The treatment of mental health plays a vital role in recovery from substance abuse.
Exposing Underlying Trauma
Behind many people’s struggles with substance abuse lies unresolved trauma that is often left untreated. Depression, PTSD, anxiety and other mental disorders frequently coincide with addiction. These disorders complicate the path to recovery. Mental health treatment provides the person a space to address these issues through counseling and other therapies. By exposing the root cause of a person’s addiction, they can begin the path to healing and sobriety.
Coping Strategies
Recovery requires more than just quitting and staying off drugs and alcohol. It requires the right tools for learning how to go through life without using these substances. Mental health treatments give those in recovery the tools needed to deal with stress, anxiety, depression and other issues. By learning these strategies, the person can help prevent their chance of a relapse so they can stay on course with their sobriety.
Restoring Self-Empowerment and Emotional Resilience
In the midst of addiction, many people lose their feeling of self-worth. Doing so makes them feel powerless. Mental health treatment restores the person’s hope for life through personal growth. Counseling, peer support, group therapy and other treatments are used for those in recovery to learn how to build healthy relationships and navigate through life. By reclaiming control over their life, individuals can abstain from the grip of addiction in a healthy manner.
Building a Support Community
Many of those suffering from addiction have isolated themselves from friends and family. So, creating a new community of support is beneficial to help them stay on their path. Mental health treatment facilities offer the creation of support communities through group therapy, peer led groups and other support groups. Through the sharing of experiences, offering of support and celebrating successes together, people in recovery realize they are not on this journey alone. They have people they can lean on for support and provide support when needed. By creating a community of support, the person is reinforcing their commitment to their long-term recovery.
The treatment of mental health plays a vital role in recovery from substance abuse. By addressing the underlying issues like trauma, equipping those in recovery with the tools and coping strategies they need for success and building a community of support, mental health treatment allows those in recovery to live healthy lives. By receiving proper mental health treatment many individuals embrace a future defined by personal growth through sobriety and not their past. FBN
By Roy DuPrez
Roy DuPrez, M.Ed., is the CEO and founder of Back2Basics Outdoor Adventure Recovery in Flagstaff. DuPrez received his B.S. and M.Ed. from Northern Arizona University. Back2Basics helps young men, ages 18 to 35, recover from addiction to drugs and alcohol. Back2Basics is an adventure recovery program, up to six months, for young adult males ages 18-30 with substance abuse issues looking for a positive and meaningful life. In our program, clients are exposed to a weekly combination of both wilderness adventures and residential programming. For more information, visit back2basicsoutdooradventures.com, call 928-814-2220 or email rduprez@b2badventures.com.
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