How do I deal with depression and addiction?

Depression will make you feel bad, especially when you are battling addiction. When you have an addiction, life feels out of control. This may cause you to feel lonely, sad, and hopeless. It’s normal and okay to feel depressed when you are struggling with an addiction or substance use disorder (SUD). It’s okay to feel how you feel.

Taking care of yourself

There is no cure for depression—it’s like having a common cold—it will run its course, and there are things you can do to relieve the symptoms. For example, it’s important to take the medications your doctor prescribes for you or make lifestyle changes that help your depression. Be completely honest with your doctor. And stop using drugs and alcohol when you are in treatment for depression.

Getting enough rest, eating well, and including physical activity and activities that are easy and that you enjoy in your routine can be helpful. With these strategies, your mood and symptoms may start to improve overall time. It’s not a matter of if you are going to get better, it is just a matter of when. So, stick in there and get treatment. You must take care of yourself to heal.

It’s essential to get into recovery for your depression and SUD. You need to treat both illnesses. Talking to someone in recovery who can help you navigate the process. Find a peer specialist, an addiction medicine physician (addictionologist), and a mental health professional to help you with your symptoms. When you are dealing with two disorders, it’s important to have a team of support.

Shame makes us feel bad about ourselves because we have done things we are not proud of. Shame keeps us in our illness. So, we must get rid of shame by having empathy for ourselves. We are dealing with two separate and complicated illnesses. Depression and SUD! It is not our fault. We did not give ourselves these illnesses on purpose. We must use our strength and resiliency to recover.

Reflecting on your challenges

You must acknowledge you are facing both illnesses—depression and addiction. It’s up to you to decide and accept that you are struggling. Recovery is self-directed care. It’s up to you to determine what type of care you want to pursue.

The first step is to admit you have a problem. Here’s some things you can do to reflect on your challenges and begin to move forward:

• Think about what depression feels like for you. Depression can feel like sadness, loneliness, worthiness, anger, irritation, or endless exhaustion. Think about when you feel this way and how often you feel this way. Does this happen every day or around certain people, places, and things?
• Think about your substance use. How long have you been using? Can you stop or does it have control over you? How is your substance use affecting you mentally and physically—or does it impact your relationships, work life, school life, or finances? This tool— Why am I stuck?—can help you reflect.
•  Reflect on what’s worked and hasn’t worked in the past and find support. If one strategy doesn’t help, then it’s okay to try something new. If you are trying things to get better and nothing works, then you need to get help. Attending AA, NA, or other support meetings, talking to a loved one, peer, sponsor, or mental health provider can help. You can also find support by calling a warmline or online. There are 12-step programs, like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), and support groups like Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance, that meet all over the country almost every hour of the day.  Attend one of these meetings to help you cope.
•  Take a depression test or an addiction test. This can be validating and help you monitor your symptoms or start a conversation with a loved one or mental health professional. If you are looking up this type of information online, then it’s probably the case that you need more help than you are getting for your depression and SUD. It is okay and healthy to reach out and look for support. It takes strength and courage, and you should be proud that you are seeking ways to cope with your illnesses.

Millions of people struggle with SUD and depression. It’s common, and you are not alone. You will meet many wonderful people in recovery that are strong and resilient. Millions of people reach recovery and stay in recovery for their entire lives.

Learning to live with and accept your illnesses is hard. Learning how to heal from depression and committing to healing takes practice. It takes time. Get the help you need and heal. You will find success as long as you keep going. You can do it!