Balancing mental health in recovery

Addiction and mental health – the connection

The relationship between mental health and addiction goes both ways. Addiction is disastrous for mental health, and poor mental health exacerbates addiction. Statistics vary on the rate of dual diagnosis – having a diagnosed mental health condition and an addiction simultaneously – but NICE reports a dual diagnosis rate of 20-37% across all mental health settings.

Even for those without a dual diagnosis, addiction recovery is a challenging time for anyone’s mental health – which means taking care of it is crucial both for boosting the odds of recovery and for overall wellbeing.

The role of shame

Many people entering recovery report feeling shame. It plays a prominent role in addiction itself, and many people in addiction use substances to numb deep-seated feelings of shame. These feelings can burst forth in recovery, as the main coping mechanism used to suppress them is now absent.

Self-compassion and therapy can help to work through shame. Because shame arises from the feeling that there’s something wrong with us as a person, rather than there simply being something wrong with past behaviours, fostering compassion for yourself is a powerful way of countering shame. A practical way to address shame is by consistently practising self-care.

Self-care

Self-care is the foundation of a strong recovery. During addiction, many people will neglect many of the most basic elements of self-care: food, sleep, hygiene, and exercise. Prioritising these things is a necessity, giving your body and mind the things they need to recover. They also signify that you’re putting yourself first.

Self-care has many components: physical, emotional, environmental, spiritual, and recreational. You don’t have to rush into doing everything at once – just practising one element of self-care a day is beneficial. By showing up for yourself this way every day, you can build a regular habit of taking care of your own needs.

Meditation and mindfulness

Meditation and mindfulness work – both for tackling addiction and taking care of mental health. Research shows that mindfulness-based interventions can reduce cravings and other addiction symptoms and improve mood and emotional regulation. Despite the evidence, mindfulness and meditation can be a hard sell, and many people need help knowing where to start. This is understandable – there are thousands of ways to meditate or be mindful, and they can be as simple as sitting with your feelings or as complex as working on a whole new spiritual practice.

To begin practising, it’s useful to know mindfulness’s goals. Mindfulness aims to quiet the mind so you can observe your thoughts and emotions rather than becoming overwhelmed or consumed by them. You can offer acceptance and compassion to difficult feelings from this state of curious and calm detachment. During addiction, it’s common to suppress unpleasant emotions rather than feel them, which causes them to remain unprocessed and unresolved and to gain disproportionate power. By sitting with them, observing them and not allowing them to take over, you demonstrate to yourself that these emotions can be understood, accepted and processed.

Choosing a mindfulness practice to start with can be overwhelming – so it’s important to know that if one isn’t working for you, you can just try another one! Some people benefit from attending classes with an instructor, while others may feel self-conscious and choose to practise at home alone. Some people may choose to embrace the spiritual aspects of mindfulness, while others will take a secular approach. Some people will find it useful to use movement as part of their mindfulness and practice yoga or tai chi, while others may find this too distracting. Try a few practices until you find something that clicks, so don’t be afraid to explore different options.

Some of the easiest exercises to start with are ones that focus on everyday activities like breathing, walking or eating. There are also many guided meditations available that can get you started.

Meditations that focus on gratitude or self-compassion can be particularly powerful. Studies have shown that gratitude is such an effective tool in addiction recovery that it has been called ‘recovery capital’ – and self-compassion meditation is extremely beneficial for countering shame and low self-esteem, which are common in recovery.

Exercise

Exercise can be combined with mindfulness practice in the form of yoga, tai chi and qigong, but ultimately, the best form of exercise is one that you enjoy. The link between exercise and improved addiction recovery outcomes has been thoroughly proven, so find one you can stick with that feels like a smooth process. You might benefit from the structure and organisation of team sports, or you might want to make more time to take spontaneous walks in nature or dance alone in your room.

Support systems

Addiction recovery is a difficult journey that no one can undertake for you. But humans are social creatures – and the support others can offer is invaluable. Addiction feeds on isolation, so having a solid support network will help you get through the hard times.

Professional support

Therapists and counsellors can provide a safe space to explore addiction, mental health and how they intersect.

Peer support

Peer support is available in a wide range of settings, including treatment services, recovery-oriented organisations like Alcoholics Anonymous, group therapy, medical settings like hospitals and detox units, homeless settings and the criminal justice system. Wherever you are, when you’re entering recovery, you will be able to find peer support.

Peer support is available in a wide range of settings, including treatment services, recovery-oriented organisations like Alcoholics Anonymous, group therapy, medical settings like hospitals and detox units, homeless settings and the criminal justice system. Wherever you are when you’re entering recovery, you will be able to find peer support.

Family and friends

Including family and friends in your recovery can be beneficial, and forging closer bonds with loved ones who are sober or who are understanding of your sobriety can be a lifeline. Addiction can strain relationships, and family therapy may be a good way to repair and strengthen relationships that have been damaged by addiction.

Dual diagnosis

For people with a dual diagnosis, both conditions must be treated simultaneously. Support from medical and addiction professionals will be critical to ensure you’re getting all the support you need to treat your addiction and mental health condition.

Medication

Medication will depend on the mental health condition you’re diagnosed with, and SSRIs, mood stabilisers, anti-anxiety medication or antipsychotics may be prescribed by your GP.

Psychotherapy

Behavioural therapies like Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT) have been shown to treat co-occurring disorders. CBT teaches you to cope with and challenge thoughts and beliefs that don’t serve you, while DBT focuses on reducing harmful behaviours.

Holistic therapy

Holistic therapy is offered as part of many addiction programmes in addition to more traditional forms of treatment. They are intended to augment medication and psychotherapy, not replace it.

Holistic therapies aim to treat the whole person, including their physical, mental and spiritual well-being. They can include art and music therapy, meditation and spiritual practice, nutritional therapy, yoga and exercise.

Mental health matters

We understand the importance of mental health.

In addition to our inpatient rehab services, we offer a wide range of psychotherapies, holistic treatments and support groups to ensure your mental health is fully supported throughout your recovery journey.

Get in touch today to find out how we can help.