Mental health and addiction in life do not specify who they do and do not affect.  From the rich to the poor, symptoms of mental health and addiction ripple through people’s lives. In this blog post, we will explore a variety of topics to include: statistics on and the impacts of both mental health symptoms and addiction on people’s lives, the concept of recovery, and how individual therapy can support recovery and healing.
Mental Health Symptoms        Â
Mental health symptoms impact everyone differently. The article by Forbes Health indicates that 21% of U.S. adults experienced some type of mental health disorder in 2020. Furthermore, of that percentage, 5.6% experienced a more severe mental health diagnosis. This article provides further information related to mental health occurrences in the U.S., click here for additional reading content to reference. Sometimes, mental health symptoms onset early in life as a teen or young adult. Other times, symptoms of mental health occur slightly later in life.
Both genetics and environment can impact when and if someone develops mental health symptoms. A number of us live with the genetic makeup to have mental health symptoms. For a large majority of us, these genetics never become active. However, for some, mental health symptoms create challenges with:
- Low self-esteem – thinking of oneself as not good enough
- Low motivation – challenges initiating and completing tasks
- Racing thoughts – thoughts speed through the mind
- Rapidly changing mood – moods shift without warning
- Indecisiveness – difficulty identifying a decision and way to achieve this
- Anger and rage – come out of nowhere
- Interpersonal issues – symptoms interfere with communication and emotional expression
- Anxiety – constant worry impedes daily tasks
- Insomnia and lethargy – challenges with sleeping too much or none at all
- Dissociation – not remembering details of events, body feeling like a foreign territory, or reality not feeling real
- Past and/or current trauma – this can impact a person’s self-view and feelings of safety
Challenges with Addiction
Per the Addiction Center, about 21 million Americans in the U.S. have challenges with addiction. With an even smaller number receiving treatment. Their article can be found here for additional reading on substance and alcohol use information in the U.S.
People who live with addiction face many challenges. These can range from:
- Money and/or spending financial issues – addiction is expensive
- Difficulties with impulse control – needing to satisfy an immediate craving
- Employment challenges – punctuation and productivity can suffer
- Interpersonal issues – communication issues and lies can break relationships
- Incarceration – driving under the influence or being caught with drugs
- Mental health symptoms – people sometimes use substances to self-medicate
- Past and current trauma – substances can numb out past memories and emotions
- Numbing of emotional experiences – it can be easier to numb out than face emotional painÂ
Recovery
As noted above, mental health and addiction do not discriminate. We see this with the late actor, Matthew Perry. He has a documented substance use history and life of recovery. Check out this article referencing Mr. Perry’s recovery process.
Best Therapist Near the Kenosha Tech Center
Finding a therapist with expertise and the skill set to support you can be a challenge. Searching google for ‘find a therapist near me’ is a great way to start the process. Be sure that you utilize the free consultations offered to ensure goodness of fit. At Revitalize Mental Health PLLC we offer in-person and online therapy sessions to address, depression, anxiety, trauma, Post-Trauma Stress Disorder (PTSD), Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD), bipolar, and schizophrenia related symptoms. Click here to submit an online form to begin your healing journey with individual therapy!
