FAQs

Yes. Some drugs – including synthetic drugs, LSD, crystal meth, prescription stimulants like Adderall, and others – have been shown to trigger extreme mental health issues. Depression, agitation and anxiety, suicidal thoughts, auditory and visual hallucinations, delusions, and more have all been attributed to drug use.

Though acute mental health symptoms under the influence are common, it is often the case that people who stop using the drug and undergo treatment will be able to reverse most, if not all, of the effects. However, in some cases, full recovery is not available. For example, heavy marijuana use in young people with a predisposition for schizophrenia may be more likely to trigger the development of schizophrenia, a disorder that will not improve with cessation of use.

Yes. Genetics play a role in the development of a mental health disorder. First, a person’s genes may make that person more likely to experience mental health symptoms like depression or anxiety or to develop a personality disorder if a parent, sibling, or grandparent also struggled with the disorder. Second, being raised in a family in which one or more members is living with an untreated mental health disorder may cause someone to learn those behaviors and be less likely to recognize the need for treatment later.

It is not easy to broach the subject of mental health with someone who is clearly struggling from the negative effects of an untreated mental health disorder, with or without a co-occurring substance abuse problem. In some cases, one of the symptoms of the disorder may be that the person does not recognize the problems for what they are, but rather views others as the source of the issue. This makes it more difficult to connect the person with treatment and puts many families in a predicament when it comes to helping a loved one heal.

In dire situations – for example, when people are demonstrable threats to their own personal safety or that of others – it may be possible to enforce an involuntary treatment hold. Laws vary by state and procedures must be followed carefully.

In other situations, if there is a hope that the person will see reason and experience clarity in deciding how best to manage the problem of co-occurring disorders and proceed with treatment, then an intervention can be a helpful method to connect a loved one with treatment. Families are encouraged to:

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can occur when someone experiences or witnesses a traumatic experience. The symptoms can be avoidant (e.g., causing the person to want to avoid anything that triggers memories of the event), aggressive, or negative in nature, and intrusive on the person’s ability to function in day-to-day life. Treatment may vary based on the symptoms experienced, however, they often include some combination of medication and psychotherapy.

Psychotherapy:
• Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR): Guided eye movements performed in combination with a retelling of the trauma event can help to diminish its power and decrease the negative symptoms experienced by the client.
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: This style of talk therapy helps clients to recognize the patterns they exhibit in response to different events and situations, and assists them in altering those patterns with shifts in perspective.
• Support groups: Meeting regularly with others to share experiences and tips can be beneficial to all involved.
• Exposure therapy: Being exposed to some aspect of the trauma can help to minimize the power of the event and put control back into the hands of the client.

Medication:
• Anti-anxiety medications: Depending upon the substance of choice, an anti-anxiety medication can help to diminish the level of tension experienced.
• Antidepressants: Managing depression and grief related to the traumatic event can be instrumental in facilitating therapeutic healing.
• Sleep aids: Insomnia and nightmares are often issues for people living with PTSD, and the right sleep aids can make a big difference.

You may have an indication that a mental health disorder is underlying your loved one’s substance abuse disorder if:

If you believe that your loved one is living with a mental health disorder, a complete psychiatric evaluation is needed to identify the problematic symptoms and reach an accurate diagnosis that will inform treatment going forward.

Though medications may play an important role in recovery from a mental health disorder because they aid in the management of symptoms, they are not the only option in mental healthcare. In fact, for many, they play a steadily decreasing role in recovery as they progress and grow through treatment. Each person is different and will be differently impacted by the specific mental health disorder in combination with drug or alcohol abuse and addiction, and thus different therapies and treatments will make sense in different situations.

At one time, it was considered standard to expect a person to first stop using all drugs and alcohol and then to undergo mental health treatment. This is no longer the case. It is accepted across the medical and mental health community that co-occurring disorders are so deeply entwined that it is necessary to treat both issues at the same time.

Though it may be necessary to attend to a client’s physical needs first in terms of providing medical detox assistance as needed, therapeutic treatment, when it commences, must focus not only on the issues that drove addiction but also on the issues created by the mental health disorder.