October 10th is World Mental Health Day, a chance for people to mobilize and raise awareness of mental health treatment across the globe. Every year we follow a different theme. But regardless of the structure in which we celebrate, mental health and addiction leaders take the opportunity to educate and draw attention to the treatments they can offer.
For these professionals, world mental health is not a single day but the driving force behind a substantial amount of their career. And it’s that amount of work and passion that makes life or death for the clients they treat.
If you’re looking for a mental health treatment program, call SSRS at 833.922.2884.
The History of Mental Health and Addiction Awareness
World Mental Health Day is far from new. In fact, we’ve been observing it every October since 1992. Deputy Secretary-General Richard Hunter started it to promote mental health advocacy and public education. Over the years, they’ve forced on a variety of themes, including:
- Mental health and chronic physical illness
- The effects of trauma and violence on children & adolescents
- Mental health and aging
- Mental health promotion and suicide prevention
- The relationship between physical and mental health: co-occurring disorders
The last theme from 2004 best illustrates the connection between mental health and addiction. And since World Mental Health Day occurs less than two weeks after September (also known as SAMHSA’s National Recovery Month), there’s a lot of overlap in the kinds of treatment people may be seeking.
The Importance of Dual Diagnosis Treatment
Dual diagnosis treatment is for individuals experiencing both a mental diagnosis and a physical substance-use disorder. Often, individuals struggling with clinical depression will turn to a substance like drugs or alcohol or another unhealthy coping mechanism to get by.
In the case of co-occurring diagnoses, one fuels the other to keep the individual stuck in a toxic cycle. It’s important to address both contributing factors through therapy techniques like cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBD), which tackles unhealthy thought patterns and their consequences at their core.
You can also get treatment for a dual diagnosis through:
- Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)
- Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)
- Motivational enhancement therapy (MET)
It’s the hope that avenues like these can put you on a path of physical and psychological wellness. The individuals using these treatments can build a toolkit to draw from whenever triggered in the real world.
Finding a Mental Health Treatment Program
If World Mental Health Day has inspired you to seek a mental health treatment program for yourself or someone in your life, you can turn to Sierra Sage. For substance use disorder fueled by mental health, we offer help on a residential, partial hospitalization, or outpatient basis.
Unlike other programs in the Las Vegas area, we focus on co-occurring disorders. Our team is trained to handle addiction stemming from depression, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder, and that’s to name a few. And once you’ve made it through treatment, we can offer continued help through our sober and transitional living programs.
Mental Health and Addiction Treatment at Sierra Sage
Holidays like World Mental Health Day let people know that they are not alone in their struggle with their invisible illness. We encourage you to look into the resources gathered by the World Health Organization to understand better the focus of the year and what we can do to grow and expand on it.
And if you are in that spiral of untreated dual-diagnosis, you can take the opportunity to reach out for the help we all know you deserve. So make today a holiday all your own by contacting Sierra Sage Recovery Services at 833.922.2884 or by filling out our online form.
