If you are struggling with addiction and mental health, you can find help at the facilities like Water Gap Wellness Center. We appreciate the intertwined relationship between substance abuse and mental health, which is why we designed dual diagnosis programs to help you control the health of your mind and body.
If you are looking for addiction or mental health treatment in Pennsylvania, contact Water Gap Wellness Center today.
What Causes Addiction?
Many factors can cause addiction:
- Genetics: Some people are predisposed to addiction because of their genes.
- Environment: Addiction can arise out of environments where drug abuse and alcoholism are considered normal, especially when direct family members use in the home.
- Abuse/Trauma: Addiction and mental health issues can arise because of early abuse or trauma experienced at any age.
- Mental Health: Drug addiction and mental illness have some of the highest occurrence rates.
How Are Addiction and Mental Health Related?
Substance abuse and mental health share an overlapping, challenging relationship:
- People who struggle with mental illness are more likely to use drugs and alcohol as a form of self-medication or coping strategy. This makes addiction and mental health worse.
- People who struggle with substance abuse are more likely to develop mental illness. This makes mental wellness and drug use worse.
Unfortunately, many people seek treatment for substance abuse in isolation. This means they are more likely to relapse because the mental health aspect of their well-being has not been addressed.
Water Gap Wellness Center is a comprehensive mental health retreat in Pennsylvania. Contact us today to learn more.
Are There Treatment Centers That Focus on Drug Addiction and Mental Illness?
Any center that offers dual diagnosis therapy can provide drug addiction and mental illness help. Many treatment centers focus on both.
This type of addiction and mental health treatment starts with detox and transitions into a recovery program that involves multiple therapy programs to address coping skills and lifestyles skills for overcoming cravings and avoiding relapse, in addition to things like cognitive behavioral therapy to help address the management of mental illnesses like depression or anxiety.
How to Treatment Addiction and Mental Health Disorders
Treatment for drug addiction and mental health disorders usually involves medication management or therapy.
Medication Management
Medical professionals at your rehab facility oversee medication management.
For drug abuse…
For the drug abuse side of your treatment, addiction might involve medication management early on in your recovery to help you deal with cravings or to diminish the severity of your withdrawal symptoms. But as you progress in your recovery, you’ll wean off any medications intended for these purposes.
For mental illness…
You may or may not receive ongoing medication management help from your primary healthcare provider. No matter who offers this service, the general purpose is to help you find the right medication to manage or decrease the symptoms of your mental illness.
You may not need medication to manage your mental health disorder. In situations like depression or anxiety, you might be prescribed medication only to deal with severe symptoms when they arise, like in the form of a panic attack. In other cases, you might start with medication to help you manage the symptoms of your mental health disorder and then wean yourself off medications and only on therapeutic techniques, lifestyle skills, stress management skills, and other coping mechanisms.
This depends entirely on your situation. Bipolar disorder, for example, cannot be cured and is more likely to result in lifelong medication management in addition to therapy.
Therapy
Therapy is one of the most important treatments for addiction and mental health. Without therapy, the use of any form of medication management for mental wellness and drug use will fall short of its goals.
For drug abuse…
You can participate in a wide range of therapeutic programs for drug abuse, including group and individual therapy. Many of the therapy programs in which you participate will help you master the techniques you need to avoid a relapse, handle triggers appropriately, and deal with cravings. In most situations, you’ll start with some form of psychotherapy, group meetings, and maybe even family therapy.
For mental illness…
For mental illness, the therapy you receive will be customized to the disorder with which you struggle. People struggling with depression or anxiety might participate in cognitive behavioral therapy, where they can learn how to replace negative automatic thoughts with positive ones, apply coping skills to daily life and stress, and manage symptoms when they arise.
Water Gap Wellness Center Offers Comprehensive Treatment for Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders
Water Gap Wellness Center is a premier institution providing addiction and mental health services. Our team specializes in a wide variety of dual diagnosis services. Where other institutions may only specialize in alcoholism and depression or benzodiazepines and anxiety, we tackled dozens of combinations for addiction and mental health disorders.
Contact Water Gap Wellness Center today to learn more about our substance abuse and mental health programs.
