Mental illness and addiction go hand in hand, and there is often a chicken-and-egg question that must be asked with each case — which came first? It’s not always easy to tell. Below, we take a look at the relationship between mental illness and substance use disorder, along with how emotional dysregulation can complicate matters. At Alpine Recovery Lodge, our doctors, nurses and therapists are acutely familiar not only with the intricacies of substance use disorder and the rehabilitation process, but also the varying paths that have led our clients to addiction, and ultimately, to us for help with recovering from those addictions.
The Origins of Addiction
Last month, we talked about how trauma can lead to mental health struggles. In the absence of available help in the form of therapy and medication, people sometimes turn to illegal drugs and alcohol for relief from these struggles. Unfortunately it’s only later, when these temporary solutions turn into full-blown addictions, that we have the opportunity to make a difference.
One piece of good news in the mental health diagnosis field is that awareness has grown. The internet has made it much easier to learn about mental disorders, which has led to a lot of progress in the field, but also some problems. One of these is the sufferers’ overreliance on the limitations commonly associated with their diagnosis.
For example, if you struggled to learn in school only to be diagnosed with ADHD and subsequently medicated, this might have been extremely helpful for you. At the same time, a number of people unfortunately use such a diagnosis as a crutch, or an excuse, for why they are unable to follow through, complete tasks or succeed in life. The goal of diagnosis and therapy is to become aware of your condition so you can better learn to live with it, discover work-arounds to your roadblocks and build resilience, not to throw up your hands in surrender. Learning emotional regulation techniques as part of the rehabilitation and recovery process can help people get well again and stay sober.
Developing Emotional Regulation
The term “emotional regulation” has been in use more than 25 years, but has only more recently gained recognition and to some extent, a greater understanding. If you aren’t familiar with it, emotional regulation is the concept that we are not slaves to our emotions and that there are steps we can take to control them. It’s not simply counting to 10 when you’re angry; it’s learning how not to internally collapse when faced with disappointment.
Even though people sometimes use drugs or alcohol out of habit or simply to relieve boredom, many times people turn to these substances to soothe a hurt. Can you think of a time you did this? It’s not uncommon to hear about someone who suffered a painful breakup, a death in the family, the loss of a job or another negative major life change and descended into excessive alcohol or drug use. It is just this type of scenario that you can learn to reframe and handle differently with emotional regulation skills you learn from a therapist.
While it’s fairly obvious to anyone who sees someone punch a wall that they are struggling with emotional regulation, there are aspects of emotional dysregulation that are harder to see. It’s safe to say that most people would be unhappy if they were fired from a job. But when you struggle with emotional regulation, your mind might spiral out of control, making you believe you are worthless, you’ll never get another job and the firing will follow you for the rest of your life. No amount of reassurances from loved ones helps, and you may be left unable to sleep and eat, your fears mounting disproportionately. Your only relief might come through drugs or alcohol.
People who suffer in this manner sometimes wonder why they are afflicted this way while others are not. Were they born that way? Did something happen to make them that way? While some circumstances, such as abuse or neglect in childhood, are easy to relate to emotional dysregulation, oftentimes it’s hard to pinpoint a cause. It could be rooted in a particular person’s temperament, or their environment might have contributed in some way. Sometimes, however, the emotional dysregulation follows the addiction.
Addiction & Emotional Dysregulation
Addictions are personal. While many can be traced to issues such as abuse, poverty, violence and more, each person’s addiction is about them and how they relate to the events in their life. Momentarily putting aside what helped propel you to addiction, let’s take a look at what can happen after the addiction takes hold.
Let’s hypothetically say a healthy, well-adjusted person tries a particular drug just to see what it’s like, then becomes addicted to this drug. Addiction is without exception filled with anxiety and depression. The addicted person now needs to detox and learn how to live their life without the drug — a challenging prospect, as we all know, and often fraught with mood swings. Some drugs affect serotonin production, a hormone necessary for well-being. How long the drop in production lasts varies, and those suffering from this condition may need SSRIs until they recover. One thing is certain — emotional dysregulation is a real and common result of drug addiction, even if you didn’t struggle much with it prior to your addiction.
Help Is Available
Regardless of whether you have a diagnosable mental illness or issues with emotional regulation — and whether these are part of the cause or the result of your substance use disorder — know that at Alpine Recovery Lodge, we can help. Our doctors can diagnose and treat your conditions, greatly improving your chances of success at recovery. Substance use disorder doesn’t appear out of nowhere. It’s made up of numerous components, and it’s important to identify and treat them. Rely on the experts. Contact us today.
Alpine Recovery Lodge
