Substance Abuse and Mental Health in Rhode Island

In Rhode Island, as in the rest of the United States, many people struggle with high rates of substance abuse. If you are one of these people, it is important to keep in mind that drug and alcohol abuse and addition is not just physical.

Once you have developed a dependence on these substances, there will almost always be a mental or psychological component of your ongoing drug and alcohol abuse. Although a detoxification process can help you remove these substances from your system and overcome your physical dependence, it will not be enough to ensure that you do not relapse.

To achieve long term recovery, the treatment process must also manage all the psychological effects of your substance abuse and addiction. It should also treat any underlying behavioral and mental health disorders that might have been causing you to turn to these addictive substances.

Through an integrated dual diagnosis treatment program in Rhode Island, you can ensure that you receive the recovery services that you need to overcome both your substance abuse and addiction as well as any other co-occurring mental health disorders that you might also have been diagnosed with.

Co-Occurring Substance Abuse and Mental Health Disorders

Rhode Island has many people struggling with substance abuse and addiction while also living with an underlying mental health disorder or psychiatric illness - such as post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, and depression. When this happens, it is commonly known as a dual diagnosis. It means that you would be struggling with drug and alcohol abuse as well as a co-occurring mental health disorder.

Some of the mental disorders that can occur at the same time as addiction to these addictive substances include but are not limited to anxiety, bipolar disorder, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and schizophrenia.

But how do these co-occurring disorders happen? Essentially, if you are struggling with a mental illness, you might use drugs and drink alcohol excessively for most of the same reasons that you would even if you did not have a mental illness. For instance, it could be because you are antisocial, you are feeling sad, or you are struggling in your day to day life. However, the fact that you are living with a psychiatric disorder means that you might be more sensitive than someone who is not to the effects and symptoms of drug and alcohol abuse.

Research studies have also reported that about 50 percent of all the people struggling with severe mental health disorders also have additional problems linked to substance abuse and addiction.

This is because these disorders could increase the speed at which you become tolerant to these substances and eventually develop dependence on their effects. While struggling with the painful symptoms of your mental illness, you might try to calm yourself by taking drugs and drinking alcohol.

This form of self-medication might work in the short term and manage your mental health disorder. However, it will end up causing more problems that you had to begin with - especially in the long term.

For this reason, it is recommended that you seek integrated dual diagnosis treatment to manage both your substance abuse and addiction as well as the co-occurring mental health disorder. Only through such integrated treatment that focuses on both of these conditions can you achieve long term health, wellness, and recovery.

Common Mental Health Problems Associated with Drug Abuse in Rhode Island

A report released by CBS News showed that Rhode Island has one of the highest rates of depression in the United States. however, depressive disorders are not the only mental illnesses that cause the residents of this state to abuse alcohol and drugs.

For instance, 4.7 percent of the entire population of Rhode Island has also been reported to be struggling with severe psychological distress. Another 13.9 percent has been reported to be living with depressive symptoms or postpartum depression. At the same time, the rates of depression in the state have been estimated to be at about 8.6 percent.

16 percent of adults in Rhode Island also receive a diagnosis for depression at least once in their lives. However, the diagnosis of this mental health disorder is at twice the same rates for women than it is for men. The rates are also higher among Caucasians - at a rate of 17 percent - than any other racial group. African Americans are diagnosed with depression at rates of 12.3 percent while Hispanics receive a similar diagnosis at rates of 12.8 percent. That said, adults in the state who are above the age of 26 years have the highest prevalence of mental health illnesses.

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According to the National Survey of Children's Health, 5.9 percent of all the mothers who were surveyed reported that they were struggling with postpartum depression. 5 percent of fathers with children between the ages of 0 and 5 years were also living with another mental health disorder.

The same report showed that 61 percent of the people who were surveyed had struggled with adverse experiences in their childhood. These experiences included but were not limited to living with people with a drug or mental health disorder, parents in jail, the death of a parent, divorce, and socio-economic difficulties.

Unfortunately, research studies have shown that these negative childhood experiences often end up showing in adulthood. This means that if you go through these experiences, there is a high risk that you could experience social problems, disability, and disease later on in your life.

For instance, young adults in this state between the ages of 18 and 24 years had a higher likelihood of struggling with severe psychological distress in comparison to those living in other states within New England.

The same study reported that adults between the ages of 25 and 64 had a higher likelihood of struggling with substance abuse and addiction than those living in other states within New England. About 50 percent of all these cases started at the age of 14 years while 75 percent of them started by the age of 24 years.

But which are the most common mental health disorders affecting the residents of Rhode Island who struggle with substance abuse and addiction? 19 percent of adults in the state between the ages of 18 and 24 were reported to be struggling with a severe mental health disorder.

Of this population, 9.7 percent had dealt with at least one depressive episode in the year before the survey. Another 6 percent were also abusing drugs and/or drinking alcohol at the same time.

It has also been reported that Rhode Island had one of the highest prevalence of injurious attempted suicide and suicidal ideation in the entire northeastern region of the United States.

In this region, Rhode Island also had a prevalence of 20 percent in terms of any mental health disorder. This was according to a report that was released by the NSDUH - the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

Types of Treatment

If you are living in Rhode Island with a dual diagnosis, it means that you have been struggling with both substances abuse and addiction as well as a co-occurring mental health or behavioral health disorder. In such a situation, it is recommended that you seek integrated dual diagnosis treatment and rehabilitation programs to help you get started on the road to recovery.

Through integrated treatment, you will work with professionals who will coordinate your mental health and substance abuse interventions to ensure that they treat you as a whole person in the context of a primary service setting or treatment relationship.

This type of treatment will also ensure that you manage all of these conditions concurrently to ensure that they do not continue affecting or aggravating each other in the long term. Further, you will learn how to develop the skills, support, knowledge, and hope that you need to overcome these disorders and get started on the road to health, wellness, and recovery.

Following your comprehensive assessment and evaluation, the integrated dual diagnosis treatment center in Rhode Island will offer you medically supervised detoxification services. the goal of detox would be to help you overcome your physical dependence on drugs and alcohol as well as manage any substances cravings and withdrawal symptoms that arise during the first few days or weeks of your recovery.

Once you have completed the detoxification process, the treatment facility will provide therapy and counseling services to manage your psychological dependence on drugs as well as ensure that you are able to overcome any underlying mental health disorders that you might also have been struggling with over and above your substance abuse and addiction.

Some of the programs that will be provided at this stage include evidence based and alternative treatment options. Evidence-based recovery options include such services as individual therapy, group therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, family therapy, motivational interviewing, medication management, and 12 step support group meeting participation, and aftercare planning.

Alternative treatment, also known as complementary therapy, involves the use of rehabilitation options that are designed to treat you in mind, soul, and body. These options include but are not limited to yoga, meditation, massage therapy, Ayurvedic medicine, acupuncture, animal assisted therapy, traditional Chinese medicine, art therapy, music therapy, and exercise and nutritional training.

Through all these recovery options, it might be possible for you to overcome your dual diagnosis of substance abuse and a co-occurring mental health disorder in the context of your integrated dual diagnosis treatment program in Rhode Island.

Learning what treatment is best for you or your loved one is easy. Speak to one of our trained counselors and let them guide you to the best treatment options available for your specific needs.

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