Woman in a striped shirt meeting with a psychiatrist for a psychiatric evaluation

Co-occurring Disorders

Almost 40 percent of individuals struggling with alcoholism or drug addiction also suffer from mental health disorders. Learn more about co-occurring disorders and how they impact your addiction treatment.

What Are Co-Occuring Disorders?

Substance abuse is often closely intertwined with a variety of mental health disorders. For instance, severe anxiety may cause some individuals to look to alcohol for relief. Others may seek comfort in drugs to escape traumatic experiences. Yet many others may not have had any mental issues when they first experimented with alcohol or drugs but developed mental conditions due to misuse of substances.

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) almost 40% of individuals suffering from alcohol or drug addiction struggle with other mental health disorders as well. Common co-occurring disorders include anxiety, mood, impulse-control, eating, sleep, adjustment, trauma and personality disorders. When co-occurring disorders exist, it can be more difficult for an individual to focus on addiction treatment. Moreover, if an individual has undergone substance abuse treatment but co-occurring mental health issues have not been addressed, sobriety is often jeopardized, and the risk of relapse is greater.

Mountainside’s holistic treatment approach dramatically improves five of the top mental health issues that plague addicted individuals:

Co-occurring Disorders Co-occurring Disorders

  • At Mountainside, clients’ anxiety decreases by 56% after 15 days in treatment and remains well below clinically relevant levels at discharge.
  • Depression decreases by 62% after 15 days in treatment and remains well below clinically relevant levels at discharge.
  • Substance cravings decrease by 52% after 15 days in treatment and remains well below clinically relevant levels at discharge.
  • Insomnia decreases by 43% after 15 days in treatment and remains well below clinically relevant levels at discharge.
  • Inability to focus decreased by 52% after 15 days in treatment and remains well below clinically relevant levels at discharge.

At Mountainside, we pay utmost attention to addressing the key mental health issues that our clients face. By effectively improving multiple dimensions of our clients’ mental health, Mountainside enables clients to better succeed in addiction treatment and long-term recovery.

If you are a loved one suffers from addiction and mental health disorders, call us today. We can help.

 

Data for anxiety, depression, substance craving, insomnia and inability to focus was obtained from clients who entered Mountainside’s residential treatment facility in 2016. Scores for each parameter were obtained from standardized questionnaires administered at specified times. Only clients who scored above the point of clinical concern for individual assessment parameters at admission to the residential facility were included in the analysis. A total of 165 clients were included in the anxiety and depression analysis, 109 clients for substance craving, 125 clients for insomnia and 45 clients for inability to focus.