The Internet is the best way to find information, stay in touch with people, track down anything you could possibly want to buy, watch videos and play games. With so much to offer, many people find themselves online at least once a day, but for some, the Internet becomes an obsession. More and more time spent online means less time spent on in-person relationships, work, school, hobbies. All of these areas of life suffer in service of being online. The cravings and compulsion to check email, connect on forums or social networking sites, play games, et cetera, can be overwhelming to some and devastating to the structure of the lives. Though some think classifying excessive internet use as addiction is overstating the matter, many who live with the problem struggle with the same recurring issues as those who live with drug or alcohol addiction.

Internet Addiction and Social Issues

For many, addiction begins as a way to socially lubricate in a social situation. Feeling awkward in public or experiencing anxiety when communicating with others can make even the most innocuous new encounter extremely uncomfortable. Alcohol and drugs are often a way to ease the discomfort and make social interactions more comfortable.

The Internet offers those with social issues a way to meet people without feeling uncomfortable. The anonymity of online interactions makes it easier to maintain relationships, share similar interests and converse in a way that is impossible in person. This feeling of comfort and self empowerment can be addicting and many begin to shirk other responsibilities in order to remain in this “comfort zone.”

How Many Internet Addicts Are There?

Since there is still some discussion on whether or not Internet addiction is a full fledged addiction that requires formal, medical treatment, there are few numbers to clarify the depth and severity of the issue. Some estimate that about 5 percent to 10 percent of those who use the Internet are addicts. A Stanford Medical School study said that about 14 percent of Americans with Internet access find that it’s hard for them to stop going online for more than a few days.

There are extreme cases of Internet addiction, like the South Korean couple whose infant daughter starved to death because they spent up to 12 hours a day playing an online fantasy game. There are more common cases where relationships fail when one partner opts repeatedly to stay online rather than go to bed or interact with the family. Students who skip classes to play games, adults who miss work or go to work after minimal sleep, and kids who ignore household chores and homework in favor of staying online are even more common.

Getting Help for Internet Addiction

There are no plans for the classification of internet addiction in the new edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) put out by the American Psychiatric Association, but if addiction of any kind of destroying your life, the only way to make a clean break is to get treatment. The Canyon can help you learn more about the nature of addiction and determine whether or not you or your loved one require treatment. Call today for more information.

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.

The rate for depression in the United States is 1 in 4 women and 1 in 8 men. It’s no wonder depression is called the “common cold” of the mental health world. By no means is depression a casual ailment like a cold. However, it’s frequency makes it a steadfast problem in our society. Alcohol often enters the picture, which unfortunately creates another set of problems for women. Effective dual diagnosis treatment is often the only answer. Take a minute to learn about important facts about women, alcoholism, and depression.

Problems With Depression and Alcohol

Alcohol is a depressant to the nervous system and the brain because of its dulling effects. The body is already slowed and stressed during depression. Drinking alcohol only worsens this condition, causing you to feel even more miserable than before the person started drinking. It may seem to take away the sharpness of the emotional pain for a while, but it really creates an even bigger problem in the end.

Alcoholism Develops in Women Differently Than in Men

Current research suggests that alcohol problems can more commonly show up later in life for women than for men. The stigma against being alcoholic may prevent many women from seeking treatment, especially after they may have already lived many years with a certain reputation.

Depression and heavy drinking are strongly connected with women, with isolation being a major factor. Depression tends to become established for women before they develop alcoholism. This pattern has big implications for alcohol addiction prevention for women. Treat depression more effectively across the female population, and there may also be a reduction in alcohol addiction.

Women Have a Greater Risk Than Men for Depression In Their Lifetime

Many factors make women more vulnerable to depression than men. These aren’t intended to show sexism or negative stereotyping, simply research-based information that has been collected about women with depression. Reproductive hormones can play a big part in the emotional stability across a woman’s lifespan. As compared to men, women’s brains are “wired” in such as way that emotions take a larger role in their perspective of the world.

Women tend to be more focused on doing for others and neglecting themselves, seeking approval, and covering up inadequacies in order to stay “in control”. Women are also more likely to run problems over and over in their minds, perpetuating circles of negativity. All of these vulnerabilities make it clear how women are at a higher risk for depression over their lifespan than men.

Alcohol Affects Women Differently

Research has shown several ways that alcohol affects women differently than men. Medications such as birth control slow down the process of eliminating alcohol from the body. Also, it is widely known among researchers that it takes smaller amounts of alcohol to affect women in the same way as men.

