How Treatment For Substance Abuse Can Help With Your Depression

One reason mental health services are in such high demand is that they work. In fact, research shows that not only can getting help for a substance addiction help your overall lifestyle, but it can actually lift depression and offer hope.

The truth is that no one can recover from a substance abuse issue if they don’t want to. However, if you’re ready for help, worried that your substance abuse issues are causing depression and other symptoms, or just want to feel less alone, there are effective services out there for you. If you struggle with sadness and substance abuse, read on to find out how the two mental health conditions relate and what treatment can do for you.

Treatment centers offer tools and resources.

It’s always a great idea to reach out for help when you’re struggling with sadness or symptoms of depression. Maybe you’ve been in a 12-step program for years but have never seen a mental health professional and aren’t sure how these two are connected. The reality is that as you work on your sobriety, issues will come up. If you’ve ever been in a rehab program, you already know that one reason addictive behaviors are hard to break is that they’re a symptom of something else. That is, addictions and mental health issues often go hand in hand.

One way to treat either addiction or mental illness is to reach out to a mental health professional through a Google search like “depression specialist near me.” A licensed therapist could refer you to alcohol treatment or a quality rehab center complete with amenities, or even offer talk counseling. What they will also do is help you to learn skills that will not only help with depressive symptoms but could be useful in fighting things like alcohol addiction.

Conversely, if you’re going to a rehab center strictly for detoxification and to control your drug use, you might find that the treatments used like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) help lift symptoms of depression. Because most treatment programs include an element of therapy, it’s easy to understand how getting help for your addiction might also help your mood.

Therapists address other mental health issues.

Another perk to getting help with addiction issues is that therapists will be able to screen you for other types of mental health issues to give you the best support services they can. For example, many alcohol treatment centers will do an overall assessment to diagnose patients with acute or chronic onsets of mental illness such as anxiety disorders. In having these diagnoses, the right therapist will be able to help you get the type of therapy you need.

Being with peers will show you that you aren’t alone.

It’s normal for anyone to feel depressed when they feel alone or isolated. In attending an addiction treatment program, you’ll quickly learn that you’re far from the only one with challenges. The compassion you’ll get from peers and clinicians will allow you to realize you have a fantastic support system at your disposal. This alone could be enough to help you begin to feel better.

In the end, it’s likely common sense for most people that ending a substance abuse issue will lead to more hope. What they don’t think about, however, is that treatment centers and professionals can offer you tools and resources that could prevent clinical depression and substance use in the future. That is, when you get help with a substance abuse issue, you’re also signing up for a full psychological evaluation, which is a key tool in getting the mental health services and support you may need. Best of luck to you in your recovery. Hope is important and closer than you might think.