Cornerstone

Depression and Addiction Rehab

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Depressive Disorders and Addiction

Depression manifests itself in different forms and disorders. The main symptoms of depression remain consistent for all types. Still, the difference in intensity, duration, cause, and diagnosis makes it a little easier for professionals to choose the most suitable treatment.

Here are some of the depressive disorders we have experience treating with addiction:

Major Depressive Disorder

The most common form of depression is Major Depressive Disorder. Whenever we use the term depression, this is the disorder that we are referring to. The manifestations of this disorder are the standard or typical symptoms that we always hear about.
Low mood, fluctuating weight, irritability, confusion, loss of interest, and suicidal ideation are commonly observed. Perhaps the most common symptom is persistent sadness and an inability to function normally.

Substance/Medication Induced Depressive Disorder

The commonality of the co-occurrence of depression and substance abuse causes the individual to suffer from a substance-induced depressive disorder. Individuals with a proven history of substance abuse are bound to feel depressed over the long term or if they decide to stop using altogether.

Atypical Depression

This form of depression is atypical because of the unusual symptoms. While the symptoms and disorder remain the same, the individual does not consistently feel sad, is perked up in case of happy situations, and is generally not facing difficulty in their daily functioning.
Atypical depression treatment is easily achievable through medication and mild therapies.

How Cornerstone treats depression & Addiction

We use a multi-dimensional approach to treating depression and addiction. The approach we believe in includes mind, body, and spirit.  Using a combination of therapies and treatments, we seek to help people in a way that fits them individually. 

Our treatments include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, individual therapy, group therapy, and more. 

Our Scottsdale facility helps those struggling with depression and addiction heal from past hurts, understand themselves better, and provide hope for the future. 

Programs offered at Cornerstone

At Cornerstone Healing Center, a Scottsdale drug and alcohol rehab that treats co-occurring disorders including depression and addiction. 

With over 6 levels of care, we ensure that we provide care that meets our clients needs fully. 

Our programs help you: 

  • Rediscover the joy in life 
  • Leave behind destructive habits and ways of thinking
  • Achieve long-term recovery from addiction 
  • Heal relationships that have been hurt by the addiction
  • Have a deeper connection with those you love 
  • Learn who you are and what your purpose is 
  • Learn to give back to the world in your unique way 
Healing the Whole Person

Our Treatments and Therapies

Help is available at Cornerstone

Getting help for depression and drug use is a brave step, and it can be pretty overwhelming. Finding a treatment center specializing in depression and addiction must ensure you receive the best services and aid possible.

Cornerstone Healing Center is a Scottsdale rehabilitation center that helps individuals suffering from substance abuse disorders overcome their weaknesses. We are a co-occurring disorder treatment center that provides help to individuals that are dealing with mental illness along with substance dependency.

When it comes to providing help for depression and drug use, our first course of action is to develop an integrated treatment plan. These plans are ideal for individuals with comorbid disorders since it helps professionals develop treatment strategies that target the root cause of the problem and eradicate the issues from the root.

Integrated treatments include a mixture of medication and therapies, allowing the doctors to observe the cause of symptoms, understand what is boosting its occurrence, and help them reach a sound solution to improve the individual’s situation.

This treatment plan has been proven to grab the patient’s interest and make staying involved easier. The comprehensive treatment method ensures that the individual understands the phases they are going through and why it is crucial to overcome their mental health situation.

So whether it is depression causing substance abuse or vice versa, Cornerstone will provide respective medications, therapies, and environments to help individuals overcome these challenges.

Our highly professional team and competent doctors ensure that each individual is treated according to the severity of their case and that any possible chance of relapse is prevented.

With Cornerstone, you learn how to take charge of your life and disorders and overcome them with hard work and dedication. 

Meet Our Arizona Clinical Team

lionel estrada LISAC headshot clinical director scottsdale

Lionel Estrada, LISAC

Clinical Director of Scottsdale Program

Lionel is a Licensed Independent Substance Abuse Counselor (LISAC) with over 4 years at Cornerstone. Passionate about helping those with addiction and mental health struggles, and he has trained as an EMDR therapist, adopting a trauma-informed approach to find and treat underlying root causes with empathy. 

nate bush lmsw headshot clinical lead scottsdale

Nate Bush, LCSW

Clinical Director of Phoenix Program

Nate began his recovery journey in 2010 and earned a Master’s in Social Work from ASU. He’s been in the Behavioral Health field since 2013. Specializing in CBT, DBT, and grief, Nate is now the Clinical Director of our Phoenix program, underlined by his passion for helping others who struggled with substance abuse issues as he did. 

FAQs About Depression and Addiction

Get answers to the most commonly asked questions about depression and addiction plus treatment.

How many people suffer from depression and addiction?

Twenty-one million US adults, 8.4% of the US population, have suffered from a major depressive disorder. Like many other mental disorders, the comorbidity of depression and substance abuse disorder is quite common.
Research exploring the co-occurrence of depression and substance abuse disorder discovered that 93% of substance abusers suffered from mild, moderate, or severe depression.
In this article, we explore what depression is, how depression and substance abuse is correlated, and why treatment is necessary.

How is a depressive disorder defined?

Depression is usually described as:

“Persistent sadness and a lack of interest or pleasure in previously rewarding or enjoyable activities.”

Depression, also known as Major Depressive Disorder, has a lot of stereotypes and misconceptions built around it. Many people perceive persistent sadness as a result of a traumatic event or a loss when the disorder can occur without reason.

