Not everyone knows that addiction is something that doesn’t always occur by itself. Many times a person becomes addicted to a substance as a result of other outside factors such as a mental illness like anxiety disorder.
In other cases, the addiction may have the effect of causing the mental illness. In either case, there is no easy way to treat both problems. It requires an approach that deals with both problems at the same time. This is because both problems typically feed off each other and only treating one may cause a person to relapse.
At Ocean Coast Recovery we believe in giving people the help they need to treat all of the issues surrounding their addiction, not just the substance abuse. This can be a difficult and complicated topic. That’s why we’re here to help educate people on how addiction, anxiety disorder, and treating both at the same time can work.
What Is Addiction?
The first thing to know about addiction is that it is a disease. This means it requires proper medical treatment.
Addiction is characterized by a compulsion to use drugs or alcohol even if it causes problems in the person’s life. Addiction can also be caused by using prescription medications that are not prescribed for you, such as opioids and benzodiazepines. What starts out as recreation can quickly turn into an addiction when people continue doing drugs or drinking excessively without regard for their own health and safety.
Using drugs and alcohol can also cause other disorders and lead to further physical, mental, emotional and social complications. The cause of addiction is not always easy to identify and without doing so, treating addiction can be difficult and relapse becomes a very serious danger.
What Is Anxiety Disorder?
Anxiety disorder includes everything from generalized anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to phobias of all kinds.
People with this problem have excessive worry about things they cannot control like work, school grades, family members’ well being etc., which may result in panic attacks, depression, unwillingness to go outside, socialize with others or even live a normal day to day life.
When anxiety disorder is tied to addiction it can create problems that are hard to turn around.
What Addiction and Anxiety Disorder Look Like Together
Addiction may lead to anxiety disorder because of the effects from withdrawal, which can include depression, increased stress levels or even bipolar mood swings.
Anxiety disorders often contribute to addiction when people are using drugs in order not to feel anxious about something else going on in their life like work responsibilities for example. Addiction will also make an anxiety problem worse as it increases the level of worry and fearfulness in your day-to-day life. It’s important you seek help with both problems if they show up together like this. As we said, treating one disorder alone will not solve the problem.
Can You Treat Addiction and Anxiety Disorder at the Same Time?
Yes, in fact treating both at the same time is the only way to truly enter recovery. Co-occurring disorders, that is addiction coupled with mental illness are actually quite common and require specialized treatment to deal with both problems at once.
This may include detox and counseling for the addiction, along with therapy aimed at getting to the root of what causes the anxiety. Once the process of treatment has begun, a person can then be armed with the tools necessary to cope with their anxiety and not rely on drugs or alcohol.
At Ocean Coast Recovery we believe in providing clients with a safe environment where they can de-stress and focus on recovery while our treatment specialists work with them to find the reasons behind their addiction and any underlying illnesses. Our inpatient treatment facility is a great place to get help and get on the path to sobriety and wellness by treating all the symptoms of addiction.
If you or someone you know is suffering from addiction and anxiety disorder, contact Ocean Coast Recovery right away and get the help you need to truly get well.
