What is the best way to learn to cope with depression in drug addiction recovery?  How can you overcome both a mental illness and a substance abuse problem all at the same time?  What are the steps you can take to do this?

I would recommend a few things right off the bat.  First of all you want to take the idea of professional help very seriously.  Ideally you need a psychiatrist who can help you that is knowledgeable about addiction.  Many are not.  This may take some homework on your part, in order to find someone with the experience to really help you.  This may not turn out to be the first doctor you see.

photo credit: Candice Linkie Photography

The idea here is that you want to treat both the addiction and the mental illness.  It is not enough to focus heavily on treating one of them while only sort of treating the other.  You need to make a supreme effort and treat both of them with all of your energy.

If you have depression so bad that you cannot take a walk through the park on some days, then you definitely need to see a doctor and get some serious help in the form of medication.  If your depression is holding you back to that extent then you cannot make progress in treating your addiction.

On the other hand, if you cannot string together a few months of clean time from your drug of choice, then you will not give yourself the opportunity to really be able to treat your depression properly, either.  So you need to treat both of them equally.

Now here is one of the big suggestions for long term health in terms of overcoming both drug addiction and depression: you need to exercise.

This is a serious suggestion that no one takes seriously.  They do not take it seriously–not because they are depressed–but because they are lazy.  People do not want to put in the effort to do serious exercise in their life.

I am not just talking about taking a walk once a week.  I am talking instead about a serious program of exercise that really pushes you into better health.  This is a major lifestyle change that will affect all areas of your life.  I would suggest vigorous exercise at least 6 days per week.  That is 6 days out of the week, minimum.

And not just casual and light exercise either.  You have to push yourself.  If you do not stress your body in exercise, then there is NO benefit.  None at all.  You have to push yourself a bit in order to experience the kind of gains I am talking about here.

But if you do this then your whole life will change.  The benefit to you will be enormous.  Not only will you feel better every single day (even when you don’t exercise), but you will learn the discipline that it takes to help you to stay clean and sober.   Engaging in vigorous exercise every day and really pushing yourself to get into shape will teach you how to stay sober in the long run.  It sounds like a bit of a stretch but it absolutely has a huge impact on your recovery effort.

Treatment should be your number one priority if you are still struggling with both issues.  Get to a drug rehab and get clean and sober and then talk with your doctor immediately following this to get your depression under control.  If you tackle both problems at the same time and push yourself to exercise every day then you will have a very good chance of recovering.