Substance Abuse and Mental Health in Wyoming

The state of Wyoming has been struggling with increasing rates of substance abuse and addiction. Although the problems linked to alcohol and drug abuse might appear to be quite significant on their own, it is unfortunate that many of the residents of this state who abuse these substances also struggle with mental health issues. When this happens, it is known as a dual diagnosis.

In case you receive a dual diagnosis, it means that you are addicted to drugs or alcohol while also struggling with a co-occurring behavioral or mental health disorder. In this situation, you would require highly integrated dual diagnosis treatment and rehabilitation services to be able to overcome all of these disorders.

Co-Occurring Substance Abuse and Mental Health Disorders

Addiction and depression are among the most common health problems being reported in the state of Wyoming. However, addiction and substance abuse often goes hand in hand with mental health disorder. For this reason, it is essential that both of these disorders are treated simultaneously to ensure positive outcomes in the long term.

In Wyoming - as in the rest of the United States - mental illness is a common health problem. However, many people in this state are not aware that they have such a condition or that they need professional help to be able to manage it.

Depression, in particular, is quite common among the residents of the state. For instance, more than 7 percent of the entire population was reported to be struggling with depression in 2016. Another 18 percent of the state's population were either dealing with this mental health disorder or had been diagnosed with it at one point or the other in their lives.

It was also reported that about 12 percent of all the women in the state had struggled with postpartum depression after the birth of their children. These women reported that they were struggling with hopelessness, depression, and feelings of disinterest in engaging in the activities that they used to enjoy before they delivered their children.

During the same period, over 47 percent of the residents of Wyoming who were over the age of 65 years or enrolled in a nursing home were living with a mental health illness, such as a mood disorder, Alzheimer's disease, or dementia.

However, depression is not the only mental illness that occurs alongside substance abuse and addiction in Wyoming. For instance, anxiety affects many people who are dealing with addiction to drugs and alcohol in this state. Unfortunately, most of these people do not receive the proper diagnosis that they need to be able to seek full treatment for all the conditions that they are struggling with.

According to the CDC - the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - over 10 percent of the residents of this state were diagnosed with anxiety or were living with this mental health disorder. Other conditions like severe psychological distress also seem to be prevalent in the state - affecting about 3 percent of all the residents.

The unfortunate news is that most of the people living with a mental illness in Wyoming also struggle with substance abuse and addiction. When these two conditions occur at the same time, the situation is referred to as a dual diagnosis. This means that if you get a dual diagnosis, you would be struggling with both an addiction involving drugs or alcohol as well as a co-occurring mental health disorder.

This situation can come about as a result of your mental illness causing you adverse symptoms and effects. While trying to self-medicate these effects, you might turn to alcohol and drugs - among other intoxicating substances.

This could provide you with some relief - at least in the short term. However, in the long term, you will soon find that you have developed other symptoms of mental illness over and above the ones that you were originally struggling with. You may also become tolerant, dependent, and addicted to the substances that you were abusing.

NAMI - the National Alliance on Mental Illness - reports that having a mental health disorder in Wyoming could increase your risk of abusing drugs and alcohol. this is because of your attempts to self-medicate.

On the other hand, you might not be displaying any symptoms of mental illness and get involved with these intoxicating substances. Over time, you could develop some psychologically distressing symptoms which could be similar to those arising from another mental illness.

This is because these substances often change the chemical composition, structure, and functioning of the brain. As a result of long term abuse of drugs and alcohol, you may end up destroying your brain. This could lead to the development of a mental illness or at least the symptoms of such an illness. When this happens, you could be said to be living with a dual diagnosis of addiction as well as a co-occurring mental health disorder.

Common Mental Health Problems Associated with Drug Abuse in Wyoming

There are several mental health disorders that tend to be common among people struggling with substance abuse and addiction in Wyoming. Examples of these disorders include but are not limited to post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and many others.

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According to research studies, however, the most common among these disorders reported by individuals living with a dual diagnosis in Wyoming include agoraphobia, anxiety disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, eating disorders, generalized anxiety disorder, major depression, mood disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, panic disorder, persistent depressive disorder, personality disorders, phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder, psychotic disorders, schizophrenia, and social anxiety disorder.

While struggling with these disorders, it is recommended that you seek help from an integrated dual diagnosis treatment and rehabilitation facility. Luckily, there are many such centers in and around the state of Wyoming and they can help you get started on the road to recovery.

According to medical studies, there is a relationship between addiction and mental health disorder. If you are living with a mental illness like bipolar disorder or depression, you might have a high likelihood of abusing drugs and alcohol as a way to self-medicate.

Over time, your drug and alcohol abuse will lead to the development of tolerance, dependence, and addiction. This condition can be difficult for you to overcome on your own.

The task of recovery would be particularly overwhelming if you are also struggling with a co-occurring mental illness or displaying the signs and symptoms of a mental health disorder.

Even so, most of the mental health issues that are reported in this state - including but not limited to substance abuse, anxiety, and depression - often start during the teenage years before peaking later on in adulthood.

Unfortunately, most of the people living with a dual diagnosis did not receive help. For instance, in 2010, only about 30 percent of the young adults in this state with a mental health disorder were getting the treatment services that they required to overcome and manage these illnesses. this was according to a report published by the NSDUH - the National Survey on Drug Use and Health - that year.

Types of Treatment

The treatment of mental health disorders is different from that provided for the management of substance use disorders. As a result, if you have received a dual diagnosis for both of these disorders, it is recommended that you seek highly integrated dual diagnosis treatment and rehabilitation services in Wyoming.

In most cases, these services will be provided on a continuum of care to ensure that you achieve recovery in the long term. You will often start out by spending time in an inpatient dual diagnosis recovery center where you will be required to live at the facility until you achieve full stability from the symptoms of both your addiction as well as the co-occurring mental health disorder.

Inpatient treatment will ensure that you receive round the clock medical supervision, management, and care services. this is because you will be staying at the treatment center full time - including days and nights - for a duration of time between 30 and 90 days, or even longer.

Once you have been stabilized and are already on the road to recovery, you might be asked to move into an outpatient dual diagnosis treatment center. This way, you will still be able to continue working on overcome your co-occurring disorders while also keeping up with your daily responsibilities at work, school, and home.

In an outpatient recovery facility, you only need to check at the center for a few hours every day or every few days in a week. During this time, you will work on continuing to deal with the mental health and substance abuse challenges that you were struggling with before you enrolled at the center.

While enrolled in an integrated dual diagnosis treatment center, you will receive the services and programs that you need to address all the issues related to your addiction and co-occurring mental health challenges. There are many such centers in Wyoming and they can help you get started on the road to long term health, recovery, and wellness in spite of the duration or severity of the co-occurring disorders that you were diagnosed with.

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