Sometimes a mental health issue can sneak up on you. Unlike some physical health issues—a rash, a broken bone, a cough, and so on—mental health issues are not always easy to spot.
But keeping an eye on your mental health is extremely important. That is true for everyone, of course, but it can have increased urgency for a person who is in recovery from a substance use disorder. That is because substance use and mental health disorders are often tangled up with one another. Because of that potential entanglement, declines in your mental well-being can put your hard-won recovery at risk. (We should note that the opposite is true, too: Substance use can put your mental health at risk.)
In this post, we want to consider a few mental health disorders so that you are better able to identify them if they seem to be arising in your life. It is essential to note that if you believe you are struggling with a mental health disorder of any kind, it is essential that you get help right away. A mental health issue can upend your life in many ways—including by interrupting your ongoing recovery efforts—so getting treatment should be a top priority.
There are Many Kinds of Depression
“Depression” is a kind of catch-all word for a number of related disorders. While you might hear someone use depression as a synonym for sad—as in, “I feel so depressed today”—the fact is that depression is a brain disorder rather than a specific emotion like sadness.
You can learn more about the various kinds of depression at this link. For our purposes here, we are going to consider the symptoms of what is known as “major depression,” because they give a good sense of some of the common ways the different kinds of depression might show up in your life.
Symptoms of major depression can include:
- Ongoing feelings of sadness—even when you are not sad about something in particular
- Loss of interest in activities that you have generally always enjoyed
- Weight gain or loss, as well as increases or decreases in the amount you eat
- Sleepiness, restlessness, agitation, sluggishness, or an inability to fall asleep
- Feelings of worthlessness or guilt
- Difficulty making decisions or concentrating
- Thoughts of suicide
As you probably noted, some of the symptoms of depression seem contradictory. You might lose or gain weight. You might be overly sleepy or unable to fall asleep. These apparent contradictions highlight why it is so important to talk with a doctor about your mental health and what symptoms you have noticed in your day-to-day life.
Anxiety Is More Than Simple Worry
Just as depression is not a synonym for sadness, anxiety is not a synonym for worry. Anxiety is a brain disorder that leads to ongoing feelings of worry that persist even when there is nothing in particular to be worried about. For some people, an anxiety disorder can also add extra oomph to feelings of worry, making a person react to a situation in ways that are out of proportion to a given situation. And in some cases, an anxiety disorder can lead to feelings of anger rather than worry.
The symptoms of a panic disorder might be thought of as a rapid-onset moment of intense anxiety. All of a sudden, even without an obvious cause, a person with a panic disorder may feel extremely anxious and unable to calm down.
Our advice here is the same as the advice we gave about depression: Talk with your doctor if you suspect you are struggling with an anxiety or panic disorder.
When Past Trauma Causes Present Problems
Traumatic experiences in your past can lead to mental health challenges in the present. We sometimes think of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder as an issue that impacts many who have faced difficult moments in the military, but PTSD can also arise for people who have been abused, who have been in a serious accident, and more.
Symptoms of a trauma-based disorder can include intense flashbacks that seem to take you back to a moment you experienced in the past and high levels of anxiety. As with the disorders we have considered above, seeing a doctor is the best way to address a disorder grounded in trauma.
Do Not Turn Back to Substances to ‘Treat’ a Mental Health Issue
Some people who experience mental health disorders turn to drugs or alcohol as a way to “self-medicate” and lessen the symptoms of the disorder. That, of course, is a terrible idea.
While it is certainly true that medication (often in combination with talk therapy) can be effective in treating mental health disorders, that medication should be managed by a doctor and taken exactly as prescribed. Turning to illicit substances undoes your recovery while doing nothing to improve your mental health.
We Are Here to Help
At French Creek Recovery Center, located in Meadville, Pennsylvania, we help those struggling with a substance use disorder (and co-occurring mental health disorders) take back control of their lives. We are committed to an approach that is evidence-based and personalized to ensure you receive care that addresses your specific needs. When you are ready to make a change for the better, we are ready to help.