Coping with Depression and Addiction
Two mental illnesses that often go hand in hand are depression and substance abuse whether it is drug addiction or alcohol abuse. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, roughly 14 million adults struggle with a major depressive disorder and over 2 million adults have some sort of mild depression. It is not uncommon for individuals who suffer from depression to self medicate using either drugs or alcohol. Substance abuse can act as a temporary relief to depression as it will allow an individual to momentarily forget about their issues. The problem is once the effects of drugs and alcohol wear off the depression is still there. This can easily turn into a vicious cycle of abusing drugs and alcohol to manage the depression and ultimately leave a person having to cope with both the disease of depression and addiction. When an individual has the burden of having to cope with both depression and addiction they are likely going to need the help of an addiction treatment center that specializes in treating dual diagnosis. Quality addiction treatment centers will have trained staff that specializes in helping those who are dually diagnosed. In order to gain long term sobriety and recover from depression, both diseases need to be treated independently. Cognitive behavioral therapy which is provided in addiction treatment centers that specialize in dual diagnosis has been extremely helpful in minimizing depressive symptoms and helping to recover from addiction. Without proper help, the two will be very difficult if not impossible to overcome.
