For many people suffering from addiction, there are also mental health issues going on. The Co-Occurring Center of Excellence defines the term co-occurring disorders (COD) as co-occurring substance-related and mental disorders. People said to have COD have one or more substance-related disorder as well as one or more mental disorder undetected.
For over 50% of people dealing with mental illness, addiction is a very real part of their lives as well. So, really having a co-occurring mental health issue coupled with an addiction is more the expectation than the exception to the rule. You are not alone, if you think you may be dealing with both. As a matter of fact, people who have mood disorders, like depression or bipolar disorder, are five times more likely to have an addiction as well.
Co-occurring disorders are more common than you may realize. Addiction and mental health conditions interact with each other in lots of different ways. For example, anxiety might be a trigger for you to start drinking or using drugs to calm down or feel more in control. The opposite can happen, if you use drugs or drink regularly, you may begin feeling anxious. You may not know which came first, the addiction or the mental health issue. You may have suffered from symptoms of both for a long time. And really, the most important thing is that you address both through your treatment and recovery plan.