Nearly 7.7 million adults struggle with co-occurring mental and substance use disorders. Although not all addicts suffer from mental illness, a significant number of addicts do struggle with a mental health disorders, such as anxiety. This is because oftentimes, people struggling with anxiety may turn to drugs and alcohol as a means to cope with their symptoms rather than seeking professional mental health treatment to better manage their anxiety symptoms.
At Rise in Malibu, we are an innovative Malibu luxury drug rehab center committed to helping clients overcome their addictions and long-term live a life of sobriety. We offer a range of treatment programs, including a dual diagnosis program, to help clients receive the exact care and support they need to overcome their addiction and better manage their mental health disorder symptoms.
If you are struggling with anxiety and addiction, contact us today to learn more about how we can help you overcome addiction and live a happier, healthier life of sobriety.
Can Anxiety Cause Drug Use?
While anxiety does not directly cause drug use, anxiety can increase one’s risk of developing an addiction. People struggling with an untreated mental health disorder often turn to certain coping methods to reduce their anxiety symptoms. While some people may turn to healthy coping strategies like exercising to reduce their anxiety symptoms, other people may turn to drugs and alcohol as a means to cope with their anxiety symptoms.
Unfortunately, abusing drugs and alcohol as a means to cope with your anxiety will only mask your anxiety symptoms temporarily and won’t directly address the source behind your anxiety. Therefore, while anxiety doesn’t directly cause drug use, those who may be suffering from anxiety may turn to drugs and alcohol as a means to self-medicate and temporarily reduce their anxiety symptoms.
What is the Relationship Between Anxiety and Addiction?
While anxiety doesn’t cause addiction (and vice versa), there’s no denying that there are several connections between both anxiety and addiction that cannot be ignored. First, as mentioned above, some people struggling with anxiety may turn to abuse drugs and alcohol as a means to self-medicate and temporarily reduce their anxiety symptoms. Inevitably, as the person abuses more and more drugs and alcohol to continually reduce their anxiety symptoms, this can result in dependency and addiction.
Another common connection between anxiety and addiction is that abusing certain substances, such as cocaine, can cause your brain to produce more stress hormones, resulting in developing anxiety symptoms. Therefore, an individual who starts abusing certain drugs may not only develop a dependency for the substance but experience anxiety due to how that drug changes their brain chemistry (i.e., producing more stress hormones).
Additionally, many people struggling with anxiety and addiction oftentimes have a history of trauma. Trauma, left untreated, can result in several serious health concerns, such as anxiety. As discussed previously, failure to effectively treat one’s anxiety symptoms may result in the individual turning to drugs and alcohol as a means to self-medicate and even temporarily forget the traumatic experience(s) that may be causing their anxiety in the first place.
How to Find Treatment for Anxiety and Addiction in Malibu
If you are suffering from addiction and anxiety, it’s essential you seek professional addiction treatment that offers both substance abuse disorder and mental health treatment. This is because if you are suffering from a co-occurring mental and substance abuse disorder, it’s essential you receive treatment for both conditions simultaneously. Otherwise, failure to treat both conditions at the same time may result in an increased risk of relapsing. Therefore, when looking for professional addiction treatments near you that offer both mental health and addiction treatment, be sure to research if they offer any dual diagnosis treatment programs.
At Rise in Malibu, we offer a dual diagnosis treatment program to help addicts also struggling with mental illness receive the necessary treatment to treat both conditions at the same time. Our drug and alcohol luxury rehab program doesn’t just treat your disease, but we use a holistic approach to treat the whole person to improve each client’s mind, body, and spirit.
If you are struggling with addiction and anxiety, you don’t have to suffer in silence. Contact us today to learn more about how we can treat both conditions so you can take back your life.
