The Canyon

Mental illness has treated like a dirty secret for thousands of years, causing people to be shunned and isolated.  Mental illness fairly common among the human population.  Only in the last several decades has it been getting respect as a treatable condition worthy of medical and professional attention.  Stigma interferes with people stepping forward to get the treatment they need.  The National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI) works to create awareness every year during National Mental Illness Awareness Week. 

Stigma Keeps People From Getting Mental Health and Addiction Treatment

Stigma is a bad image or association made with something or someone.  The stigma surrounding mental illness says “You are worthless and crazy if you admit you have a problem,” or “You aren’t worth helping,” and even, “Don’t tell - no one would believe you anyway.”  The potential embarrassment from others’ reactions is often what keeps people with a mental illness isolated and tight lipped. 

What if they say unkind things to you?  What if they don’t respect or love you anymore?  Could you lose your job because someone thinks you can’t hold your life together?  These may sound like extreme examples, but they’re not.  The stigma surrounding mental illness is so powerful that many people with a mental illness would rather suffer longer than risk rejection or more emotional pain from the negative reactions of others. 

People With Dual Diagnosis Get A Double Whammy of Stigma

As if it’s not difficult enough to deal with a mental illness, imagine the stigma of having an addiction on top of it.  You are doubly cursed, crazy and a drunk, a druggie and nutcase - the list could get worse from here.  Mental illness and addiction are sometimes judged by others as stemming from a permanent character flaw.  People with these kinds of problems are just losers or defective in some way, the dredge of society. 

Of course, it’s much easier to point the finger when it’s directed away from you.  Having a drug addiction and serious depression or anxiety may be too much for some non-affected people to comprehend clearly.  It sounds so horrible and all-engulfing, so they distance themselves from it. 

Mental illness and addiction may illicit negative reactions of pity, disgust, superiority, rejection, name-calling, cruel jokes, fear, mistrust, and many more.  When someone is uninformed (or worse, poorly informed), biased against people with challenges, or not very empathetic, these negative reactions are more likely to occur.

Erode The Stigma of Mental Illness to Help Your Community

Each individual develops their own beliefs on mental illness and drug addiction, including any stigma against them.  That means you have the power to challenge and expand your understanding of mental illness.  As more people understand the truth about mental illness and addiction, the stigma can be lessened.  One day, starting drug rehab or mental illness counseling could become as acceptable as getting treatment for a heart condition or cancer. 

Stay At Home Moms & Drug Addiction

On the outside it may be unthinkable for a mother to abuse drugs or alcohol while caring for her children. The view from the inside, however, can be quite different. Raising children is the biggest, most important commitment you can ever make. Frequently, this task falls on the mother’s shoulders – or rather, her breasts, as breastfeeding is typically the main focus for an infant’s first three to six months of life. The father’s task, then, is to provide for the mother and child until they are both able to fend for themselves.

Quick Switch in Roles Leaves Women Feeling Lonely and Depressed

What may have been a modern, progressive living situation prior to baby’s arrival, reverts (quite literally) overnight into the ancient male/female, provider/nurturer roles. In a culture founded on equal rights and doctrines of non-discrimination, such an immense shift in personal values may leave Mom and Dad wondering where they went wrong.

Added to that sense of secret shame is a newfound, neverending workload of diapers, laundry, and dishes, endless nights without adequate sleep, constant pressure and performance anxiety, all rewarded generously with extra helpings of baby poop, vomit, and breastmilk covering every piece of clothing you own. Weight gain, fluctuations in hormones, enormous eating habits, and total lack of any free time whatsoever leaves Mom completely frazzled and exhausted. And that’s just on day three.

Depression Leads to Drug and Alcohol Abuse as A Way of Coping

Who wouldn’t love a quick reminiscence of “normal life,” a much needed break from waiting on everyone else hand and foot? When you’re bogged down in teething toys and dirty diapers, and you haven’t had a real conversation with another adult in days, it’s tempting to reach for the one thing you know will bring you instant relaxation.

If you already struggle with depression, mental illness, or drug addiction, being off your meds during pregnancy can invoke enough anxiety that you either withdraw or act out in unpredictable ways. Depression, and the general stress of motherhood, increases the likelihood of consuming drugs or alcohol as a way of controlling the chaos of your new life.

Quality Relationships Help Recharge Mom’s Batteries and Fend Off Depression

Questioning your own competence at being a new mother is perfectly reasonable, considering the skills needed to provide constant care to a child are ones that many people don’t have until they’ve been thrust into the limelight. Instinct (knowing you need to do something) is part of it, but experience (knowing what to do) carries much more weight.

Connecting with other moms who are going through the same crazy scenarios as you can provide a genuine sense of relief, not to mention support, encouragement, and valuable tips and tricks for making your everyday life a little easier. Alone time is also a must, so Mom can have the opportunity to indulge in something she enjoys and a chance to connect with her personal needs that otherwise would never be met.

Tell Us: What’s your favorite way to relax and stay connected to the things in life that bring you joy?

Women with a dual diagnosis such as bipolar disorder and drug or alcohol addiction have a greater chance of being involved in the criminal justice system than women without a dual diagnosis.  That’s a lot to swallow - in essence, bipolar and addiction can set women up for a criminal record.  Men with this diagnosis combination have yet a greater risk for criminal activity.  Nonetheless, untreated bipolar and addiction is a nasty combination - a ticking time bomb for disaster.

Reports on Women and Dual Diagnosis in Prison

In a 2005 workshop from a Women’s Mental Health conference in the UK, Marcia Rice reports some startling statistics.  While working in the US, UK, and Europe for 15 years, she found that over 60% of women in prison receive treatment for mental illness.  Also, many women in prison have experienced trauma and abuse in their past.  Interestingly, she also reports that creative therapies such as art therapy, singing, drama, and music were needed to meet women’s mental health needs.

According to another report about a Midwestern US jail from 1999, women make up only 10% of the prison population but have over twice the rate of mental illness as men.  A stunning 75% of women with mental illness also had a co-occurring addiction.

Women generally acquire an addiction through emotional pathways.  This helps to explain the high rate of overlap between mental illness and addictions among women in prison.  Overall, women tend to have more mental health needs than men while in prison, and are not likely to be placed in facilities that can meet these needs.

After Prison for Women With Dual Diagnosis

The concern becomes re-entry into the community.  What happens to the women who’ve been in prison for several years, getting hit-or-miss mental illness and addiction treatment?  When they return to their hometown, how many have really had the kind of dual diagnosis drug rehab that treats the whole person, especially for a woman?

Certainly, many prisons and jails are trying to make the experience more of a rehabilitation than strictly punishment.  And with women-only prisons and detention centers, there are now more opportunities than ever before to focus on the needs of women.  However, studies in women’s addiction are a more recent phenomenon.  Putting this important research information into practice takes time.

Studies in women’s addiction has been a more recent phenomenon.  There are certainly many fine drug rehab facilities all over the United States.  However, the holistic drug treatment approach is still somewhat of a unique option.  It is therapeutic for both men and women alike, but this approach speaks especially well to the needs of women.  The sense of community and connection fostered in a holistic healing environment is of particular importance for women.

Holistic Dual Diagnosis Drug Rehab Helps Women

The Canyon is a holistic dual diagnosis drug rehab well-suited for women.  Finding excellent dual diagnosis treatment can be challenging enough.  When a woman needs residential treatment, she needs to look no further than The Canyon.  Contact The Canyon now to ask questions and begin the journey of holistic addiction recovery.