Mental health problems occur more often than most people imagine. Depression, anxiety, and other disorders can influence drug abuse. Undergoing individual mental health therapy alongside addiction treatment helps tremendously during recovery. If you feel like you’re using drugs or alcohol to numb your pain, there’s help.
Why do Drug Use and Mental Health Challenges Occur Together so Often?
Mental health problems frequently lead to unwelcome thoughts or reactions. Depressants, particularly alcohol, can numb the mind from having to deal with intrusive thoughts. Stimulants, on the other hand, provide energy boosts that trick the body into overruling the brain’s input.
But the crash, which happens after the drug wears off, typically worsens the mental health condition. For this reason, it makes sense to treat depression and other conditions alongside the addiction. Failure to do so only leads to a temporary recovery. When individuals who don’t receive treatment for both leave the rehab facility, the untreated mental health challenge once again tempts them to use drugs.
Examples of Individual Mental Health Therapy alongside Addiction Treatment
During an intake interview at a rehab facility, you’ll undergo an assessment for a co-occurring mental health condition. When therapists determine that you’re a candidate for treatment, they’ll customize a set of modalities. Of course, this treatment plan doesn’t have to be firm, and it’s possible to make changes as your condition improves. Examples of treatments include:
- Cognitive behavioral therapy that focuses on negative aspects of thoughts and feelings
- Dialectical behavior therapy that encourages the development of stress tolerance
- Emotional regulation that takes place during one-on-one sessions and assists you with changing negative feelings
- Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, which helps people with post-traumatic stress disorders and trauma-related conditions
What Happens if You Don’t Treat Mental Health Problems in Rehab?
It’s possible to treat just the addiction. Doing so will send the disease into remission. However, only treating the addiction doesn’t address possible contributing factors to the condition. As a result, you’re at a higher level of risk for relapse.
Good-quality rehab facilities will incorporate individual mental health therapy with their treatments for the addiction. By doing so concurrently, you have a better chance at preventing relapse. It’s important to remember that the mental health condition will require treatment even after the anxiety or depression rehab. Just as many program participants attend meetings for people in recovery, those with dual diagnoses should also continue seeing a therapist.
Find Help for a Co-Occurring Mental Health Condition Today
When you’re ready to overcome your addiction, there’s help. You don’t have to let drugs or alcohol continue to control your life. Instead, find real help for co-occurring conditions at Pinnacle Peak Recovery. Call 866-377-4761 now to talk to an intake counselor about your situation.