This means that a woman could do more damage to her body, get more intoxicated, increase her tolerance, and possibly develop an addiction in less time than a man drinking the same amounts. This effect is from larger amounts of fat in women’s bodies, women’s relatively smaller body size, and women having smaller amounts of an important enzyme that breaks down alcohol.

Effective Dual Diagnosis Rehab for Women

Dual diagnosis treatment gives a woman with depression and alcoholism the best chance at recovery. The holistic alcohol rehab approach at The Canyon provides an ideal environment for healing. The experts at the Canyon provide alcohol detox, a high level of specialized dual diagnosis treatment, and sober living options in California.

Imagine feeling on top of the world with a rush of seemingly endless energy, only to crash to the depths of despair and emotional pain a few days later. And now imagine trying to live your life during all this. Is it any wonder so many people with bipolar disorder also develop an addiction? The connection is so strong and the personal stories can be devastating. Tragically, this wildly swinging mood disorder can lead to suicide. You may very well know someone like this – someone who may need complete drug rehab treatment and a new chance at life.

Bipolar Disorder Symptoms

Bipolar disorder has a mix of symptoms, both manic and depressive. Bipolar consists of several emotional “states” that a person goes between.

Depression – symptoms include sad or angry mood, negativity towards themselves and others, sleep problems (too much or too little), change in eating patterns (too much or too little), thoughts of suicide or death, despair, hopelessness, social isolation

Mania – symptoms would be rushed speech, flight of ideas, racing thoughts, decreased need for sleep, excessive energy, heightened sex drive, reckless behaviors such as spending sprees, crime, dare-devil activities, impulsively, heightened aggression, feeling of invincibility, overestimating their abilities and inflated ego

Hypomania – milder form of mania that may not seem to interfere with daily life, but could easily transition into full mania or crash into depression

Mixed mood – moods can change and cycle rapidly, even within one day

What Does Bipolar and Addiction Look Like Together?

Foundation Associates has several compelling stories from people dually diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Sometimes bipolar and addiction is apparent in the teen years, which was the case for one young man who also adopted an addiction lifestyle by that time. Another undiagnosed bipolar addict maxed-out credit cards, did all kinds of reckless behavior, and went missing for days. Yet another bipolar addict experienced years of undiagnosed ADHD and a learning disability along with a cycle of crime and incarceration.

Bipolar Treatment

Bipolar treatment is usually a combination of medication and cognitive behavioral therapy. They have lived a life of extremes – extreme behavior, extreme thoughts, and extreme emotions. Therapy and medication help them to learn about living with moderation and balance. Together, treatment can help correct harmful patterns that have been established while the person has gone untreated.

Mood stabilizing medication is the most common “first line of defense” against bipolar symptoms. Frequently used meds include Lithium, Zyprexa and Serequil. Sometimes anti-convulsants such as Depakote are used if Lithium has not worked. When the main bipolar “state” is depression, Wellbutrin can be carefully used for symptom control. It’s crucial that a person is properly diagnosed as bipolar. If anti-depressants are used to treat the depressive cycle of bipolar, they can spur on manic cycles.

Bipolar and Addiction Have Strong Connection

Bipolar disorder and addiction have an alarmingly strong connection. Here are just a few information tidbits to get you thinking.

• 56% of individual with bipolar disorder have dual diagnosis
• The depression part of the cycle often leads into drug or alcohol relapse
• Manic episodes of bipolar increase a person’s lifetime risk for addiction to 4x’s that of the general population.
• Addiction tends to increase resistence to lithium

The complexities of co-occurring disorders is still not universally understood across the medical and mental health professions. Treating dual diagnoses together is only a recent phenomenon. Can you imagine how many bipolar addicts there must be out there that aren’t well understood and aren’t getting the treatment they desperately need?

Bipolar Dual Diagnosis Treatment at The Canyon

Dual diagnosis treatment at The Canyon is the complete treatment choice for addicts with bipolar disorder. So many people have had just their addiction or the mental disorder treated, leaving many problems untouched. The Canyon takes in the whole picture. Their expert professionals address all the complexities of effective dual diagnosis treatment.

The Depression Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA) has support groups and an informative website to check out. The internet hosts a great variety of resources such as bipolar message boards, bipolar online support groups, and bipolar blogs.

