As part of your co-occurring disorder, you may have struggled with depression for a long time. Depression tends to be a chronic illness and it can come and go. Your depression and substance use may go hand-in-hand. You may become increasingly more depressed as you use alcohol and drugs, or your depression may increase as you try to abstain from chemical use. It is important to treat depression as you would any other illness. In order to manage this illness effectively, you must build certain safeguards into your lifestyle to help keep it under control and enjoy your life again. Treatment is designed to reduce symptoms and prevent relapse. It is important for you to learn the symptoms most common in depression. This lesson will help assess, process, and implement ten strategies to help improve your mood and protect your recovery.
