Mental Wellness Matters: Understanding Mental Health in Recovery

Welcome to this week's episode of Recovery Dialogues and Sober Stories as we explore the importance of mental health, mental wellness in addiction recovery and how creating a positive mental health environment can be crucial to achieving lasting sobriety. Mental health challenges can be both a cause and a consequence of addiction, so addressing them with a comprehensive and integrated approach is essential. In this discussion, we will explore the intersection of substance abuse and mental health learn about the impact of mental health on addiction recovery, and discover strategies to support ourselves and loved ones as they thrive on the other side of addiction. So let's begin and dive in to explore this important and timely topic together. First, I'd like to introduce our guest. Our panel today features three brilliant minds in mental health and addiction. First, we have Allison Konova-Lova, an experienced psychotherapist with a wealth of knowledge and expertise to bring to the table. Next, we have Dr. Gabrielle Jones, a licensed psychologist and founder of Steady Clinical Consultation, Training, and Development Services. With years of experience in counseling and psychology, Dr. Jones is an authority on mental health matters and substance use. Use. Finally, we have Dr. Justin Jaquez, who runs a private practice at the Human Theory Group. Dr. Jaquez is a highly respected mental health professional passionate about helping people live their best lives. We are honored to have these three experts on our panel today. Dr. Jones, can you explain the relationship between addiction and mental health? How are they connected?

That's a great question. Addiction and mental health are really integrated on varying levels. One, the substances that you use can cause you to engage in certain behaviors that are not conducive to a healthy living environment. Additionally, substances can induce existing mental health conditions. For example, if you have depression and you drink alcohol, that has a higher likelihood of increasing your depressive symptoms. So they both go hand in hand, which is why addressing both of them comprehensively and simultaneously is really important.

Dr. Jaques, how might untreated mental health challenges impact addiction recovery?

Yeah, I think it really, if mental health related issues are not treated you're really gonna have a struggle with consistent recovery over time. Even with robust social support, good connections, maybe you're using AA, Rational Recovery, some sort of community that helps you with your drinking or drug use behaviors, or maybe it's a process addiction, right? You have a community. If you're not treating the underlying mental health issue, I think consistency in recovery is gonna be very, very difficult. You're going to continually maybe relapse more often. Um, and it's just going to be harder. There's so many great tools out there like therapy, medication, uh, things are getting better all the time. So in terms of wanting to stay sober, um, regardless of the addiction type, treating that mental health disorder right is going to be super important. As easy as, you know, something like good health and wellness type interventions. Those could be really helpful. Additionally, we haven't talked about the role of trauma. Maybe you've gone through a childhood trauma or an adult trauma and, um, you haven't treated that. That's really going to create some mental health-related concerns that again are going to help or maybe potentiate some sort of a relapse event. Finally, when we think about trauma as well, that often can create character features or character type disorders where, or personality disorders. So going to therapy is really gonna help with that, right? And those character disorders or personality related features often cause mental health concerns, which kind of domino effect into substance use related concerns. So if you're wanting to maintain sobriety long-term, I think it's essential that you're treating your mental health.

Ms. Konovalova, how can mental health disorders be a consequence of a substance use disorder?

Mental health disorders can be a consequence of having a substance abuse disorder because a lot of times when people get caught up in addiction, they lose their support system. Sometimes they lose their job or their home or their spouse or, or significant other, and this can lead to a lot of anxiety or depression. And sometimes people overuse substances and then develop a mood disorder or something else, which can be a consequence of having their addiction.

Can you explain what dual diagnosis means and what could make treatment for co-occurring conditions tricky or uneffectual?

So dual diagnosis simply means that you have a mental health condition and you have a substance use disorder. So I would say the majority of rehab facilities do address both, but not all. So if you're going to a recovery center that, uh, doesn't address underlying mental health, this is really a disservice because the majority of people who enter treatment do have an underlying mental health condition. And without addressing that, the person is very likely to relapse in their addiction because they're not addressing the reason that they are using.

Dr. Hakkaz, can you discuss some common psychological challenges those in recovery may face? As a clinician, what is your approach to these issues? Is there any specific modality you feel works best?

Yeah. So I think what can commonly happen is if somebody has had a comorbid, maybe mental health concern and substance use disorder, and they get sober, right? And they're doing really well. They're going to therapy, maybe they're on medication. But sometimes what I notice is in long-term recovery, sometimes they're sober now, but maybe because of the, the length of time that they were using substances, we think about things like meth, um, some of the big hardcore opiates, right? Their brain and their dopaminergic and serotonergic cycles can be really, um, in a really bad place, right? So getting them to a place where their brain heals enough, where they have enough dopamine and serotonin can be a significant challenge. So one of the ways that I really address this with patients is helping them You know, use a lot of naturopathic type remedies, diet, you know, maybe you go vegan or vegetarian. There's a lot of evidence to suggest that that can really help with energy and mood, right? Maybe it's getting natural sunlight early in the morning. Maybe it's doing hot-cold treatments, right? There's some really good evidence out there now that that can help with increasing your dopamine and serotonin. Light, sleep hygiene. Sleep is so essential for mental health, and then as a result, recovery, right? And also social connection, making sure that those folks, those patients are really connecting with others. Um, other things that you can think about are like acupuncture, um, and, um, you know, uh, community-based sports, other things that can really help bolster serotonin, dopamine, even things like grounding techniques, getting outside, being in nature, right? These, all these little naturopathic ways can gradually help increase dopamine and serotonin and overall mood as somebody's brain is healing, especially if they've been using substances at a really high level for a long period of time.