Your Comments

How has Bipolar Disorder affected your life? Do you have a loved one who has gone untreated? Have you yourself been down the painful road of bipolar dual diagnosis? The Canyon is here to help. We truly appreciate and respect your stories of struggle.

Stories about relapsing addicts seem pretty common. Just when you think that person is getting it together, they fall off the path. Maybe this is your story, and you feel unsure how to keep yourself from going back to that life.

The Real Risk of Addiction Relapse

First, it’s very important to realize that relapse happens. It’s an expected part of the recovery process. But each relapse teaches you something about yourself. What have I been getting lax about? Where has my attitude slipped? Have I been in touch with my AA or NA sponsor lately?

When you can glean even one small lesson from your experience, you have one more piece of awareness to help you. The more you pay attention to the patterns of your feelings, thoughts, and other symptoms, the better chance you have of getting back to a sober life. People with addictions and mental disorders have usually spent years ignoring their feelings, thoughts, and symptoms. Opening your awareness to these things happens one step at a time.

Thinking you are immune to relapse could get you into trouble. The Recovery Radio has a comprehensive post about the concept of “personal exceptionalism.” This is basically the idea that the addict is special and the common rules of addiction or relapse don’t apply. Big red flag waving here – doesn’t that say “relapse risk” to you?

Addiction Relapse Risk Factors

If you are a drug addict or alcoholic with a dual diagnosis, there is a long list of possible relapse risk factors. Many of them depend on your past personal experiences, the symptoms of your mental illness, and your current “life situation.”

Here is a general list of some relapse risk factors to be aware of. Keep the symptoms of your mental illness diagnosis in mind as you read through these.

1 – High-risk situations such as hanging out with old “using” friends, keeping alcohol or drugs in your house even when you are trying to stay clean, keeping drug and alcohol paraphernalia at your house, etc. Each of these is an easy shortcut to using again.

2- States of negative emotion – boredom, anger, impatience, irritability, depression, anxiety. Being mad for a few minutes may not send you into relapse, but rehashing old anger at your dad for a few days might. Be especially aware of your mental disorder diagnosis here. It’s more than just a trigger.

3 – Not taking care of your mental illness properly such as skipping therapy or doctor appointments, messing with your meds, not using your coping skills to deal with symptoms, not seeking help if symptoms get worse. There is a pretty good chance some addicts will try “self-medicating” when this happens.

4 – Relationship problems whether they are with friends, your marriage or boyfriend/girlfriend, problems with your children, etc. Sometimes the people you want to rely on can provide more relapse risk than support.

Arming Yourself Against Addiction Relapse

The Canyon offers not only high quality drug detox and treatment, but also help dealing with relapse. Another option is a sober living home in California. No matter what your method, learning about how you are vulnerable to relapse can keep you living a sober life.

Obviously, everyone has unique relapse triggers. Your triggers fit your life, but it may also strike a chord with someone else. What are your personal triggers for relapse? What relapse risk factors seem to be connected with your mental disorder diagnosis? As always, we thank you for sharing your personal comments.

Hiding Behind the Dual Diagnosis Stigma

Mental illness touches more lives than most people realize. And when your talking about dual diagnosis issues, it can be easy to get caught up in the addiction side of it. Chemical dependency is such a complex issue, even without the complication of a mental disorder. Stigma about mental illness still exists. However, there is an honor bestowed upon the month of May to raise awareness about mental illness – May is Mental Health Month. Let’s take a look at some really useful resources on the web and beyond.

Mental Health America has Dual Diagnosis Information

Mental Health America, formerly known as the National Mental Health Association, has a big promotion on their website for Mental Health Month. This year’s theme is connectedness and social support. The front page highlights many interesting resources. You can take a few polls, learn about anxiety and depression, or take note of their crisis number for phone assistance.

Even if your mental disorder diagnosis something other than depression or anxiety, there are many materials linked to stress and wellness topics. Mental Health America also offers a fact sheet for dual diagnosis including some quality information sources at the bottom. If you are a parent with a dual diagnosis, your child may be at a higher risk for developing disorders as well. It’s worth your time to peruse around the site. There’s enough info to be helpful, but not so much that it’s overwhelming.

The Canyon and Foundation Associates Dual Diagnosis Resources

The main websites for The Canyon and Foundation Associates also offer a wealth of mental health information. They are both world reknown centers of expertise in the area of dual diagnosis treatment. The Canyon has a comprehensive review of dual diagnosis to explain how mental disorders and addiction mix together. More focused on mental health, Foundation Associates has created three expanded resource pages describing three different types of mental disorders: mood disorders, anxiety disorders, and psychotic disorders.

