Addiction and mental health issues are not separate and unrelated; they are very much interconnected. When substance use disorder (SUD) and mental health disorders exist in tandem, it is referred to as a co-occurring disorder. One of the most common co-occurring disorders is addiction and depression. By learning more about the connections that exist between co-occurring disorders, specifically addiction and depression, individuals can better understand why professional treatment is often necessary for lasting recovery and sobriety.
At Athens Area Commencement Center, we offer a wide range of comprehensive treatments for SUD, mental health disorders, and co-occurring disorders. Unlike other treatment facilities, we are an abstinence-based rehabilitation program, helping individuals achieve and sustain lasting abstinence throughout their lives. Oftentimes, co-occurring disorders like addiction and depression are perpetuated through self-medicating practices. At our facility, our clients engage in intensive treatments that help them not only successfully cease substance use but also overcome the underlying causes that mediate and inform it.
Addiction and Depression: Why Do They Co-Occur?
As explained by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), “More than one in four adults living with serious mental health problems also has a substance use problem.” Moreover, addiction and depression are among the most common co-occurring disorders. According to the National Insitute of Mental Health (NIMH), three main possibilities highlight why these conditions (and other co-occurring disorders) often coexist in tandem.
#1. Shared Risk Factors
First, there is a possibility that addiction and depression develop independently of one another as a result of shared risk factors. Vulnerabilities such as early exposure to trauma, chronic stress, abuse, and a host of environmental factors can all increase the risk of depression and substance abuse developing throughout one’s life.
#2. Self-Medicating Mental Health Symptoms
Another possibility is that a mental health disorder – or, in this case, depression – exists first. As depression is a progressive mental health disorder, symptoms can become more severe over time. In an attempt to numb or treat distressing symptoms, some individuals with depression may self-medicate with alcohol and other drugs.
While using substances may seem like an effective way to achieve relief in the moment, they only exacerbate symptoms over time. Likewise, self-medicating practices also make individuals vulnerable to chemical dependency and addiction.
#3. Substance Abuse Interfering With Mental Functioning
The third possibility to explain why addiction and depression often co-occur is that an individual may use alcohol and other drugs before developing depressive symptoms. Yet, as an individual’s substance use becomes more frequent and intense, it will alter brain structure and associated functioning. Meanwhile, these alterations caused by substance use and abuse can quickly increase an individual’s risk of developing a mental health disorder like depression.
How Addiction and Depression Influence One Another
Left untreated, addiction and depression create a destructive cycle, impairing an individual’s ability to function normally in daily life. While the symptoms of each condition can be catastrophic enough on their own, addiction and depression are also comorbid. Comorbidity “means that the interactions between the two disorders can worsen the course of both,” as stated by the National Insitute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).
For example, as an individual continues to engage in substance abuse more frequently and intensely, they will experience worsening withdrawal symptoms when they are not using. Meanwhile, withdrawal symptoms, coupled with intrusive thoughts of worthlessness and low self-esteem, can be especially difficult to stave off. Therefore, an individual may feel compelled to reengage in substance use not to get high but merely to cease withdrawal symptoms and numb depressive symptoms.
Treating Addiction and Depression in Tandem
To no one’s surprise, co-occurring disorders must be treated together in tandem to establish effective and long-lasting recovery. Truth be told, individuals in early recovery from addiction are extremely vulnerable to relapse. Yet, if only the addiction is addressed in treatment and not the depression, an individual will not have the knowledge and tools that they need to effectively cope with and overcome depressive triggers outside of recovery.
Meanwhile, at Athens Area Commencement Center, we offer a plethora of treatments to address co-occurring disorders like addiction and depression. For many clients, stabilization is the first part of the treatment process. More specifically, detox ensures that an individual is medically stable, ridding all toxic remnants of substance use from the body. After the detox process is completed, treatment can begin.
We customize our client care to ensure that each client’s unique needs and recovery goals are addressed in treatment. Educational meetings are the backbone of our care plans, ensuring that clients understand their disease as well as the process of recovery.
For those struggling with addiction and depression, some of the modalities we may incorporate into their treatment programs may include, but are not limited to:
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)
- Trauma-informed therapy
- Family therapy
- Exposure and response prevention
- Behavior modification
- Mindfulness
- Yoga
- Relapse prevention
Meanwhile, we consider group therapy to be the heart and soul of our treatment programs, as it invites clients to lean on one another for accountability and support throughout treatment and long-term recovery.
Co-occurring disorders, like addiction and depression, can be challenging to diagnose and treat. However, they must be treated together to ensure lasting sobriety and recovery from both conditions. By leaving addiction and depression untreated, the interactions of both conditions will exacerbate and worsen symptoms over time. Professional treatment is often necessary to establish and sustain abstinence from alcohol and drug use while also overcoming depressive symptoms. At Athens Area Commencement Center, we offer a variety of treatment programs and modalities to meet the unique needs and recovery goals of the clients we serve. While addiction and co-occurring depression can be challenging to treat, we have the resources that clients need to obtain lasting recovery. Call (706) 546-7355 today.