Drug Addiction and Mental Illness Treatment

Mental illness is a serious condition that a lot of people are going to deal with. Many times, it is undiagnosed, which can lead to a lot of problems along the way. There are many different issues that can cause the mental health problem such as social isolation, financial stress, physical abuse, sexual abuse, or another traumatic event in the life of the person dealing with it.

For many, it is going to be caused by a combination of factors. It is also common for some individuals to be more affected by specific factors compared to others. Many may not know that they are mentally unstable and even for those who do, they will turn to an addictive substance to help provide them with some relief. This is often one of the worst approaches to help with mental illness, but it often leads the patient to feel like they are getting some relief, so they continue to do it.

When an individual is struggling with mental illness, they may turn to different substances to help them to get the relief that they need. When the person is not receiving help for their mental health, they may not be on medication to help with depression, anxiety, and other issues. This can cause a lot of other problems along the way. The substance tends to make the person feel better, but it will worsen the symptoms overall.

How Drug Addiction and Mental Illness Go Together

Before you seek drug addiction and mental illness treatment, it is important to understand more about how these two are related and why one can make the other worse. A mental illness is going to be some kind of abnormality that happens in the social function, mood, emotion, or cognition of the individual. This means that the condition will affect the individual quite a bit, including the way that they interact, think, and feel with the world around them. While everyone may deal with a bit of sadness or anxiety on occasion in life, it will turn more into a mental illness when it becomes very difficult for the patient to manage.

Substance abuse and mental health can be connected closely, even though the addiction to the substance will not be considered a mental disorder. While the drug addiction is going to make some of the issues with mental health worse and can cause extended psychotic reactions, it is not common that one is going to cause the other.

Many times, those who have a mental illness will use drugs and other substances as a way to self-medicate and make themselves feel better. Whether they have knowledge about the mental illness or not, they may notice that the substance makes them feel a little bit better. They will continue to use it, hoping to get some relief, though the substance will often make the symptoms of mental disorders so much worse.

We can also look at the addiction part of the puzzle. The addiction is more of a dependence on something that makes it form into a habit. This disorder, when used for a long time, is able to induce some adverse results over time. This may include health problems that are physical as well as mental. This means that when the substance is used often, it is possible for the individual to end up causing the mental health problem to get worse. In other words, addiction is not really considered a mental health problem, though being addicted to a substance can cause some mental illnesses.

How Your Mental Health Will Affect Addiction

For those who are dealing with a drug addiction and a mental health problem at the same time, it is important to find the right treatment to help handle both of the problems. The mental health issue and the substance abuse can be related closely, even though we know that an addiction is not a mental disorder. First, when you suffer from a drug addiction and a mental health problem, there is a dual diagnosis or a co-occurring disease that goes on. This can be in the form of ADHD and drug addiction, anxiety and drug addiction, or a number of any other mental health-related problems. When you seek some treatment for it, you will need to make sure that the treatment center is able to handle both conditions at the same time.

However, those who use drugs to help them self-medicate the signs of mental health issues can go down a big rabbit hole of problems along the way. They may use these substances to help them deal with an experience that is painful, to get their mood lifted up, and to alleviate some of their symptoms.

While medications for the mental health disorder would be more effective, many do not know that they are suffering from the mental health issue in the first place. Others may decide not to take their medications or assume that the substance is going to be more effective at helping them to fight off the issues. No matter what the reason is, drug abuse is going to set off some new symptoms for the patient to deal with and can even worsen some of the original symptoms.

Finding Drug Addiction and Mental Illness Treatment

When you are looking for mental illness and drug addiction treatment options, one of the best options to use is an integrated method. This means that both conditions will be treated at the same time. If you choose a treatment center that will only work with one of these conditions at a time, you are missing the full picture and relapse is more common.

It does not matter whether the mental health illness came first or if it was the drug addiction. For both of these scenarios, the ability to see recovery happen for a long time will depend on getting treatments for both diseases at the same time, either through an inpatient (residential) or outpatient facility.