NAMI Fights Mental Illness Stigma

NAMI is the National Alliance on Mental Illness, a national organization that fights the stigma of mental illness. They also have affiliates and local support groups across the United States. Their website has a ton of great reliable information to look through including a mental illness fact sheet and an extensive page on dual diagnosis treatment. NAMI’s recommendations closely mirror the client-based integrated treatment provided at The Canyon. NAMI’s website also have links for public policies, medication, and practically anything else having to do with mental illness.

NAMI also has a year round fundraising campaign called NAMIWalks. These are sponsored by local NAMI groups to raise awareness in their community and raising money to support their group activities. While it doesn’t seem to be officially linked with May as Mental Health Month, clicking on the View Upcoming Walks link will show many of these walks being held in May.

Mental Illness Stigma is Still Out There

The unfortunate truth is that the stigma is still out there. It is ugly, it imprisons people in their condition, and it is challenging to fight. But there are many passionate knowledgable organizations all over the United States and the world out there fighting the good fight for mental illness.

As a professional, I understand the desire for privacy around these issues. Living with a person that has untreated mental illness can be confusing and painful. As someone who’s also experienced depression, I know how the mind gets warped during mental illness. It magnifies anything resembling a stigma or rejection, even if your loved ones would truly bend over backwards for you no matter what the problem.

What’s been your experience with mental illness stigma? Have you felt like you held back on getting help because you were worried how others would react? Did you fear you’d be ridiculed or not believed? Also, who in your life ignored any stigma and just helped you without hesitation?

Photo credit Eggybird at Flickr

It’s been said that depression is the “common cold” of the mental health world. About 5 percent of the U.S. population is experiencing a major episode of depression at any given moment. For people addicted to drugs, the likelihood for developing depression increases significantly. Depression affects your thoughts, your feelings, and your body. Take a look at how addiction can become intertwined with depression.

Lack of Energy

When you’re depressed, you just don’t feel much like doing anything. There’s very little get-up-and-go to your day. Drinking or taking drugs may cause problems with your appetite, too. You miss out on good nutrition that would give you healthy energy throughout the day. Also, you might be using a drug that perks you up or slows you down even more. All of this really messes with your ability to have lasting energy.

Sleep Problems

Depression can turn your sleep cycle upside-down. You feel like sleeping all day, or you have trouble with insomnia. Anyone who’s gotten off-track with their sleep for more than a day or two can recall how messed up they felt. Some of your “self-medicating” activities might be intended to help you settle down or stay awake.

Negative Thoughts and Negative Mood

Depression churns up negative thoughts like “This is pointless,” “It’ll never get better,” “It’s hopeless,” and “I’m worthless.” This goes hand-in-hand with a negative mood. This mood could look like sadness, irritability and impatience, or full-fledged anger. All of this tends to be worse when you add drinking or drug use. Using decreases your inhibitions and judgment. In other words, you’re a lot more likely to let your angry mood get you into fist fight after you’ve gotten drunk or high.

Thoughts of Self Harm

People with depression sometimes think about hurting themselves, either to escape or to really end the pain of living. Drinking or drug use can knock your judgment out of whack. When you have scary thoughts about hurting yourself, you walk a really dangerous line. You might get high just to shut the awful thoughts out of your head. Or worse, you could actually attempt to hurt yourself when you’re drunk because your emotions are in charge. People with addictions are more likely to attempt suicide than people with only depression.

Social Isolation

When someone is depressed, they often believe that they are crazy, and no one would understand them. They are embarrassed by how confused and awful they feel, so they tend to withdraw. Also, their negative mood and lack of energy can cause friends and family to pull away from them. This can be a discouraging cycle just when they need social support the most. You might drink or use to cover up the pain of feeling alone, which can make this cycle even more painful and isolating.

All this talk about symptoms isn’t meant to be disheartening. Depression is a very treatable condition. Social support, good counseling, sometimes medication, and skill building are effective tools for treating depression. The professionals at the Canyon really know what they’re doing when it comes to treating two serious problems like this at one time.

There are more symptoms of depression than the ones listed here, so tell us your experience. Sometimes it helps to let someone know what you’re going through.

Have you been through a period of depression in your life? The examples listed above may or may not match your experience – so how have your depression symptoms been connected with your addiction?