Many Achieve Recovery from Substance Use and Mental Health Disorders

September is National Recovery Month

On August 19^th, actor Colton Haynes, star of the hit television show Arrow, shared a slideshow of photos of himself in the hospital on his Instagram account, a year after he landed in the emergency room following a week-long drug and alcohol bender. Along with the photos, Haynes shared that he has been focusing on his sobriety and wants to be open with his followers about his struggles, in hopes of helping someone else who may be struggling with mental health and substance use issues. He stated, “I get immense joy when someone comes up to me and says that my willingness to open up about depression, anxiety, alcoholism, and addiction has helped them in some way…I’m a human being with flaws just like you. If you’re in the middle of the dark times… I promise you it doesn’t have to last forever.”

Nearly every day, we read and hear about substance use disorders, mental illnesses and related deaths. While it is important to build awareness about substance use and mental health disorders, it is especially critical to highlight the fact that treatment for both types of illnesses is effective.

The successes that individuals are achieving, as well as the roles that mental health care and substance use treatment play, need to be shared to help build confidence in the prospect of recovery among those who are struggling with these illnesses. Sharing such positive stories would be a tremendous help in the ongoing battle against stigma, which is the greatest barrier that prevents individuals from seeking treatment.

By encouraging individuals to speak up about their struggles and ask for help, and ensuring access to the services that have been proven to be effective, many lives could be saved – not only by addressing the substance use and mental health disorders, but also by reducing the risk of suicide, which is a common result of untreated addictions and mental illnesses.