Mental Health Tips for Addiction

As 2020 closes and the new year begins, you may be looking for ways to improve your overall health and well-being. For many, this can include going to the gym, daily runs, or drinking more water. For others, it can mean a major life change – like getting sober.

Alcohol and drugs (like opioids) cause the deaths of thousands of American lives every year -- and it seems the COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated these problems. If you or a loved one is struggling with a problem like opioid addiction, you may be looking for solutions.

The best chance you have at overcoming addiction is to seek professional help from a rehab facility. In addiction centers, clients learn to improve their overall health and develop strategies to avoid relapse.

One of the biggest problems when it comes to addiction is the impact it has on the user’s mental health. While there are dual diagnosis treatment programs available to patients exhibiting both addiction and mental illness, the best way to avoid addiction-inducing mental health issues is to recognize them when they begin and work to eradicate them.

Recognizing Mental Illness

When it comes to making a change, the first step is always recognizing what you want to change.

Opioid addiction can lead to many changes in an individual’s mental health and can lead to major problems such as clinical depression, anxiety disorders, and more. Not only this, but opioids can also exacerbate mental health issues which were present before substance abuse began – this can lead to increased problems with issues like post-traumatic stress disorder.

You may be reading this wondering how you can identify these mental health disorders in yourself or your loved one. Let’s go over a few of the common signs of depression first.

A person with a depressive disorder will often deal with:

• A persistent feeling of sadness
• Loss of interest in activities they once enjoyed
• Major fluctuations with weight and appetite
• Angry outbursts and general irritability
• Slowed thinking, speaking, or movement

For someone dealing with anxiety, they will often struggle with:

• Persistent worrying about many things – especially out of proportion to their impact
• Indecisiveness
• Inability to relax
• Difficulty with concentration
• Consistent overthinking
• Fatigue
• Nausea

Along with these two common problems. Someone who has experienced trauma in the past, especially during their childhood, are at a much greater risk of dealing with substance abuse, including opioid abuse, down the road.

Improving Mental Health

Now that we better understand these mental disorders and the problems they can lead to, let’s learn what we can do today to curb these problems.

There are many mental health and mindfulness exercises which people can do to improve their outlook. Two of the most common mental health exercises are meditation and yoga.

Meditation

There are numerous forms of meditation you can practice to help improve your mental health. One of the most common is mindfulness breathing. To practice mindfulness breathing, you need to be in a comfortable seated or lying position. From there, direct your full attention toward your inhales and exhales. You’ll want to focus on not only your lungs filling and releasing air, but how your body is changing as well – like the movement of your chest. By doing this, you can gain an increased perception of your body, clear your mind, and work to clear away any physical or mental blockages are occurring.

Exercise and Yoga

Along with more less active exercises for mental health, there are physical exercises you can start doing which will improve both mental health and help with addiction issues. Exercise in general is a great way to improve your physical and mental health, but some exercises, like yoga, are designed to help with mental health specifically. There is evidence showing yoga can be a helpful remedy for people dealing with anxiety and depression. There have even been studies looking at yoga for addiction issues and they have shown it can be an impactful complimentary treatment in addiction recovery and can improve clients’ quality of life.

These are just a couple of the options you have to improve your mental health. Whatever it is you decide to do to work toward self-improvement, it is vital to be consistent with your efforts and goals. When it comes to treating opioid addiction and other addiction problems, it is important you give it your full attention and dedicate your time and life to making this big change.