There are many different ways that alcohol and the abuse of the substance can cause various issues. These can relate to communication skills, mental awareness, focus, and more. One area that cannot be ignored is its effect on mental health. These can appear both in how alcohol and mental health issues can occur chronologically. This means that someone who displayed no issues at all now does after substance abuse and how alcoholism can worsen existing mental health issues or result from them.
Better Addiction Care understands that knowing all the factors relating to substance abuse, particularly the links between alcohol misuse and mental health, can be difficult. Because of this, our team has opted to tackle the issue head-on. We’ve created this handy guide to both aspects of alcohol addiction and mental health problems, and we present a possible solution in the process.
How Do Drugs and Alcohol Affect Mental Health?
Alcohol abuse and mental health problems have always been linked. This is particularly true in instances where the mental health issues resulted from alcoholism and not the other way around. This is often found in individuals who abused the substance for years and allowed the damage to reach this point.
Many aren’t aware that alcohol and mental health issues can arise in many different ways. People who have a history of alcoholism may appear to be more aggressive, spaced out, or have trouble communicating. These behaviors can be much more visible than they were before. This is especially true about how behavior and mood can be affected due to continued misuse.
These behaviors are often the tell-tale sign of alcoholism. They can also be the driving factor behind those closest to the user deciding that it is time for a change and scheduling an intervention.
Mental health disorders and alcoholism issues are not always intertwined with alcohol causing them. Sometimes, the correlation can be their mental health issue causing the feelings of need for the substance to be used. How do drugs and alcohol affect mental health in other ways that can potentially be more dangerous to their personal health and relationships with others?
How Does Alcohol and Drugs Affect the Mental Health Issues in Addicts?
Some people suffer from abusing alcohol and mental health issues. For this group, it is not a direct result of the former. Rather, it is a way for those suffering from the latter who need a way to cope. These individuals turn to a darker place than anyone should go.
Mental health disorders and alcohol addiction being linked can do more than worsen existing mental health issues. They can also cause someone to further affect their health as their need for self-medication gets stronger and stronger. This happens when they’re in a dark place, and they forget that the bottom of a bottle is not the place to find solutions.
Instead, addressing the issues at a similar time should be the course of action when a person struggles with both conditions concurrently. Alcoholism may have been a side effect of your mental health issues, but that doesn’t mean that both cannot be addressed together.
Finding Dual Diagnosis Treatment Near You
Are you or someone you know suffering from concurrent alcohol and mental health issues? Be sure to get yourself or those you care for the help needed. Call our team at Better Addiction Care today, and ask about how we can connect you to a mental health, alcohol, or drug addiction treatment program that has everything you need.
Using our free online national directory of drug and alcohol abuse treatment facilities makes finding locations in your area easier than ever. You should also be sure to also read some of the other articles on our national drug abuse treatment blog. It provides insight into all things related to drug abuse and the ways that you can solve the issues with the help of professionals.
The road to sobriety may be a hard-fought one, but the journey leads to a place defined by health, happiness, and sobriety.
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