Have you ever persevered through something incredibly difficult to find the end product not only vastly rewarding but unbelievably important in your own personal growth? Did you take a moment to sit back and admire your hard work and think, “Wow, I did/lived/thrived/grew/made it through that”? 

Hopefully, you did, and hopefully, you proved your own strength to yourself and showed yourself that even the most difficult trials can be overcome. 

We believe that mental health treatment, no matter what it’s for, is the first important benchmark in achieving mental freedom, freedom from addiction and the tools needed to pursue a life of peace and health. By allowing treatment to give you “a new lease on life,” you might find yourself more joyful than you thought possible, with more freedom than you could’ve imagined.

Benefits of mental health and addiction treatment

Many people do not seek mental health or addiction treatment, each for their own personal reasons, but most commonly because of the stigma surrounding therapy. Individuals might be worried about what friends or family might say if they find out, they might convince themselves they aren’t “bad enough” to need therapy or they might just view it as an inconvenience.

However, as there has been a recent shift in the societal conversation about the importance of mental health. There too has been slow, but a steady belief that seeking professional help is more brave and self-aware than anything.

1. Treatment for your mental health can boost your physical health

When you’re constantly battling a mental health disorder or addiction cravings, you’re likely not taking care of your body. Getting enough sleep, staying hydrated, eating a balanced diet and exercising daily are the bare minimum requirements of physical health. If your mental health is taking all your energy from you, or inhibiting you from doing these things, your physical health is going to suffer. 

The result can be an extreme cycle where neither your mental or physical health is cared for, meaning everything begins to fall apart. However, when you meet with a counselor and are able to receive guidance and assistance in understanding, coping with and overcoming said disorder/addiction, you will quickly find the strength, if not the desire, to look out for your physical health because of your improved mental state.  

2. It provides a safe space to unpack what’s happening in your brain

Mental disorders and addictions can play tricks on your mind, keeping you wrapped in their grasp even when you want to break free. Mental health counseling and addiction treatment can help you do that. 

Talking with a therapist not only gives you the opportunity to bounce your thoughts and feelings off of someone professionally trained but allows you to bring all of what’s happening internally to the light. This can offer the chance to see things from a different perspective and allow you to better perceive how you feel and what you think about the situation.

3. You can learn healthy coping skills

Mental illnesses and addictions are difficult to deal with and unfortunately lead to unhealthy coping mechanisms or self-medication. Addiction treatment and mental health counseling, however, allow clients to learn better, healthier and more effective coping mechanisms. While self-imposed coping mechanisms tend to make conditions worse, treatment-given coping skills help prevent relapse and offer healthy, scientifically-based and effective strategies to improve mental wellness.

4. It can give structure to your life

Especially in regards to addiction, it can feel like your life is completely out of control, ruled only by the impulses of addiction. Recovery treatment begins the process of taking this control from the addiction and placing it back in your hands. Recovery treatment centers are important for their role in helping clients regain a sense of control over addiction and restructuring their life around good, productive tasks. By taking the focus off the addiction, clients channel their energies into activities that will set them up for a better life post-recovery. 

5. Personalized treatment plans help to heal all of you

Holistic recovery is a model many treatment centers seek to follow, as the whole individual is affected by addiction, depression, anxiety, etc. Therefore, treatment needs to focus on the whole individual, body, mind and spirit. These holistic plans are tailored to you, your needs and your past experiences defining your story to make sure the healing happens for all parts of you, not just the depression, OCD or addiction. 

Caring for your future self

As hard as it might be to know what the future holds, it’s pretty certain that recovery offers a future of freedom, peace and health. Recovery programs can be challenging, and opening up to a therapist can be intimidating, but long term they offer positive effects. They offer the promise of a life where you can control your emotions and cope with your feelings. They offer a life where you aren’t held bound by addiction. They offer a life that you might have led yourself to believe was gone forever. But it’s not – through recovery, freedom is possible. 

Reach out to Pyramid Healthcare for counseling services and addiction treatment today at 301-997-1300.