If you have ever felt lonely before, you are probably familiar with the feelings of depression that can often accompany it. It may be surprising, but loneliness and anxiety can also be connected. Furthermore, just like with depression, feeling anxious and lonely can also put you at a higher risk of substance use disorder. The best treatment for addiction and co-occurring mental health conditions is a dual diagnosis treatment program.
At Serenity House Detox & Recovery Houston, we realize that mental health conditions are frequent contributors to substance abuse. Therefore, we have carefully designed our dual diagnosis treatment programs to address the issues of them both together. To learn more about how we can help you recover from addiction while treating your anxiety disorder, call us today at 866.516.8356.
What Exactly Is Loneliness?
A literal definition of loneliness is the feeling of sadness over being alone or having no friends. However, we all know there is much more to loneliness than that. Loneliness is more a state of mind than the actual experience of being alone. You can feel lonely even when you are surrounded by people. Some people feel lonely in a crowd of strangers, while others may experience loneliness in the presence of their friends or family. When you feel lonely, you are more likely to be experiencing a lack of a sense of connection with others. Even when you have other people around you, you can feel loneliness for a variety of reasons, such as:
- Feeling like you cannot relate to others
- Believing that others are not listening to you
- Feeling that others don’t respect you
- Feeling that you have to hide specific aspects of yourself
If you are struggling with loneliness, you may also be suffering from anxiety or substance use.
How Do Loneliness and Anxiety Go Together?
Loneliness tends to be affiliated with depression as it is often characterized by sadness. However, anxiety is an often-overlooked sidekick of loneliness. You may be wondering how anxiety is connected to loneliness. The standard connection is that anxiety is often mistaken for loneliness. You may think you are merely feeling lonely when in fact, you are suffering from an anxiety disorder. How do you know if your feelings are related to anxiety rather than loneliness? Here are a few ways to tell.
For instance, perhaps you do not take advantage of opportunities to socialize. If you are lonely, you will likely be on your way out of your house before you can finish texting your reply. With anxiety disorders, especially social anxiety, you are more likely to isolate yourself and turn down invitations. Even though you are self-isolating, your anxiety can cause feelings of loneliness because it holds you back from connecting with others.
In addition, you may often feel tired. Anxiety can be mentally and physically draining. If loneliness is the sole problem, you are likely to have plenty of energy saved up from the lack of the social activities you crave.
Also, you feel tense most of the time. Chronic muscle tension is correlated with anxiety since your mind cannot relax, which then transfers to your body. People who are lonely are not necessarily tense. Instead, they may feel sad or antsy if they are home alone for long.
Seek Help at Serenity House Detox & Recovery Houston
At Serenity House Detox & Recovery Houston, we realize that loneliness and anxiety can both contribute to drug and alcohol addiction. People often self-medicate to help them cope with uncomfortable feelings and mental health conditions. Our dual diagnosis treatment programs can help address underlying conditions that led you to substance use while helping your mind and body heal from the effects of addiction. Call our team today at 866.516.8356 to get started on the road to happy, healthy living.
