Have you ever wondered about how many people struggle with drug addiction or mental illness each year? How about both? Out of all the people I know, there’s at least a handful that I know who are having difficulty with one of those disorders and are seeking help as quick as possible.
Within the United States, the drug and mental illness epidemic is growing at an alarming rate. One of the most mentioned drugs in the news lately has been opioids, as thousands of drug overdose deaths are happening to people just like you. Driven mainly by addiction to prescription opioids and heroin, drug overdoses reportedly claimed around 64,000 lives within the year of 2016 alone. If you know your history, that’s more lives taken than the entire duration of the Vietnam War. If we look at America on the macro lense, around 27 million of all American adults are considered drug users. Out of that group, at least 8,000 people are trying drugs for the first time each day on average!
It’s no secret that spreading word about the dangers of drugs like opioids and its link to mental illness is crucial to help others. They might not speak about it, but many people who experience addiction are either having serious mental issues as a result or are using hard drugs to numb their emotions instead. Before you take the next dose to conquer the pain of your reality, please remember that you’re not alone. Your circumstances don’t define you and there’s always room to stop what you’re doing if you can take the following steps to make change.
Get Honest
I know that facing the facts aren’t fun, but the sooner you realize your situation, the better your recovery process will be. It’s not easy to suddenly drop whatever drug you’ve been taking to cope with life’s events. When there’s feelings of depression, anxiety, or paranoia in the mix, stopping yourself from self-medicating is especially difficult as it helps you forget about the controlling emotions. In other words, you might be using substances like drugs or alcohol to mask symptoms of a mental health issue you can’t get over. Stimulant drugs like cocaine, methamphetamine, or Adderall are often used to combat feelings of depression and increase focus or energy levels that are lacking. On the other hand, maybe you’re using Xanax or prescription sleep aids like Lunesta to elevate your mood, escape reality, or to feel sociable again around other people. No matter what drug you’re using, the high it offers is short-lived and will only serve to make matters worse over the months. From oncoming health problems, weakened relationships, and to decreased discipline, you won’t live a sustainable lifestyle while using drugs as a crutch to function.
Stress Is Real
Are you stressed? Often a person can turn to using drugs after they feel stressed enough from an event, sight, smell, or even a person that triggers their feelings. You could have had a fight with your boss, suffered a divorce, got involved in accident, a bad grade on a test, lost your pet, or experienced anything that often leads to increased stress. To a person who is in such a vulnerable state, drugs can look like the knight in shining armor to save them from feeling like they’re in the pits of hell. It’s attractive, works quickly, and provides that insanely joyful moment some just can’t get enough of. Yet, paired with an already stressed out mind and body, people can experience dangerous spikes in their adrenaline and neurotransmitters. Over time, they’re likely to build up a tolerance which warrants doses that seem to grow larger by the week.
You Can Find Help
You can get the help you need if you’re willing to take action. Lots of people aspire to make a change, but it’s only the doers in our world who actually get the results they want. You’ll need discipline, time, and energy to turn to positive outlets instead of drugs. The journey will be tough, and you may feel that all the effort isn’t worth the blood and tears. Yet, after staying consistent and sticking to your goals to become an improved human being, the strength and health you’ll be left with will be so much more worth it. As a former drinker, I can speak from experience that it took months of tough commitment to staying sober and using exercise as an outlet for my stress and depression to improve my lifestyle. However, I feel so much better now about not only myself, but my relationships, work ethic, and the direction my career is going now.
Make Your Own Treatment
The first step to gaining help and recovering is finding an integrated treatment plan that can help you understand your triggers and form a plan to manage them. You can also look to support groups either online or in your area to communicate with other people going through the same experiences. If your experiencing a mental illness and addiction, seeking a dual diagnosis treatment center will also help you address both problems simultaneously. Many treatment centers offer highly customizable programs for patients to add to their already hectic lifestyle. They also offer services like individual counseling, meditation, or yoga, but it all comes down to what each person enjoys. You’ll benefit from their input, build lifelong relationships, and gain a sense of accountability to not turn back to your old ways. With a revitalized diet full of healthy foods, plenty of water, and staying active everyday, your body will feel naturally much more energetic. The world is at your hands to explore and you’re strong enough conquer it!
