Is There A Connection Between Mental Health And Addiction Near Philadelphia?
December 05, 2024
Have you ever wondered what leads to substance use disorders (SUD)? Understanding the answer could help us stop and treat these disorders. Fortunately, modern research is enabling us to understand substance use and handle it better. Recent studies have found a powerful link between substance use and mental illness. If you grapple with a SUD, you could also be facing a co-occurring mental disorder. With this knowledge, you can find more beneficial treatment that addresses both mental health and addiction near Philadelphia.
What’s The Connection Between Mental Health And Substance Use Near Philadelphia?
In a recent finding, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) estimated that about 17 million adults in the US experience both a mental illness and a SUD. They also discovered that adults and teens with mental illnesses were more inclined to use addictive substances. This data reveals a significant connection between mental health and substance use in Philadelphia and throughout the country. But how do mental health disorders lead to substance use?
How Does Mental Illness Result In Substance Use?
It’s common knowledge that mental disorders are often hard to live with. If not managed effectively, your disorder can make you feel hopeless, angry, afraid and confused. You may even experience some debilitating physical symptoms. This will happen whether you have been officially diagnosed with a mental illness or do not know you have one.
If a mental disorder makes your life a struggle, it’s no wonder you may have been driven to take dependency-causing alcohol or drugs to manage. The chemicals in these substances cause you to feel temporarily better. They may give you a “high” that makes you feel good or reduce the discomfort you have. When consuming, you might feel more functional and normal.
When you take habit-forming substances to manage the symptoms of a mental disorder, it’s known as self-medicating. You could use these substances to feel temporarily at ease, more energized, or less distressed. You could also ingest them to alleviate physical pains and discomforts. Self-medication includes using substances not ordered by a doctor, such as alcohol or illicit drugs, as well as excessive use or misuse prescriptions.
Self-medication typically starts unintentionally. Overindulging in alcohol or improperly using drugs looks like an escape and a way of dealing with reality. Sadly, it’s challenging to cease taking something that leaves you feeling better. Your brain and body become dependent on those substances, and you can’t get by without them. What results is a pattern of self-medication that might spiral out of control and produce destructive and unsafe actions.
Recognizing the root cause of your substance use offers a starting point for recovery. Once you comprehend that mental illness lies at the core of your drug or alcohol use, you can treat both and have a better chance at recovery.
Will Substance Use Impact Mental Health Too?
The effects of mental disorders and substance use disorders are often cyclical. The chemicals in addictive substances change brain chemistry. They can lead to or aggravate mental illnesses. The distress of losing your life to addiction can also prompt mental conditions like anxiety and depression. In return, you may depend on drugs and alcohol even more to cope, and the cycle repeats.
Why Address Mental Health And Addiction At The Same Time?
Confronting a substance use and mental illness could seem daunting, even insurmountable. But delving into the root of your substance use is crucial for long-term recovery. Once you realize what co-occurring disorder precipitated your drug or alcohol use, you have an excellent starting point for treatment. Treating mental conditions with therapy and medication helps you abstain from addictive substances. Various skills you learn in therapy for navigating mental health will help you stay sober, too. You’ll be more successful in controlling your addiction when you improve any core mental health conditions first.
Find Treatment For Substance Use Disorders And Mental Illness Near Philadelphia
If you are facing co-occurring addiction and mental illness, The Counseling Center at Cherry Hill can help. Our qualified staff understand how to help you manage the challenges you face with proven treatment. Call 856-600-0951 or submit our contact form to converse with someone at once about our admissions process.
Author
Born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, Stephen Cooke brings over a decade of experience in international and American healthcare communications to Praesum. A prolific writer and published author, Stephen has dedicated his career to promoting health and recovery across various organizations.
