Mental health is an often poorly understood form of health care among many people, and adding substance abuse on top of that only makes it harder for the average person to comprehend. But while mental health problems do not create substance abuse issues, the two can be linked together in many patients with both issues, creating a bigger problem than just one alone. By tracing the link between mental health and substance abuse, patients can be better informed and make better decisions on treating both concerns.
Connections between addiction and mental health
First things first: addiction is itself a mental disorder, and substance abuse is therefore tied to one of the most prominent and most misunderstood of mental illnesses. But the link between substance abuse and other mental disorders is not as direct.
Substance abuse does not, in and of itself, necessarily cause mental illnesses, though extended usage of some substances can alter brain structure enough that makes developing certain mental illnesses more likely.
Rather, mental illnesses and disorders can sometimes lead to substance abuse in other, less direct ways. For some patients, it’s genetic, as they are just more likely to inherit certain factors that contribute to both addiction and other mental disorders. The patient struggling with one can find themselves struggling with the other, too, from disconnected sources that combined in their very DNA.
Mental health and substance abuse
For others, mental illness comes first and leads to substance abuse. Patients with certain mental disorders, such as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder or others, may seek to alleviate the symptoms of those conditions by taking drugs or alcohol and therefore developing addiction in the process of doing so. Not only can one problem therefore create another, the relief they may experience for one may lessen over time or even worsen the original condition in the long run.
Worse, patients with both addiction and another mental illness may have trouble receiving proper care for both problems, as the diagnosis for one may interfere with getting treatment for the other. Addiction treatment that doesn’t also address depression or anxiety can have limited success if the patient’s other condition leads them back into addiction shortly after rehab.
Successful treatment of addiction in a patient with another, underlying mental disorder, must take both into account, treating both during rehab to give the patient a better foundation for recovery.
What we can do to help your recovery journey
At Good Landing Recovery, doctors understand the link between mental health and substance abuse and are prepared to offer the necessary treatment for any mental disorders presented by the patient to give them a greater chance of a lasting recovery when they leave rehab.
Having a mental disorder is difficult enough without having to handle substance abuse on top of it, and vice versa. For those who work to understand the link between mental health and substance abuse, however, the task of getting help for both becomes easier and can have a happier ending for the patient in the end, helping them avoid relapse and treat other conditions at the same time. To get started, give Good Landing a call today.