Dual-Diagnosis Treatment

When you seek treatment for drug addiction and mental illness at the same time, you are undergoing a dual-diagnosis treatment. This can be a great step to help the patient learn more about both of the conditions and get some of the help that they need. The first step that the patient will need to go through is to recognize that they have a problem. Once they recognize that, they will be able to admit that there is a problem in the first place. At the same time, the patient is going to need to look for a few signs including:

1. Excessively taking in more drugs
2. Depression
3. Mood swings that seem to be extreme
4. Major changes from the normal eating habits of the patient
5. Withdrawal from social activities and from friends.

When the individual has any of the signs above, especially if there is more than one in place, then the right next step is to get a drug addiction and mental illness treatment to help you get through both of these conditions. Knowing the right steps and figuring out which treatment center is right for you will make all the difference in your treatment.

Should I Choose Inpatient or Outpatient Treatment?

Two of the options that patients are able to choose when it comes to the type of treatment center they will use for drug addiction and mental illness is an inpatient center and an outpatient center. Both of these can have their benefits based on what works the best for the patient.

The outpatient center can work for those with a mild drug addiction and only a few mental illness symptoms. The patient will spend most of the day in the facility, but then they will get to leave and go home. This can work, but the patient needs to be careful about the triggers in the real world that can make them fall back into their old habits.

For many patients who are dealing with both conditions, the inpatient treatment is going to be the best option. This allows them to have constant supervision through the treatment time and will make it harder to fall back into the habits from the past. The patient will get completely away from the negative influences, which makes it more effective to fight and win when it comes to the addiction and the substance abuse.

How Long Does Treatment Typically Last?

The length of the treatment for co-occurring mental illness and drug use will depend on the patient. Patients who are just starting with the addiction and who do not have severe issues with a mental illness may only need to spend 30 days in the facility to get some of the help that they need. These patients may also do well in an outpatient facility to help manage the symptoms.

However, for those who have struggled with a mental illness for a long time and a drug addiction for just as long, longer forms of treatment are more likely to provide the help that they need. They may also want to consider an inpatient program that will help them get away from some of the negative influences that have made it hard to fight the substance abuse in the past. For most patients who are looking for mental illness and drug addiction treatment, a 90-day inpatient facility is often going to be the best.

What Happens During Drug Addiction and Mental Illness Treatment?

There are different steps that need to happen during a drug addiction and mental illness treatment. The exact steps that will happen depend on the individual patient and what will work the best to help them withdraw from the substance and handle both of these conditions at the same time. Some of the steps that will happen during treatment include:

1. Admittance: The patient will need to go through the admittance process. They will get a chance to talk with a medical professional at the treatment center about their condition, what is going on, and even the substance that they are on. This is the time when the medical professional will discuss the treatment plan to determine what the right steps are for that patient.
2. Withdrawal: Most patients will enter the treatment center still using the substance. They will need to go through a detox to help handle the withdrawal symptoms. Doing this at the treatment facility is one of the best ways to get it done. The patient will be under the supervision of medical professionals the whole time in case the symptoms get bad. They may be able to help the patient with methods like medications and more.
3. Therapy: The patient will need to go through therapy to help handle some of the issues with their mental illness and to recognize some of the triggers that cause them to start their drug use. A therapist at the treatment center will be able to work with them to figure out how to cope in a healthy way.
4. Group therapy: It is also possible that the patient will go through group therapy as well. This is a great way for them to start some of the support group that they need, learning how to manage their condition, and fight off the addiction while getting help with the mental illness.
5. Aftercare: The treatment is not done when the patient leaves the facility. They will need to still get help when they leave. This can include more therapy, medication, and a strong support group. This will ensure that the patient is going to be able to stay off the drugs and effectively manage their mental illness.

All treatment plans will be different based on what will work for the patient the best. With the help of the right medical team, you will be able to get through the addiction and successfully heal the mental illness.

When it comes to drug addiction and mental illness, it is important to find the right treatment for your needs. With the help of the right medical professionals, you will be able to get the right treatment while fighting the mental illness and the drug addiction at the same time.

Directory of Drug Addiction and Mental Illness Treatment Centers