One subject that pops up quite often during drug and alcohol addiction recovery is the subject of coping mechanisms. When we experience painful or difficult emotions, our mind tries to return itself to a healthy place. A dual diagnosis treatment center teaches you valuable coping mechanisms to avoid turning to substance abuse in times of distress, so you can make a lasting recovery from your drug addiction.
Active vs. Avoidance Methods
Whenever we speak of active or avoidance coping mechanisms in a men’s addiction treatment program, we often find that there are more cases of avoidance than active. This is often because men are taught to be strong and never admit they need help. By denying there is an issue, they don’t have to admit they don’t know how to cope. This is one problem we need to address in our society. What is the difference between these two coping styles?
Active methods start with admitting there is a situation that needs to be dealt with. Once this is found, the person looks for ways to help relieve the situation. Avoidance methods don’t let a person admit there is an issue. Because of this denial, the problem is ignored and pushed aside, where it steadily grows worse over time.
Positive vs. Negative
Positive coping mechanisms recognize there is a problem and look for ways to change or deal with circumstances in a way that the person can then continue on with life and leave things better than before. Examples of positive coping methods are:
- Using humor
- Seeking support
- Problem-solving
- Relaxation
- Physical activity
- Adjusting expectations
Negative coping mechanisms include:
- Denial
- Self-blame
- Escape
- Self-harm
- Over-compensating
The problem with negative coping methods is that not only does the original problem still remain and even grow, but the person is often left with new problems because of the method they used to cope.
Dual Diagnosis Treatment Programs
A dual diagnosis treatment center provides a multitude of mental health treatment programs and substance abuse treatment programs that provide comprehensive drug addiction treatment treating the underlying mental health conditions contributing to your drug addiction, in addition to the physical symptoms of your drug addiction. Substance abuse treatment programs and mental health treatment programs offered at a dual diagnosis treatment center include:
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy program
- Dialectical-behavior therapy program
- EMDR therapy program
- Life skills training program
- Relapse prevention plan
- Alcohol addiction treatment center
- Heroin addiction treatment center
- Meth addiction treatment center
Discovering Alternative Methods
In order to stop yourself from using negative coping methods, you need to become aware of what you are doing. Often these methods are turned to so often they become unconscious. Ask yourself what you find yourself doing most often when you become stressed, angry, or anxious. Is there one activity that stands out? Identifying the act is only the first step, however, as you still need to find a way to cope with the issues.
Now, that you have identified the negative coping methods, ask yourself what you might be able to do that could help alleviate the negative emotion, and not cause greater stress. Maybe you can find the humor in the situation. Another positive method is to try to look at the situation from a different angle. Maybe seeing it from a different perspective will help you find a way to solve it. Another thing that might happen is that you realize the problem wasn’t as bad as you thought.
When Help is Necessary
Life is full of situations that we need to learn to cope with. Sometimes they do disappear on their own, but not normally. We need to find positive ways to do this. Whenever you are in a men’s or women’s addiction treatment program one of the first steps in counseling is to help you identify when you are using negative coping strategies. By doing this, you can eventually get to the bottom of why you are using these. More importantly, you learn how to replace these with positive ones. Doing so will make it possible for you to move more quickly along the road to recovery.