If you or someone you know is a veteran, you might be concerned about addiction. Possibly you’ve heard that veterans are more susceptible to addiction, but you’re not sure why. Furthermore, you don’t know what to do to protect yourself or the veteran you love. First, understanding the connection between veterans and addiction is critical to aiding in their recovery and relapse prevention. Veterans are a unique demographic that face specific challenges that must be addressed to understand how to help. Here are three reasons veterans and addiction are interconnected. Contact Las Vegas Recovery Center to learn about how we can help veterans.
Many Veterans Have Chronic Pain Conditions
As you can imagine, after serving in the military as a combatant, many veterans come home wounded. They may have missing limbs, traumatic injuries, and other life-altering problems due to the combat. These situations almost always bring with it chronic pain conditions. If a veteran was injured in the line of duty, they might struggle with pain the rest of their lives. This is a sad reality for many of them. Consequently, they are given pain medication, which leads many of them down the pathway to addiction. You can see how easily veterans and addiction would become synonymous terms.
It’s critical to help veterans with their pain situation because it’s a real problem but look to other methods other than medication.
Veterans Come Back with Many Mental Health Scars
Another problem that plagues veterans is the many horrors of war they may witness. No matter how strong a person is, if you deal with combat, after a while, it can take a toll on you. Being in an armed conflict can lead to PTSD, depression, anxiety, and suicide. All of these mental health conditions are scars that veterans bear that people may not recognize right away. It may look different from the physical scars, but it is just as real. As a result, they sometimes turn to drugs to numb the inner pain and emotional trauma.
Taking drugs to deal with emotional pain is common, but it doesn’t resolve the inner turmoil. These wounds are healed through therapy treatment, both traditional and holistic. Some treatments at an addiction rehab benefiting veterans with mental health disorders include:
- TENS treatment
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy
- Acupuncture therapy
- Physical therapy
- Mindfulness therapy
- Acceptance therapy
Dual Diagnosis Disorders Are Common Among Veterans
People with mental health disorders are more likely to have a co-occurring disorder, such as substance use disorder. It works both ways, meaning that those with substance abuse problems often have mental health issues too. An addiction rehab that offers dual diagnosis disorder will ensure that the veteran gets a comprehensive care program.
Veterans and Addiction: Find Help at Las Vegas Recovery Center
If you’re a veteran, dealing with an addiction need not be something you go through alone. At the Las Vegas Recovery Center, our knowledgeable therapists are here to guide you through the road to recovery. We provide a comprehensive treatment program that delivers both evidence-based detox and compassionate therapy. We will customize a program that fits your needs, whether you are coming from a chronic pain position or mental trauma situation or both. We’ll help you through this difficult time so you can be on the road to sobriety.
Some of the treatments we offer include:
- Medically-monitored withdrawal and detox treatment
- Intensive outpatient rehabilitation treatment
- Inpatient residential treatment
- Partial hospitalization program
- Alumni program
- Tribe: Veteran Addiction Treatment Program
Don’t wait to get in touch with us. Now that you know more about veterans and addiction, you can find peace of mind with the proper treatment. Contact Las Vegas Recovery Center at 844.332.2076, and we will walk you through the process.
