Addiction and Mental Health Treatment Issues - Roots Recovery

1. A Brief about Alcohol Abuse and Mental Health Problems With 16 million people going through alcohol abuse disorder in the US; alcohol abuse has become a major issue. People who are dependent on alcohol cannot stop drinking until they feel the immediate effects of alcohol. Alcohol abuse adversely affects the health, work, and relationships of a person. There is a complex relationship between alcohol abuse and mental health problems. Mental health problems can occur in anyone, but they are frequent in people with alcohol abuse. The clinical team at ​anxiety treatment Long beach points out that out of people who have been diagnosed with mental illness, 69 percent of them consumed alcohol. Mental health problems can increase the risk of alcohol and drug abuse, whereas alcoholism can lead to depression and anxiety. When a person is suffering from both alcohol abuse and mental illness, distinct treatment is required to treat both the conditions.

2. What is Alcohol Abuse? Having too much alcohol too often is termed as alcohol abuse. Alcohol abuse leads to physical dependence on alcohol. A person dependent on alcohol craves alcohol; he cannot go without it. Alcohol abusers are unable to limit their drinking; when a person tries to quit, he suffers from withdrawal symptoms, like sweating, nausea, dependence gives rise to life-threatening withdrawal symptoms, where a person starts agitating, hallucinating, and loses touch with reality. and shakiness. Serious alcohol How Does Alcohol Abuse Develop? Heavy drinking leads to alcohol dependence and alcohol abuse. When a person consumes alcohol, it disrupts the balance of neurotransmitters (chemical messengers) in the brain, which results in behavioral changes and physical changes such as drowsiness, and slurred speech. These are temporary effects, which occur when we consume too much alcohol and they go away after a few hours. But when we indulge in regular drinking, long term chemical changes begin in the brain. With the passage of time, one requires a heavy intake of alcohol to feel intoxicated. Regular drinkers start experiencing intense cravings for alcohol and suffer from withdrawal symptoms, like sweating, tremors, insomnia, anxiety when they stop drinking. A person can experience these withdrawal symptoms as soon as six hours after their last drink. To avoid these symptoms, a person starts to drink more frequently. intoxication, impaired coordination,

3. How Alcohol Affects Our Mental Health? The main reason a person drinks is to uplift his mood. People with depression and anxiety often drink to self-medicate; but in reality, alcohol is a depressant, which means a person feels all the more depressed by consuming alcohol. Alcoholism leads to anxiety in people who had no prior signs of anxiety or depression. People who consume a large amount of alcohol on a regular basis are vulnerable to developing mental health problems. We can say that alcoholism and mental health problems are interdependent to some extent, but it doesn’t mean that all the people with mental health issues are alcoholic or vice versa. Mental Illnesses Which Are Associated With Alcohol Abuse People suffering from mental illnesses lack inner peace; they just want to get rid of all the thoughts that never leave their minds. Negativity engulfs them. To feel calmness, they ​turn to alcohol, as alcohol is widely available and is legal for people above 21 years. The most common mental health conditions which are associated with alcohol abuse are stated below: Anxiety When a person feels anxious, he feels frightened, worried, and excessively nervous. Anxiety causes physical symptoms, like restlessness, sweating, sleep disturbances, etc. People with anxiety depend on alcohol to calm their mind.

4. Using alcohol to treat anxiety often backfires. At first, the person might feel relaxed, but within a few hours of consumption of alcohol, the anxiety gets worse. Alcohol interferes with anxiety medications, which makes anxiety symptoms more difficult to treat. Combining anxiety medications with alcohol lead to dizziness, extreme drowsiness, slowed breathing, and even death. Depression People with major depression show signs of alcohol abuse. Typically, alcohol abuse starts when a person is rooted in depression. To overcome the sad feelings, a person starts drinking regularly, and with the passage of time, he feels unable to control his drinking pattern. Since alcohol is a depressant, it makes depression worse. The combination of alcohol and antidepressants affect judgment, motor skills, coordination, and reaction time. People with depression have a higher tendency of becoming alcoholics, as they feel calmness for a short duration of time by drinking alcohol. Bipolar Disorder People with ​bipolar disorder have bouts of happiness and sadness. Some days they feel low and depressed, while on other days they feel energetic and extremely happy. The whole experience can be disturbing, especially

5. for those who have an undiagnosed bipolar disorder. To lift their mood, people use alcohol. But alcohol makes the condition worse; instead of seeking professional help, people turn to drink heavily on the days they are feeling low. Treating Co-Occurring Disorders No doubt, it is hard to live with alcohol abuse and mental health issues. Alcohol interferes with the prescribed medications for mental health disorders. The very first step in treating co-occurring mental health conditions and alcohol involves detox. It is important to take professional help to manage withdrawal symptoms. After a successful detox, a rehabilitation program to treat mental health issues is crucial. Group therapy, as well as individual therapy, proves beneficial in treating the condition. Doctors prescribe medications to treat co-occurring disorders. It is vital to attend therapy after successful completion of the rehabilitation program to avoid relapse. Conclusion There is a clear connection between alcohol abuse and mental health disorders. Alcohol treatment is the first step with people going through mental health and alcohol abuse disorders. These illnesses are severe, recurrent, but common, they are treatable with medication and therapy, and many people do recover.