What Happens If I Have Both Addiction and Depression?

When addiction and depresjon occur together, treating only one problem may leave the other unresolved.

This is why integrated treatment is important.

A person may drink or use drugs to manage low mood, anxiety, trauma or emotional pain. At the same time, prolonged substance use can worsen mood, sleep, motivation and relationships. The two problems can become difficult to separate.

InHarmoni specialises in treating addiction alongside co-occurring psykisk helse conditions. Its programme is designed to address the individual’s mental health and substance use together rather than treating them as completely separate problems.

What does treatment involve?

Treatment begins with assessment.

The clinical team considers the individual’s substance use, mental health, physical health, history and circumstances before developing an appropriate treatment plan.

At InHarmoni, the programme can include medical supervision, psychological assessment, individual psychotherapy, CBT, ACT, trauma-informed therapy, EMDR where indicated, psychoeducation, relapse prevention and family work.

Does depression have to be treated before addiction?

Not necessarily.

When conditions occur together, treatment can address both simultaneously.

The precise order and intensity of treatment depends on the individual. Someone experiencing significant withdrawal, for example, may initially require medical stabilisation before intensive psychological work can begin.

What is the aim?

The aim is not simply to stop substance use.

It is to understand what maintains the cycle and develop healthier ways of managing difficult emotions, relationships, stress and everyday life.

That is particularly important when substance use has become a person’s main method of coping with depresjon.