Psychological factors are processes that operate at the individual level, impacting mental state and influencing behaviors. These traits include a person’s evaluative attitudes and beliefs about people, places, politics, religion, products or brands.
Many people who struggle with a mental health disorder also have addiction issues. These are known as co-occurring disorders and must be treated simultaneously.
Trauma
Trauma is an emotional shock that can leave lasting negative effects on a person’s mental, physical and spiritual health. The more trauma a person has experienced, the more likely they are to develop PTSD or other mental illnesses like anxiety, depression and panic attacks.
Trauma can encompass a wide range of experiences, from the relatively minor like car accidents or the death of a loved one to the more serious like rape or torture. Generally, a traumatic event involves feeling overwhelmed and powerless in the face of a threat to life or safety. While the objective circumstances of a traumatic experience determine whether it is traumatic, your subjective emotions and feelings about the situation are also important. A person can experience one-time traumas like acts of terrorism, natural disasters and sexual assault. They can also experience complex traumas that occur repeatedly like war, childhood abuse or ongoing, relentless stressors like poverty or homelessness.
Those who have experienced trauma often feel anxious or depressed, and they may avoid places or situations that remind them of the traumatic experience. They can also have nightmares or flashbacks that trigger difficult thoughts, feelings and sensations. These symptoms can interfere with a person’s relationships, work, ability to find pleasure and daily functioning.
Research has shown that children can be particularly affected by trauma. Their brains are still developing, and when they experience a traumatic event their “fight or flight” response is activated. This causes the brain’s hormones to go out of balance, with cortisol, which curbs processes that are not essential or harmful in a fight-or-flight scenario, being overly activated. This can cause lasting, negative impacts on a child’s future behavior, mental and physical health.
The good news is that there are effective treatments for PTSD and other mental health disorders that result from trauma. Psychiatric medications can help stabilize a patient’s anxiety centers and decrease their reactivity to emotional triggers. Psychologists can help people unpack trauma with talk therapy focused on reframing their unhelpful thoughts and beliefs, such as the shame they feel after surviving abuse. Hypnosis is a very powerful tool, that when used correctly can have a very positive impact on an individuals thoughts, feelings and behaviors. There are several different philosophies about how best to help someone with hypnosis. A therapist who is trained in a number of methods can have a multitude of modalities to taylor the hypnotic process to suit each individual’s personality, and increase the likelihood of having a successful outcome.
Mental Health Disorders
Having a mental illness can also cause problems with your relationships, work and school. It can also lead to substance abuse. Many people who have a mental health problem also have a drug or alcohol problem. This combination is called co-occurring disorders or comorbidity.
Psychotherapy is a type of talk therapy that can help you deal with a mental health condition. It can be done on your own or with a group of people. The main types of psychotherapy are cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectic behavioral therapy and interpersonal psychotherapy. There are also other forms of psychotherapy, including psychoanalysis, which focuses on underlying psychic conflicts and defenses.
A person who is struggling with a mental illness may feel stigma and discrimination from others in society. These feelings can make it hard to seek treatment. Some people may even refuse help because they think that their mental illness is not real. However, a recent poll found that most Americans have good attitudes towards mental health issues and that discrimination is declining.
Emotional Wellbeing
Emotional well-being is the ability to experience a wide range of emotions and cope with them in healthy ways. This allows you to maintain a positive outlook and develop satisfying relationships. It also allows you to cope with life’s challenges and bounce back quickly from setbacks. Research shows that people who have high emotional well-being are able to work productively, achieve their goals and get closer to realizing their full potential.
A person’s emotional wellbeing is influenced by several factors, including self-esteem, resilience and social support. Self-esteem is the degree to which a person feels good about himself or herself and can accurately perceive how others see them. It is a crucial component of mental health, as it can affect the way that a person responds to stressful situations and how they interact with other people. A person with low self-esteem may have difficulty coping with negative events and may be more likely to seek out unhealthy coping mechanisms such as substance abuse or eating disorders.
Another important aspect of emotional well-being is resilience, which is the ability to recover from trauma or adversity. Resilience is characterized by the ability to bounce back from challenging situations and maintain a positive attitude.
There are many things that can influence your emotional well-being, such as how you manage your time and prioritize the activities that make you happy. A good quality of sleep and connections with loved ones are also important. If you’re struggling with negative thoughts and emotions, a therapist or coach can help you identify the issues that are causing them and provide you with tools to improve your emotional well-being. Practicing mindfulness can also help you focus on the present moment and develop new skills to deal with distressing thoughts and feelings. If you’re unsure where to start, try taking small steps, such as meditating or walking for 10 minutes each day.
Addiction
Whether drugs are used in a way that leads to substance abuse or addiction depends on many factors. Some are biological (such as genes, gender and early life experiences), while others are environmental or psychological. These include family and social-cultural influences, peer pressure, and the availability of substances. People may also use drugs to cope with emotional pain, and they may find that their use of substances becomes compulsive, even when they are aware of the risks.
The brain is an amazing organ that is constantly at work. It manages the body’s most basic functions, such as breathing and digestion. But it is also responsible for more complex actions, such as planning, learning, and emotions. It does all this through a network of neurons, or nerve cells, that perform specific functions. These neuronal networks interact with each other to form cognitive, emotional and behavioral responses. Addiction changes the function of these networks and disrupts their normal communication.
Even a mild substance or alcohol problem can have harmful effects. For example, regular use of alcohol can cause impairment while driving or interacting with other people. This can have devastating consequences, including car accidents and overdoses.
It is important to understand that the physical and psychological aspects of addiction are interconnected. It’s important to address both in order to fully recover. If you or someone you know has a drug addiction, it’s important to seek help immediately. Addiction can be dangerous and is not something you should attempt to overcome on your own.
Here are some questions for you to consider to continue your healing journey:
- What books/resources can assist me in learning how to cope with my addictive triggers, and emotional traumas?
- What specific steps can I take and in what order, to manage my co-occurring mental health disorder and addiction simultaneously?
- How can I improve my emotional well-being and develop healthier coping mechanisms to replace substance abuse?
- How can I find a therapist to help me implement some of the above?