New report says to stop substance use disorder, you may need to treat what's behind it

NEWPORT, Ky. (WKRC) – A new report from the CDC says 1 in 3 people struggling with addiction also has an underlying serious mental health condition.

“Alcohol helped me deal with what I thought would make me forget,” said Cristal Ankrom, a client at Reset Ministries.

For Ankrom, her mental health condition set in due to life-long trauma.

“I had a really hard problem of trusting people,” said Ankrom.

It was only when the team at Reset Ministries helped her deal with both her mental health and her addiction that she was able to recover.

“It wasn’t just one drink,” she said. “It was many, many blackouts and self-induced harm that I struggle with, many times, forgiving myself for.”

And she’s not alone. The CDC review looked at 49,000 adults at 500 treatments centers. Researchers found, to try and manage their mental health, 40% said they turned to alcohol, and 30% turned to multiple substances -- including cannabis, opioids, stimulants, cocaine, or sedatives.

“First and foremost, I think, is identifying that there’s a hole they are trying to fill,” said Erich Switzer, the executive director at Reset Ministries.

To overcome the desire to self-medicate, Switzer, also sober now for more than 20 years, says you need a team approach to treat both the mental health and the substance use disorder.

“So, all these people are just pouring into that space, that empty hole that they’re feeling, so that just fills up,” said Switzer.

For Ankrom, that approach has helped her succeed.

“I just hit my one year,” she said.

Long-term support, she says, has made all the difference.