Mental health issues and drug use disorders can coexist.
This is due to certain illicit substances that can lead addiction victims to exhibit one or more signs of a mental health disorder.
Some persons with mental health issues may abuse alcohol or drugs as self-medication, leading to alcohol or drug usage.
Some underlying causes of mental and drug use problems are similar, such as changes in brain composition, genetic vulnerabilities, and early stress or trauma exposure.
More than one in every four persons with severe mental illness has a drug abuse issue. Substance abuse problems are more common in specific mental health issues, such as depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, personality illnesses, etc.
This is why strong mental health is of paramount importance in overcoming addiction problems. Therefore, Infinite Recovery prioritizes strong mental health as the cornerstone of addiction treatment.
What Is Addiction?
Addiction is a persistent brain disorder that cannot be overcome by willpower.
This means that, contrary to popular belief, those who develop a drug or alcohol addiction are not weak, immoral, or fatally damaged.
So, if addiction is a chronic brain disease rather than a lack of willpower, why make an effort to recover? Isn’t it all for naught?
No, it does not.
Addicts begin to recover when they accept responsibility for their sobriety. It’s not your fault you’re lying face down in a mound of muck because someone shoved you down into it.
However, if you continue to lie thereafter they go, feeling that you cannot change the situation, you will be stuck in the mud for a long time.
Addiction works in the same way. It is not your fault that you have this sickness, but you should manage the cards that have been dealt with and make efforts to better your life.
A Strong Mental Health-Definition And Overview
According to the American Psychological Association, researchers define strong mental health (willpower) as having the capacity to postpone gratification, avoiding short-term desires to achieve long-term goals.
The ability to suppress an unfavorable idea, sensation, or urge and the capacity to use a “cool” cognitive-behavioral system rather than a “hot” emotional one also defines strong mental health.
Thus, strong mental health is a finite resource that self-regulation can exhaust. Self-regulation is conscious and effortful of the self, which cannot happen unless the person has a strong mentality.
On the surface, having a strong mental health appears straightforward. So, let’s look at an example.
When you’ve had success with a particular habit, such as exercising, you have more willpower to stick with it because you want to.
However, if you have a problem with prescription opioids and chronic pain, you may want to stop using them. Now, your brain and body chemistry has changed due to the medication, and your pain threshold is now hypersensitive, necessitating even more medication to achieve the same effect.
This is both intellectually and physically exhausting. This is why you must have strong mental health so that you can overlook this temporary exhaustion and focus on the bigger picture.
The Role Of Strong Mental Health In Overcoming Addiction Problems
A strong mental health alone is rarely enough to conquer addiction, as everyone who has attempted to force themselves into recovery knows.
Most addicts desire to stop at some time. They break relations with drug-abusing buddies, they get rid of their drug stash, they make passionate pledges to their loved ones—and, in the absence of suitable support, many quickly revert to their former habits.
This tendency occurs regardless of how strong the person’s addict’s mental health has been in the past or how clever, disciplined, or hardworking they are.
Although a lack of strong mental health does not cause addiction, this does not mean that it is meaningless in the recovery process.
In reality, a strong mentality is essential in the rehabilitation of addicts. Twelve-step programs imply a loss of mental strength on the part of the addict in admitting their weakness over drugs and alcohol and asking for help.
Addiction victims must discover the mental strength to heal by relinquishing their will and acknowledging that they don’t have all the solutions.
Ibrahim Senay of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign conducted an intriguing study that offers scientific validity to surrender and openness to recovery ideas.
He discovered that people who kept their thoughts open were more goal-oriented and driven than those who announced their intention clearly. Furthermore, choosing seems to provide more internal motivation and a higher likelihood of long-term abstinence than feeling forced to adopt a specific course of action.
Deciding to prioritize your recovery necessitates avoiding the people, places, and things that trigger your urge to use drugs requires strong mental health. Mental strength also necessitates proper self-care, like eating good food, exercising, finding time for sober pleasure, and remaining in touch with your emotions.
How To Regain A Strong Mental Health In Addiction Recovery?
Recovery takes a leap of faith, as well as the willingness to confess a problem and accept responsibility for your actions, as well as the drive to work a recovery program.
But what happens when your mental strength dwindles and you lose interest in your rehabilitation program?
This is when a social support network composed of family, friends, peers in recovery, a sponsor, and others come in handy. When your motivation wanes, they’ll be there to remind you why you’re dedicated to your self-control and to keep you on course.
Lack of mental strength does not lead to addiction, but it is a component of the recovery process. So, when you lack enough mental strength, you can develop new fitness goals, and that may give you new motivation to commit to the recovery process.
To be clean and sober for life, you will need new coping skills, a support system, knowledge on the disease of addiction, and new routines, much as someone with diabetes requires medicine and lifestyle adjustments to manage their condition correctly.
When your mind and body are free of chemical dependency, it is simpler to employ knowledge, therapeutic approaches, social support, and, yes, strong mental health to stay sober simply because you want to.
Conclusion
One of the reasons 12-Step programs support the “one day at a time” approach is because after you’ve found the mental strength to seek treatment and set a goal for recovery, every day of sobriety is an accomplishment.
If someone you care about has an addiction issue, express your worry for their health and promise them that you will support their attempts for treatment and recovery. To know more about this, ping us in the comment section.