How Mental Health and Recovery Intersect

Do mental health issues contribute to addiction or does addiction contribute to mental health issues? What happens when we seem to have significant mental health challenges that are affecting or even interfering with our recovery? And what do we do about it? 

If we are new to recovery and facing our unwanted thoughts, emotions, and behaviors, we may have a hard time making sense of what we are experiencing and how our mental health is affecting our recovery.  

Some of us have significant anxiety, depression, rage, or relational issues present in our lives that intersect with our pursuit of recovery. Many of these issues come from years of secrecy, shame, and isolation from hiding our behaviors. We may also have genetic or trauma related mental health issues such as ADHD, a major depressive or anxiety disorder, or a personality disorder.

Ongoing stressors and other significant life events, losses, and trauma can also heighten these issues.  

We aren’t really sure how to untangle what is happening in our brain and these common mental health issues we are experiencing. We wonder, How are these things related? 

Many mental health challenges may resolve or lessen within the context of recovery, with proper attention, grief work, group work, and medical needs being taken care of. Depression and anxiety may subside. Volatility, rage, and some of our relationship issues may significantly improve with the proper support. It is not magic and usually not immediate, and certainly some mental health issues are exceptionally challenging and need a higher level of support.   

Recovery work IS the work of mental health, but even that is not in a vacuum, and our mental health work is tied to our emotional, physical, and relational health. And all of it is spiritual work—the healing of our whole person.

Let’s shine a light on a few essential steps toward better mental health in recovery.

Start from a place of getting curious about your story.

You can’t heal until your brain has constructed an accurate and coherent autobiographical narrative of your life.* In simple terms, this is understanding our past experiences, positive and negative, and fitting them together. This helps us to see how our past has shaped us and gives us clues to gain tools to move forward. It is paying attention to our present interpretations of our story.  

Understanding ourselves never excuses unhealthy behavior, but it truly does inform us. It helps us to heal the shame that often drives the behavior and continues the cycle. When we learn to pay attention, with kindness. It literally changes the brain. 

Consider scheduling an appointment with a medical provider, early on.

A health provider can help to properly diagnose or rule out specific mental health conditions that may be affecting healing and recovery. At times, they may recommend medication, temporary or ongoing, that may be helpful while you are working on the other aspects of your recovery.  

A thorough physical can help look at how your mental health intersects with other parts of your health. It can create a baseline for looking at your health, through the years ahead, as you are intentional about healing work. 

If you haven’t ruled out a mental health diagnosis and continue to try to deal with an addiction, it can feel like an uphill battle.  

A couple who is trying to heal when one or both is dealing with undiagnosed mental health conditions may find themselves at a standstill in their healing.  It is possible that they may miss out on the potential of a healed marriage or relationship, even when their healing and recovery work is growing or strong. 

A follow up with your provider after addressing your recovery for a period of time may be helpful in seeing what things have resolved, or possibly what is now showing up.

Take a holistic view of your needs.

If you think of recovery as gaining understanding and tools for what you need to be healthy, you will begin to add a variety of things to your toolbox.    

Mindfulness (being present), moving our bodies, sleep, medication, natural supplements, rest and breaks, nonjudgmental curiosity are all ways we “pay attention” to our self-care and needs. Counseling, groups, supportive people, physical activity, hobbies, pursuing purposeful activities, challenging ourselves, taking a risk in a new experience, and so many other positive choices all add up and create a synergy of wellbeing.

It is not one thing that heals us. God has designed us to need a variety of healthy things to contribute to our mental wellbeing and the wellbeing of our whole person. Taking a look at the thoughts and the false beliefs or errors in thinking that are driving those emotions—learning to be in touch with our positive emotions and the healthy and loving thoughts that drive those—has a really big impact on our mental health. In other words, taking back the control of how we manage our minds and “Taking our thoughts captive…”(2 Corinthians 10:5). 

Do not underestimate how all of the positive choices we make toward our health affect our mental wellbeing and overall growth and healing.

Gain support.

We do not heal in isolation. We must develop safe and intimate relationships to move to a place of healing and wholeness. 

We will not have it “all figured out.” Healthy and trusted people in our lives can challenge us and ask good questions. They can perhaps see things that we are blinded to. Humility and openness to feedback from support persons is the way forward.  

How do we find the kind of support that goes to a deeper level?

A vulnerable, healing group is one of the biggest pieces of support. Counselors, coaches, mentors, and pastors can all be a part of the support team you put together. We need people to help us to look at our unique stories, our experiences, trauma, and family history, and to learn from them. 

If your mental health is making it difficult to engage in daily activities, regulate your emotions, and deal with interpersonal relationships, seeking a higher level of professional support is advisable. A trained support person will recognize patterns. They can also help put together the elements of your story with you and the specific challenges that are showing up in your mental health.

Take your recovery journey in layers.

Recovery can often feel overwhelming, scary, and exhausting. We wish we could find the “quick fix” to heal overnight. The truth is, our recovery often points us toward a new type of journey that leads to growth and deeper connection than we have ever had before. This journey focuses on the “next right thing” of ongoing change and growth.  

In healthy recovery, we continue to evaluate where we are at and what our needs are. We keep using new information and experiences to continue growing and reaping the benefits of that growth. This can help us see more clearly how mental health is affecting our health and how it impacts our recovery.

You may begin to see what things resolve and what things are an ongoing issue. Ask yourself, Where do I feel “stuck” or unable to move forward? This helps you begin to see that recovery broadens into this lifetime of healing and growth as a person and in relationships with self, God, and others. Coming out of isolation and into healthy relationships has a direct impact on the healing of our minds.

Whatever the origin, whether from genetics or the impact of our experiences, we certainly come face to face with these challenges when we choose to embark on the journey of recovery and healing. There are many contributing factors to the way we live life, manage ourselves and how our mental health is connected to our healing and recovery.

This is one reason we do not want to look at addiction from only a narrow focus—sin, irresponsibility, and immaturity. Although these may be major factors, there are often multiple layers playing a role. We may want to have a black and white answer to “fix this,” and certainly there are some answers to our mental health that are more concrete, but for the most part, it is a combination of things that help us integrate our recovery work with stronger mental health.   

Your commitment to your recovery can help point to answers in the healing of your mental health, and certainly taking care of your mental health can go a long way to help you in your pursuit of recovery. As you do the work of recovery, you may begin to see with a new lens—a more healthy, whole, and life-giving lens.

*Adam Young, The Place We Find Ourselves, Podcast Episode 114: Making Sense Of Your Story: Why It’s Necessary To Name Intentionality Part 2.

The views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are those of the author alone and do not reflect an official position of Pure Desire Ministries, except where expressly stated.