Mental health plays a vital role in helping people fight addiction. In fact, addiction is a mental health disorder. For this reason, some people choose to address addiction during Mental Health Awareness Month. This event takes place every May.

What Is Mental Health Awareness Month?

Mental Health Awareness Month (MHAM) is an event that Mental Health America (MHA) dedicates to raising awareness for mental problems. The goal is to remove the stigma that accompanies mental illnesses. One way is to raise awareness and teach people that mental conditions are more common than they think. Each year, MHAM focuses on a different topic that MHA chooses. While the events focus on the topic the most, they still address any mental health problem. For 2019, MHA will once again focus on fitness and how it promotes good mental health. This topic is the same one that MHA chose for 2018. Expanding on this topic, MHA hopes to talk more about the important role that balance plays in people’s lives. It includes maintaining a healthy balance of work, school, and social lives. Far too often, people don’t seek balance, which may lead to the formation of multiple mental health problems.

How to Get Involved

Getting involved in Mental Health Awareness Month is easy. People can either look for events to join or plan their own. In fact, MHA makes it easy for anyone to set up an MHAM event. They can download a toolkit from the official website after they fill out a short form.

The Link Between Addiction and Mental Health Disorders

The link between addiction and mental health problems is strong. In fact, addiction is a mental disorder. Because of that, Mental Health Awareness Month focuses on addiction frequently. What many people don’t know is that having one mental illness opens the door for more to develop. The reason is that the brain becomes vulnerable as a result of chemical or physical changes. Sometimes, addiction leads to other disorders. Other times, mental disorders lead to addiction. In either case, it’s essential for people to seek mental health treatment. Failure to deal with addiction or other mental health disorders can result in relapse. For example, people who seek addiction treatment but don’t address their other mental conditions are likely to use drugs again. Likewise, dealing with a mental problem without addressing addiction can result in the same mental illness developing again.

We Can Help You With Mental Health Problems

At Steps to Recovery, we understand that mental health conditions play a role in the development of addiction. In fact, our Pennsylvania addiction recovery services focus not only on treating addiction but also underlying mental disorders. Some of the programs that we offer include:

Don’t let your mental issues keep you from overcoming addiction. Learn more about Mental Health Awareness Month and how you can be a part of it. Call us today at [DirectNumber] for more information.