Often when people suffer from a drug addiction, they also suffer from a mental health issues such as severe anxiety. When a person is suffering from both a mental health issue and a drug issue, this is identified as a dual diagnosis.
Defined as a dual diagnosis, parallel experiences of substance abuse and anxiety are more common than imaginable. This is down to the impacts that drug and alcohol consumption, commonly reached for as a coping strategy, can have on pre-existing symptoms of anxiety.
From a causation perspective, substance abuse is also found to increase anxiety and irregular thoughts, emotions and responses, in turn showcasing their toxic relationship.
Are you using addictive substances to manage your symptoms of anxiety? Do you feel anxious without reaching for drugs and alcohol? Are you facing battles with both substance abuse and symptoms of anxiety, causing a dual struggle?
If you are abusing drugs and alcohol to cope with your bouts of anxiety, or if you’re experiencing anxiety as a secondary symptom of substance abuse, it’s important to take action.
Action should be taken through speaking out, sourcing support and considering dual-diagnosis treatment, available here at Asana Lodge.
Get In TouchAre you suffering from substance abuse and addiction and need help? If so, Asana Lodge is a leading UK based experts in Dual Diagnosis Treatment. Find out how we can help by getting in touch with our friendly team today. You can either call our confidential helpline or request a callback by clicking on the below form.
Consuming drugs and alcohol is now a normal activity for many individuals. Manageable to a sensible level for some, for others, symptoms of substance abuse can amount, advancing the road towards addiction.
Substance abuse itself is damaging, as drugs and alcohol are toxic, resulting in instability and dysfunctional processes within both the body and brain.
Yet one of the biggest concerns focuses on brain activity and response, where such trauma, pressure and adaptation can amount to further cognitive vulnerabilities.
One of those vulnerabilities is anxiety. Anxiety can result from cognitive instability, from the unfamiliar process of withdrawal, and from the symptoms that a drug-induced state develops.
The side effects of such action highlight the correlating connection between substance abuse and anxiety, which can develop if consumption is unstable and enabled.
Anxiety is also an emotional response that is linked to the consequences of substance abuse, with a focus on health concerns, financial worries and deterred relationships.
As change is inevitable through substance abuse, mostly for the negative, nervous energy will be heightened, doubts will be encountered, and causes of anxiety will therefore amount to a constant.
Through such influences, it’s clear to see how anxiety as a secondary condition can emerge from the uncontrolled use of drugs and alcohol, causing a dual diagnosis for many.
If you’re suffering from such habits, reaching out for substance abuse treatment will be encouraged, spoken about in detail lower down.
Substance abuse, defined as the abuse of addictive substances, such as drugs and alcohol is viewed as a coping strategy for many individuals with pre-existing mental health issues.
Such as anxiety, a chronic feeling of worry and of nervous energy which cannot be digested optimally, drugs and alcohol are viewed as desirable for their suppressing effects.
However, falling into the trap of enabling substance abuse as a coping strategy can be very dangerous, as those with symptoms of anxiety will already be struggling mentally.
Paired with the psychological adaptations that long-term substance abuse can cause, it poses a concern for the mental stability, functioning and health of users. Are you using such substances to cope with your anxiety?
Anxiety is common causation of consistent drug and alcohol abuse. As symptoms of anxiety are generally regular, leaning on drugs and alcohol also becomes regular, heightening the risks of addiction.
If both symptoms and consumption are consistent, a tolerance will develop internally, which is withdrawn from, can aggravate anxious feelings, while also sending the body and mind into shock.
Maintaining the relationship between substance abuse and anxiety will be damaging while withdrawing independently from such coping strategy will also be damaging.
Down to this, sourcing dual forms of treatment will be encouraged, to not only manage anxiety as a condition but also deter the reliance on drug and alcohol abuse.
Unfortunately, the dual diagnosis of substance abuse and anxiety is common. Research suggests that on average, around half of individuals who experience drug and alcohol problems will encounter cognitive vulnerabilities, including anxiety.
Such findings also work at the other end of the scale, indicating that those who experience pre-existing mental health problems show signs of substance abuse.
Unfortunately, an ongoing vicious cycle is found between both conditions, which must be broken, deterred and treated, in order to work through independent symptoms of substance abuse and anxiety.
Here’s where dual diagnosis treatment, via a rehabilitation centre, will be encouraged, which we offer here at Asana Lodge.
Treatment for a dual diagnosis will need to be completed independently. However, combined together will benefit clients experiencing both substance abuse and anxiety.
Treating both is very important, as it’s clear to see how influential each can be on one another, potentially aggravating severities if untreated.
Working simultaneously, treatment will need to unravel the causation of substance abuse, while also working to manage symptoms of anxiety.
By reducing drug and alcohol consumption, feelings of anxiety, over time will naturally suppress if caused by initial use. However, therapeutic treatment will also be required to focus on healing the mind in tandem.
If you are worried about your habits or feel an extreme sense of anxiety on a regular basis, dual diagnosis treatment will be available.
Catered to your needs, you can experience anything from detoxification, stress management, cognitive behavioural therapy and exposure therapy, to induce both physical and psychological recovery.
Long-term recovery can also be worked towards with relapse prevention and aftercare as accessible services.
Completing treatment for substance abuse and anxiety is available from our residential rehab clinic, recommended by assessing the strength of your dual diagnosis.
Formed to treat co-occurring conditions, we’re equipped to promote psychological healing, soon benefiting the body and overall quality of life.
Sourcing treatment for substance abuse and anxiety is essential to reach a status of recovery. This is doable with our backing here at Asana Lodge, offering a safe platform to recover from.
Suppress your current worries and battles, while learning to develop healthy coping strategies, reducing your future experiences of substance abuse and anxiety.
For more information on dual diagnosis treatment, reach out for our support, to proactively work through and manage your addiction and mental health concerns.
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