Some people struggle with mental health issues along with addiction. In order to find help, they often seek to understand what is causing the issues and find help for it in medications and therapies. The goal of a good rehab program should include support for anxiety as it is often undiagnosed or missed alongside addiction. Find out why they are related to one another and how to seek help.

Anxiety Disorders

There are different mood and behavioral disorders people can struggle with recovery. Anxiety and panic disorders can be difficult because they tax a person’s mental reserves to the point of exhaustion. There are some disorders to be aware of, including:

• Panic disorders: panic attacks may happen at any given moment. No matter where a person is, they can be debilitating.
• Generalized anxiety disorder: occurs for more than 6.8 million Americans – women are 2x as likely to have a diagnosis for GAD than men
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD): behaviors often occur due to anxiety over things people can deal with normally but their minds focus on doing a routine in order to keep themselves at peace. Usually focused on fears over safety or worries about germs

Anxiety disorders present with many different symptoms. These include expecting the worst from a situation, the inability to stop worrying, symptoms lasting longer than six months, and exaggerated fears, worries, or tension that won’t go away.

Drugs and Anxiety

Addiction can make issues worse in relation to anxiety. The symptoms can make cravings worse and increase the impact of certain drugs. Stimulants may increase anxiety issues and paranoia. The best way to deal with co-occurring disorders is to treat them together. Persistent worrying can become excessive and keep people from accomplishing their goals in recovery. Environment, life circumstances, genetics, and other issues may contribute to anxiety. A combination of things may contribute but overall it is the person’s response that most determine how they receive help. Dual diagnosis rehab requires treating people for both mental health and addiction issues. With the help of trained therapists, people can overcome adversity to find hope and healing on the other side of addiction and anxiety. Feeling constantly worried is not going to help people achieve their goals of healing. It takes time in rehab to address the multi-faceted, multi-layered complexity that is dual diagnosis with addiction. Hope is just around the corner, waiting for people to step up and work on what is most important to them. The key is to find healing and move forward in recovery.  

A Step in the Right Direction provides quality care for clients seeking support for addiction recovery. We teach people how to live a sober life through programs, therapeutic support, and evidence-based therapies. Our recovery program is staffed by people who understand the power of addiction. For more information on sober living programs for men and women as well as recovery programs, call (877) 377-3702.