Anyone who personally struggled with addiction or had family members with addiction knows substance use and mental disorders go hand-in-hand. Sadly, there are many misunderstandings when discussing substance use disorder and the mental and physical effects it can cause. Abusing drugs or alcohol doesn’t only affect your physical health. Prolonged substance use can have many harmful effects, and there are even mental health disorders caused by drug abuse.
At Bright Futures, Boynton Beach, we offer comprehensive treatment programs that help patients prevent further harm. Through personalized addiction solutions Florida, you may even be able to revert the damage drugs have caused. With our help, you can live a sober life free from addiction, and learn to balance your mental state. All you need to do is gather the courage to ask for help.
Unfortunately, many individuals find asking for help extremely difficult. Feelings of shame and guilt are common with those suffering from substance use disorder. The presence of other mental health disorders only makes matters worse. However, if you want to get better, there can be no room for shame. Neither addiction nor mental disorders are your fault, and help is available. To make things easier, we will discuss the impact drug use has on mental health and how to get treatment.
The Link Between Addiction and Mental Disorders
Substance use disorder is classified as a chronic mental illness. To put it in other words – there is no cure for addiction. Even individuals who undergo rehab and successfully complete their programs are still considered recovering addicts. For them, maintaining sobriety becomes a lifelong goal and they must constantly remain vigilant. However, with the right support, it is possible to maintain sobriety long-term and prevent relapse entirely. Be that as it may, the scientific community agrees that substance use disorder is, without a doubt, a mental illness. There are many contributing factors, the dominant ones being environmental and a genetic predisposition. Therefore, we mustn’t treat substance use and mental health disorders caused by drug abuse as a failure of one’s character.
Both single and prolonged drug use can cause changes to brain chemistry. Most of these changes are short-term; however, there are also lasting effects. Individuals who are abusing drugs often experience mood disorders or changes to their mental state. Excessive or prolonged drug use can cause physical and mental damage. Thankfully, through professional treatment, some of these changes can be reversed. Keep in mind that certain mental disorders cannot be cured. In these situations, individuals must work with addiction specialists to learn to mitigate and manage the effects of these disorders.
How to Tell You Have a Mental Health Disorder and an Addiction?
One of the most commonly cited side effects of frequent drug use is depression and anxiety. It can be hard to tell if what you are experiencing is a temporary effect of the drugs. Fortunately, for most people, these mental and mood disorders stabilize once they receive treatment. However, there are mental health disorders caused by drug abuse that don’t immediately disappear once you stop using.
Mental health disorders are incredibly common among drug users. Studies show that over 60 percent of individuals in treatment programs will meet the criteria for other mental illnesses. The greatest comorbidity rates are for substance use disorders and anxiety disorders (these include generalized anxiety, panic disorder, and PTSD). If you think you have substance use and a co-occurring mental disorder, we suggest you contact healthcare professionals immediately. Addiction is a progressive disease and your symptoms will get worse over time. Therefore, getting help as soon as possible should be a priority.
Self-diagnosing is always a risky proposition. Individuals struggling with substance use can frequently experience an altered mental state. This can make it practically impossible to accurately assess your physical and mental health. Your best option is to enter drug rehab Palm Beach and get professional help. When you contact our admission coordinators, we can perform an initial assessment over the phone and suggest a treatment plan. However, upon arrival at our Boynton Beach facility, professional addiction psychiatrists can conduct a thorough examination and assessment.
Individuals who have both substance use disorder and a co-occurring mental disorder are given a dual diagnosis. Instead of separately treating substance use and other mental disorders, patients with dual diagnoses have their disorders treated simultaneously. Dual-diagnosis treatments combine psychiatric and pharmacological therapy and have given excellent results when treating patients.
Are Mental Health Disorders Caused by Drug Abuse?
As we previously mentioned, individuals can have a genetic predisposition to mental disorders and addiction. When substance use disorder occurs alongside other disorders there doesn’t have to be a definite causation. However, there are common risk factors that can lead to their development. Children who grew up in homes where alcohol is present are likely to require treatment for alcohol rehab Florida themselves.
Unfortunately, mental disorders can cause individuals to self-medicate to deal with the symptoms. For example, brain changes in people with mental disorders can cause them to be more susceptible to addiction. The disruption of the brain’s natural reward cycle can put those individuals at a risk for developing substance use disorder. This can be particularly problematic with hard drugs that are already extremely addictive. Drugs such as crack are fast-acting and can cause severe health complications even after a single use. We suggest entering crack cocaine rehab and getting professional help to deal with an addiction to heavy drugs.
We have also seen multiple examples of mental health disorders caused by drug abuse. Heavy use of drugs can make individuals more likely to develop other mental disorders. Changes in the brain along with social isolation and mood disorders, or accompanying societal factors can contribute to mental disorders. Prediction and prevention of these disorders can be difficult since they mostly rely on observation to be successfully diagnosed. For this reason, we must pay close attention to the common risk factors and family medical history.
Occasionally, even misuse of prescription medication can worsen a patient’s mental state. For example, ADHD is often treated with Adderall; however, excessive or prolonged use can lead to addiction. This can cause the initial symptoms of ADHD to worsen and progress and the patient to require Adderall addiction rehab.
