but also focuses on accepting where you are at the present moment while striving to make changes for the future. It is a beneficial therapy option for people who struggle to regulate powerful moods, and it also helps reduce self-harming behaviors for people who have attempted suicide in the past.
Group therapy is an essential part of our dual diagnosis program in AZ. Battling an addiction and mental illness can isolate you, which only worsens the symptoms of both conditions. By speaking with people going through similar challenges, you can see that you are not alone and hear about their experiences while dealing with these conditions.
Our center offers outpatient dual diagnosis programs to give you the flexibility you need. Not everyone can set aside their work or family responsibilities to get treatment and might not attempt to get help because of this. By offering the chance for you to return home each evening while still getting an intensive level of care, you can get the help you need without added stress.
Rehabs in Arizona: Managing Co-Occurring Disorders at Desert Cove Recovery
Beginning your recovery journey requires that you address everything that impacts your substance use disorder, including mental health conditions. When you turn to a center like ours, you can delve into both conditions and find ways of managing symptoms and triggers to promote long-term recovery.
Don’t spend another day struggling with mental illness and addiction when there is help available to achieve behavioral health. Contact us at Desert Cove Recovery to learn more about our dual diagnosis program.
Sources:
[1] https://www.samhsa.gov/medications-substance-use-disorders/medications-ca ounseling-related-conditions/co-occurring-disorders [2] https://nida.nih.gov/publications/research-reports/common-comorbidities-substance-use-disorders/why-there-comorbidity-between-substance-use-disorders-mental-illnesses
