When significant life changes come too fast or are too radical, stress, anxiety, or depression can become chronic, leading to a diagnosis of adjustment disorder. The temptation to escape from the emotional turmoil with drugs or alcohol can be strong, and that pattern of behavior can quickly degenerate into addiction.
Men and women with adjustment disorder find themselves unable to cope with sudden change or upheaval. Caught in a cycle of misery, they may turn to drugs or alcohol to escape, leaving them highly vulnerable to addiction.
Someone experiencing adjustment disorder and chemical dependency simultaneously will continue to spiral downward unless intervention is swift and targeted at both conditions. While addiction and adjustment disorder is a challenging combination, their debilitating effects can be overcome with assistance from highly trained and compassionate addiction specialists and mental health experts.
It is normal to feel stress, anxiety, sadness, disquiet, uncertainty, and discomfort following major life changes. But if these feelings continue and alter moods and emotions enough to disrupt normal functioning, it could mean you’ve developed adjustment disorder, which is also known as stress response syndrome or situational depression.
For adjustment disorder to be diagnosed, its signs must manifest within three months of a potential precipitating incident. Symptoms that can reveal the presence of adjustment disorder include:
Adjustment disorder develops in response to a specific set of circumstances that involve a significant life transformation or profound perspective-altering experiences. Some of the potential causes of adjustment disorder include:
The disruptive and radical nature of such events inevitably creates an emotional response. But staying stuck in that response is not normal, signaling the need for mental health intervention.
People often use drugs and alcohol to feel better. But self-medicating with these substances will set you up for addiction, since they can only mask your symptoms temporarily. The adjustment disorder will remain if left untreated, and using drugs and alcohol to make it go away will create a new set of problems that you’ll struggle to manage.
If you’ve been experiencing the signs of adjustment disorder after a major life change, and misusing drugs or alcohol as a way to cope, you should seek integrated treatment services right away. At Alta Mira, we’ll make an accurate and comprehensive diagnosis of your condition before treatment begins, which is essential to ensure you receive the appropriate package of comprehensive healthcare services.
Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant. However, in addition to putting users into a more relaxed state, it can also cause feelings of mild euphoria. Consequently, some people drink alcohol to relieve stress and anxiety, while others do it to feel better or to forget their troubles.
Each of these reasons applies to men and women with adjustment disorder, who are often plagued by anxiety and depression at the same time. Alcohol may seem attractive because of its ability to briefly eliminate both, but if alcohol consumption continues the risk of addiction will escalate.
As the symptoms of adjustment disorder persist, the temptation to drink more and more is strong. If you give in to that temptation, a dangerous dependency on alcohol may develop. Using alcohol to escape from adjustment disorder is a poor substitute for getting the expert care and intervention you really need to recover.
Adjustment disorder and alcohol addiction are a powerfully debilitating combination, and when you suffer from both your need for professional alcoholism treatment and rehab services is critical.
