Many alcoholics and addicts experience co-occurring mental health issues. Such issues are no longer as misunderstood as they were even 30 years ago. Thanks to modern medical science and psychiatry, co-occurring mental health issues can often be successfully addressed. Those of us who experience concerns of mental and emotional wellness can usually receive proper, effective help and flourish in ways we never would have thought possible.
There are many of us today who experience both addiction and mental health issues, yet we are sober, free, healthy, and living full lives in recovery. It is not the hindrance it was once, nor does it bear the stigma it did in the past.
A Common Struggle
Mental and emotional health issues are common, especially amongst alcoholics and addicts. Some studies say anywhere from 37% to 53% of those who suffer from addiction also experience at least one mental health disorder. These issues are not roadblocks to sobriety, nor do they mean we are doomed to suffer forever.
With the right help and a bit of proactivity on our part, we may go safely wherever free men may go, provided we keep up with our health routine and perform our daily recovery maintenance. Alcohol and drugs affect our brains in complicated and remarkable ways, most of which are negative or harmful.
We often find that our mental and emotional health suffers greatly at the hands of our disease. Getting sober is a great first step towards balance and health. Learning how to maintain long-term recovery may also provide great benefits to the condition of our minds, bodies, and spirits.
Remaining in recovery for the long term usually requires working the 12-Steps, attending regular meetings, and helping others. These things will help keep us sober as we learn how to integrate them into the very fabric of our lives. Yet for many of us, there are additional measures we may have to take in order to give ourselves the best chance of staying in recovery and living full, meaningful lives.
Follow the 12-Steps
Emotional health issues are often made better by working the 12-Steps over a period of time. The ways we learn to handle life’s problems and the methods we practice in the 12-Steps result in both emotional sobriety and emotional balance. We grow more calm and peaceful as we practice the program of recovery.
It is imperative that we properly address our alcoholism and addiction, which will provide us with a stable framework from which we can seek and implement help for our mental and emotional issues.
Get Professional Help
It’s important to note that the 12-Steps are not medical or professional in nature, and they do not completely solve other issues – the 12-Steps are the solution to our alcoholism and addiction. Many recovering alcoholics and addicts benefit incredibly from seeking the help of psychiatric or medical doctors and professional therapists as they work the program of recovery.
Professional help is often necessary and should not be frowned upon. After all, recovery is about living a better life. If further professional help is needed, there should be no shame. Proper help for alcoholics and addicts who experience emotional imbalance, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and other common mental health concerns often begins immediately after physical sobriety is achieved.
When the drugs and alcohol are out of a person’s system, the proper medicines or therapies will have a greater positive effect. At Jaywalker Lodge, our multi-disciplinary team of professionals is designed to be able to reach, treat, and guide a complex variety of alcoholics and addicts. We have medical doctors, clinicians, addiction specialists, and trauma and mental health experts here to help.
We firmly believe that treating addiction issues concurrently with mental health and emotional issues proves more successful in helping those who experience co-occurring disorders remain in recovery. Mental and emotional health issues are not always totally fixed by getting sober.
To help those who are struggling with their mental health be more successful at maintaining recovery in the long term, we work to manage their condition and actively treat it as they work the program of recovery. Coping skills, ongoing therapy, and mental and emotional health management are not only beneficial practices, but help make the road of recovery more stable in the long run.
Our Methods Work
The Jaywalker Lodge program is designed around discovering and addressing the issues that make chronic relapse so persistent. We do the same for issues revolving around trauma, mental health, and emotional health. Our goal is to begin the healing process on a holistic scale.
If we work on all the things that cause us to stumble, the road to recovery becomes clearer. Most of us know personally what it is like to be in your shoes – and that is how we know our methods work.
A large percentage of alcoholics and addicts are facing mental health and emotional health issues as well. Thankfully, these issues no longer carry the same stigma they once did, nor are they as mysterious as they were decades ago. Jaywalker Lodge offers many effective therapies, treatments, and practices to help those who suffer from addiction and mental health issues simultaneously. Our staff understands what you are going through. Working together, we can help you achieve long-term sobriety. Call us today at (866) 529-9255.
