The holidays can be difficult for people suffering with a mental condition, such as depression or anxiety. These conditions can be debilitating and lead to drug or alcohol use. When you use substances to cope, the symptoms of depression or anxiety can worsen. Drug or alcohol use often coincides with a mental illness. Using substances to self-medicate can be detrimental to mental, emotional, and physical health.
New Year’s Day is the start to a new year and new beginnings. A great way to start the new year is to focus on your mental health and physical well-being. January is mental wellness month and is a good reminder to make healthy lifestyle changes. If you suffer from a mental illness and substance use disorder, now is the time to get help. Treatment is available for a dual diagnosis.
People make resolutions for the new year to start healthy habits, such as better eating patterns, good nutrition, and exercise. Physical activities are proven to increase physical and mental health wellness. Yoga, meditation, or outdoor activities elevate oxygen levels, which increases mood. Taking care of yourself physically is beneficial to mental health and decreases your risk of using drugs or alcohol. This means it reduces the risk for heart attack, liver failure, overdose, and death.
When your body is not fed with good nutrition, it becomes physically and mentally sick. People who live with an alcohol use disorder (AUD) or drug use disorder (DUD) typically suffer from nutrient deficiencies. “These nutrient deficiencies may be complicit in the alcoholic myopathy, osteopenia and osteoporosis, and mood disorders including anxiety and depression, observed in AUD and DUD. Poor nutritional status in AUD and DUD severely impacts their physical and psychological health,” (National Institutes of Health).
Eating healthy reduces sleep problems and strengthens self-esteem, confidence, and productivity. When you take care of your body, you become energized, well rested, and restored. The body can heal quicker with good nutrition.
If you or a loved one is suffering from a mental condition and substance use disorder, do not wait to get help. Both are treatable as a dual diagnosis. Make today the first step to healthy living and a substance-free life.
Cypress Lake Recovery specializes in addiction treatment and is located in a serene, remote, lush-green, oxygen enriched environment. The program encompasses holistic addiction therapy and offers yoga and meditation for the mind, body, and soul. The focus is on physical, mental, and emotional well-being by generating the balance of life-enriching treatment, wellness, and healthy, sober, sustainable relationships. Call us to get started: 409-331-2204