While these are plausible reasons for an individual to suffer from depression, the disorder’s development can also result from a chemical imbalance or a genetic disposition.

DSM-5 explains depression with the following symptoms;

  • Depressed mood.
  • Lack of interest.
  • Weight fluctuations.
  • Insomnia or hypersomnia.
  • Psychomotor agitation.
  • Loss of energy.
  • Unexplainable feelings of guilt or worthlessness.
  • Lack of concentration or indecisiveness.
  • Suicidal ideation.

The consistent occurrence of these symptoms for more than two weeks leads to the diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder.
The disorder can occur at any time, at any age. However, DSM explains that the prevalence of this disorder is most common between the ages of 18-29. It also targets women more than men, especially regarding the development of the condition in adolescence.
However, despite a higher occurrence of the disorder in women, men have a higher rate of committing suicide if they are suffering from depression. In the US, 3.5% of all deaths result from suicide, with men having a four times higher risk.

How does addiction and depression affect a person?

Experiencing a high and low in your emotions is quite common. However, the persistent occurrence of these fluctuating emotions hinders your life. The constant sadness makes it difficult for the individual to function normally, show responsibility, care about their life in general, or even put in the effort to get out of bed.

Happiness seems like a faraway concept, an unattainable goal that leads them towards synthetic joy and temporary relief from their thoughts, mind, and sadness.

The use of substances allows the individual to feel relief from their low moods and temporarily removes the many symptoms of the disorder they are experiencing. However, the same drug is also causing the increased intensity of their depression.

Once an individual gets into a habit of using substances to feel happy, they quickly become dependent on them to function normally. Think of it this way; if you get a medicine that calms nausea, you will take it whenever you feel nauseous.

While the drugs are bringing about sudden and temporary relief, the persistent sadness of their disorder is urging the individual to increase their doses and take them more often.

On the contrary, substance abuse causes depression as well since the drugs imbalance the chemicals of the brain.

What causes depressive disorders?

Depression treatment is usually chosen after understanding the root cause of the issue. A professional will always try to know where the development of the disorder begins rather than focusing on surface-level treatment.

Some causes of depression are;

Temperamental 

The brought-up of a child or the behaviors they observe can also lead to the development of mental illnesses in individuals. They might start suffering from temper issues such as neuroticism, anger bursts, or even just the habit of always being in control can cause depression when the child finds out that the world is not as patient and does not pamper like parents.

Environmental

Individuals who have suffered from traumatic events such as childhood trauma, physical abuse, sexual abuse, harassment, bullying, or any other form of trauma that causes a significant change in their life are likely to develop depressive disorders.

Individuals who live with sick parents or are in poverty are also bound to get depressed quickly since they are experiencing homelessness at a greater intensity.

Genetic 

Some individuals become victims of depressive disorders because of their parents or generational conditions. If the family members of the individual, especially the parents, have any mental illness, it can change the natural chemicals/hormones of the individual’s body. The faulty genes are passed on, and the cycle of chemical imbalances continues until one family member decides to break the cycle.

Modifiers/Medications 

The use of long-term medication or any substance can alter brain chemistry. This will lead to a lack of release of the appropriate chemicals, such as happy hormones, pleasure hormones, etc., in the body, which can develop a mental disorder.

Individuals who have a habit of everyday use of drugs or alcohol fall prey to depression quite quickly, which further aggravates their mental illness.

What are the risks associated with depression and addiction?

Statistics show that almost 50% of individuals develop severe mental disorders from substance abuse, and 29% of all mentally ill individuals tend to succumb to drugs and start abusing them.

These stats continue to grow, showing how the two are interconnected. We already discussed why individuals rely on drugs when suffering from a mental illness like depression. These substances quickly solve the constant sadness and act as a confidence booster. On the contrary, if healthy individuals start abusing drugs, they can experience extreme depression due to the imbalance.

In these cases, the individual relies on street drugs to get the high relief, happiness, and calm they crave. The high allows them to regain their confidence temporarily, but the feeling is fleeting, and eventually, drug use leads to social isolation, self-harm, and suicidal ideation.

Why should a person get help immediately when experiencing addiction and depression?

Depression isolates the individual entirely until they reach a point where the drugs are their only friends. That is how substance abuse disorders begin as well, with loneliness. Mental disorders lead to a lack of interest in activities one usually enjoys, teaching them to try substances that give the brain the stimulation normal activities do- socializing, goal-achievement, and hobbies.

Once the individual finds this quick method of receiving all the dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and impossible high happiness, they become more dependent on that substance to maintain the feeling.

Often the individuals’ friends and family try to help them overcome their substance dependency and urge them to choose healthy coping mechanisms. In most cases, when the attempts are unsuccessful, they leave the individual to deal with the consequences of their actions. 

The isolation and social denial further lead them toward the use of drugs and dependency. 

Hence, the situation, the mental illness, and the substance abuse disorder worsen without adequate treatment. 

Getting help for depression and drug use is incredibly important to break this deterioration. It helps individuals save themselves from the vicious cycle and leads them toward a happier and more fulfilling life. It helps them prevent further heartache and damage to their brains to ensure they live a normal, healthy, and naturally happy life.

The individual will feel confident to step back into healthy relationships, maintain life goals and work on them, and finally take care of themselves with the kindness and empathy they deserve. 

Still have questions about treatment?

Our admissions specialists are here to explain the process, answer any questions you may have, and ensure you’re getting the help you need to live a healthy life free from addiction.

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