Which Mental Health Disorders Occur Alongside Drug Abuse?
So far, we’ve discussed common risk factors that can lead to the development of substance use and other mental disorders. Although there isn’t a direct link between individual drug types and specific mental disorders, there are definite common comorbidities. Needless to say, prevention plays a critical factor in both substance use disorder and co-occurring mental illnesses.
The most common mental disorders that accompany drug use are depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, ADHD, schizophrenia, psychotic illness, as well as a borderline and antisocial personality disorder. Keep in mind that this list is not exhaustive and patients can have various symptoms accompanying their substance abuse. However, one in four patients with a serious mental illness will also have a substance use disorder. On the other hand, the most recognized mental health disorders in addicts (occurring in 43 percent) are depression and anxiety.
Sadly, most individuals are reluctant to speak about their substance use or mental health issues. The social stigma accompanying these disorders can cause mental health illnesses to languish undetected. Untreated mental health issues will inevitably push addicts deeper into substance use.
Individuals with mental disorders are frequently victims of abuse and violence, and substance use will only increase their social isolation. Some will even turn to drug or alcohol use as a means of dealing with their unresolved trauma or mental issues. In these cases, it’s typical for their substance use to spiral out of control. If you are dealing with any mental issues – know that help is available, you just have to ask for it. Contact us, and we can give you the treatment you need to get better.
How to Treat Mental Health Disorders Caused by Drug Abuse?
You have the best chance for a successful recovery if you undergo treatment with an experienced addiction psychiatrist. However, treating substance use and other mental disorders separately rarely gives good results. Due to the common factors leading to their development – dual diagnosis treatment is the best course of action. After all, it is much more efficient to resolve the trauma affecting several aspects of your life at once. Only by treating both body and mind can patients expect to truly heal.
For most patients, the healing process typically begins by entering our inpatient treatment programs. These inpatient rehab Florida clinical programs include residential stay with 24/7 access to professional care. However, to attend our facility, incoming patients must first undergo medical detoxification. Once their body is free from toxins, patients can begin attending sessions with a psychiatrist. To successfully complete our programs, patients must be willing to commit themselves to a fully-structured environment. Stay in our inpatient programs typically lasts 30-45 days; however extended stay for 60 or 90 days is also possible.
We realize that not all patients can devote that much time away from work and family life for recovery. Additionally, some patients don’t require constant supervision by clinical staff. For these reasons, we developed our outpatient care programs. Here patients can attend therapy multiple times a week for several hours, while still spending nights and evenings at home. Depending on the level of addiction there are several forms of outpatient treatment including PHP and intensive outpatient program Florida.
What Kind of Therapy is Used to Treat Mental Health Disorders Caused by Drug Abuse?
Treating mental health disorders caused by drug abuse requires the help of a specialized addiction psychiatrist. Since it’s best to treat addiction and co-occurring disorders simultaneously, we employ clinicians who have experience with dual-diagnosis patients. Upon your arrival at our facility, our clinicians will meet with you and assess your condition. Based on their assessment, they can suggest a treatment plan and develop a detailed schedule.
Dual-diagnosis patients are often treated through behavioral therapy, conducted through individual and group sessions. During these sessions, patients can work with a therapist to better understand the causes of their addiction. Working through your past trauma and finding healthy alternatives for dealing with addiction triggers are core components of behavioral therapy.
How to Enter Rehab For Addiction and Mental Health Disorders
If you or a loved one need to enter therapy for dual diagnosis, we suggest you contact our admission coordinators. Individuals with substance use disorder may also struggle with fear or shame, and have a hard time asking for help. It is possible to contact us for a loved one, and we have made our admission process simple and streamlined. You can give us their information and insurance details and we can organize admissions over the phone.
To help you start your road to recovery, we can also help you arrange travel to our facility. We are located in Boynton Beach, Florida, and we can assist you in finding the best way to arrive. While we do not pay for travel expenses, we can coordinate your travel arrangements and airport pickup.
Can Insurance Pay for Rehab
Individuals in need of treatment sometimes worry they won’t be able to cover the costs of rehab. Thankfully, there are several payment options available at Bright Futures, and we accept most major insurance providers. Depending on your provider and insurance policy, you can use health insurance to cover up to 100% of treatment costs. The exact level of coverage can vary based on several factors. To find out what benefits you are eligible for you can contact your insurance providers. Another option is to contact our admission coordinators to find out does Amerihealth cover drug rehab for your treatment needs.
Once you contact us, we can verify your insurance and explain everything. Even patients with health insurance from large providers sometimes have specific questions. They might want to know does Aetna cover alcohol rehab and their options if treatment isn’t fully covered. In case your treatment isn’t fully covered by insurance, we can suggest alternate payment methods. We can work with you to figure out a flexible payment plan for your situation. Patients have the option to pay in cash, by debit card, or by bank transfer. It is also possible to arrange weekly, monthly, or per-visit charges. You can even cover the treatment costs for a loved one, either partially or in full.
In Conclusion
Drug use can affect your physical and mental well-being in many ways. Besides the many obvious health risks, people are aware of, there are also mental health disorders caused by drug abuse. Thankfully, with the right treatment, you can learn to manage your addiction and other co-occurring mental disorders. Reach out to us, and start your healing today!