Dr. Jones, regardless of a person's diagnosis, What self-help strategies work well for people trying to maintain mental wellness during recovery from drug or alcohol addiction?

This is a great question. I think there are several community meetings that are out there and tremendously helpful to provide external support for people who are attempting to maintain recovery. A couple examples are, Refuge Recovery, which is Buddhist-based. You have LifeRing, which is secular. You have AA, Alcoholics Anonymous, and various forms of 12-step programs. You have Celebrate Recovery, which is Christian-based. So all of these— there's also SMART Recovery, which is cognitive behaviorally oriented. So there are all types of community meetings that people can engage in for their recovery. There are also, with technology being so advanced, there are so many apps that are out there for people to use if they're just looking for a community to go hiking with other people who are in recovery, or they want to join a bicycle club where they mountain bike. So there are several different avenues to build community, and I think that's The most important thing is just building community of individuals who are attempting to reach the same goal in life and in their recovery.

How can family and friends support their loved ones whose mental or emotional health may be suffering as they recover? What are signs that something needs further intervention?

It's always important to ask questions, be explicit. When you know you have a family member or friend in recovery, it's also really valuable if you're intentional about where you invite them. So if you are going to lunch, maybe go somewhere that is not a bar and pub or that doesn't highlight alcohol as one of their signature beverages. So you may go to a— it's similarly to if you were to invite a vegan friend out, you wouldn't have them go to Chick-fil-A. You'd invite invite them somewhere else, you'd be considerate of their dietary needs. People in recovery deserve the same consideration. So thinking about that when you invite them out, uh, 988 is a great resource. It's a crisis and suicide hotline. If you notice that a friend or family member is isolating, or they're not communicating as much, or they're not taking care of themselves physically, whether it be showering or going outside like they normally do. Any changes in behavior, you'll want to ask, but also, you know, 988 is a really helpful resource to utilize in those situations. And when people may need a little bit more assistance, it's important to break the stigma by having these conversations. Serving as what I like to call a safe friend, somebody who tells you explicitly, I am here for you. I am safe and not here to take advantage or harm your recovery in any way.

Dr. Hackes, explain the importance of integrated treatment and how we can improve recovery outcomes.

Yeah, I think integrated treatment is so important. And depending on the situation, right, and the severity of the substance use disorder and mental mental health disorder, you might have to have somebody who's the spoke, right? A case manager. Um, maybe it's a family member, but really making sure that you're treating the whole person. You know, maybe the person has a primary care doc because there's a pain issue or a pain medicine doctor. Um, maybe there's a, um, um, a chiropractor, maybe there's an acupuncturist. Maybe there's a rehabilitation person, right? In terms of some sort of body-related issue. But I think taking a holistic approach, a dietitian, an addiction psychiatrist, and as much as possible, I mean, I know time is short, but making sure that everybody on the team is on the same page regarding what's going on and that we're not missing things, right? Often we, you know, somebody in the system may not know whether that's the therapist, the mental health therapist, the psychiatrist, the primary care doc, the pain medicine doc, you know, whatever specialist, if there's been an injury or some sort of like a GI doc, right? Often people with substance use disorders or mental health concerns might have GI issues, back pain issues, right? Making sure that there's a team approach and an integrated approach is going to really help outcomes overall. And I can't cite specific studies. I just know that over and over again that a community-based, group-based approach, making sure you're looking at the whole health of the person is really going to improve overall treatment outcomes.

Lastly, Ms. Carnavalova, what advice do you have for those hesitant to seek professional help?

For those hesitant to seek professional help, I would say it's so, so worth it. You know, if you're miserable and you can't stop using and your level of functioning has significantly gone down to the point where you're about to lose your job or your partner or your home, you know, there are ways to get help. You know, not everybody has to go to a long-term rehab. You can start with therapy. You can start with the free resources that I mentioned, like AA or Refuge Recovery, or, you know, doing therapy and working with a therapist to have some accountability, depending on where your addiction is on the spectrum of how bad it can be. You know, obviously, if, if you're really functioning in a, in a poor way, then you need to go to a rehab. And it's not the end of the world. And there are lots of good people who work in these industries and therapists and doctors who want to help you. And I have seen absolutely tremendous recovery from people from 1 month to 3 months to 6 months who are living lives that they never could have dreamed of living while using. And it's an absolutely incredible thing to see, um, how powerful it can be and how different your life can be. When you are free of addiction. It's a wonderful thing.

Thank you, panel guests, for your expertise, insights, and time. You can find links to the professional websites for each panel guest in the episode description. So as we wrap up this episode, I encourage you all to take your mental health seriously during recovery because mental wellness matters. Thank you to our sponsor, Wish Recovery, a world-class luxury dual diagnosis treatment center in Los Angeles. To learn more about their services, visit their website at www.wishrehab.com. Be sure to join us next time for another episode of Recovery Dialogues and Sober Stories.