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Drug Addiction
For a person who may not understand the term “dual diagnosis,” it is meant to describe someone who suffers from a mental health disorder coupled with a substance abuse problem concurrently. The term can be used in a broader sense and denote depression and alcoholism, or it can be used to describe severe cases of mental illness such as schizophrenia and a substance misuse disorder. In other cases the diagnosis can refer to someone who has a mental illness and an intellectual disability.
Issues surrounding substance abuse can be confused with different types of psychiatric illnesses. There are individual diagnoses for mood swings due to substance-abuse issues and substance-related anxiety disorders, thus overlapping conditions can be quite complicated to completely understand. Due to these facts, finding appropriate treatment for someone with a dual diagnosis can be hard. It is imperative that if a diagnosis of this kind is made that the person affected find a specialty clinic or facility that has the skills and knowledge to treat both mental illness and substance abuse issues.
There are a number of ways the medical community can explain the relationship between a mental health disorder and substance abuse issues. The casualty theory suggests that certain types of substances can actually be responsible for mental illness. A theory surrounding self-medication is founded on the premise that people with severe forms of mental illness are led to misuse substances in order to relieve symptoms or negative side-effects of psychotropic medications.
There is an alleviation of dysphoria theory which centers around the thought that people with certain forms of mental illness are prone to feeling bad about themselves, which makes them vulnerable to using certain substances to counteract those feelings. A multiple risk factor theory states that certain factors can lead a person to both substance abuse issues and mental illness.
No matter what the reason for self-medicating with illegal drugs or alcohol used in conjunction with mental health disorders, dual diagnosis is a very real and serious medical condition that requires specialized treatment. Though there are limitations as to what types of research that have been conducted in the field of co-occurring diagnosis, it is ongoing and researchers are learning new and important information everyday.
Trying to successfully manage a condition of dual diagnosis on ones own can be extremely difficult and stressful. To add to the complications, multiple symptoms often mask the ability to make an accurate diagnosis and presents a challenge when searching for effective treatment options and programs. To achieve the best outcome, it is necessary to treat both disorders simultaneously because the overwhelming effects can infiltrate every aspect of a persons life and make the risk of relapsing likely.
Most often treatment addresses the psychiatric issues first, because it is important to understand why the person feels the need to self-medicate. In some other cases, the drug or alcohol abuse can be the primary condition which can directly attribute to depression, anxiety and severe emotional and mental health issues. Regardless of what the cause may be, the first step to living a healthy life is to detoxify the body of chemicals and substances and this needs to take place under careful, medical supervision.
Because people who struggle with mental illness and substance abuse issues have unique problems that need to be addressed at the same time, mental health professionals are not skilled enough to handle dual diagnosis alone. To do so, only one or two of the many mental health problems might be addressed but the chemical or substance abuse issues are left untreated.
If both issues are recognized and addressed with the right treatment, this can save a person years and years of bouncing back and forth between the problems. Today, more treatment programs are recognizing the importance of coordinating services for patients who suffer from dual diagnosis. When a multiple team approach is utilized, the chances for a total and complete recovery more than double, which is why proper treatment is so important.
Prior to being admitted to a program for dual diagnosis treatment, a person will need to be assessed by a team of competent medical professionals. There are several treatment options available and many are open 24-hours per day, because the condition is so serious and time can be of the essence. Forms of treatment include; detoxification, long term residential care, inpatient treatment or specialized treatment centers or outpatient programs coupled with partial hospitalization, outpatient intensive treatment, intensive case management, counseling and therapy.
Dual diagnosis is a treatable condition so long as both issues are addressed and the person makes a valid effort in terms of personal recovery. Finding an adequate support system and ongoing counseling can be key to experiencing long-term recovery. A person who has co-occurring conditions needs to receive medication management, life skills to facilitate recovery, overall health and a better quality of life. By fostering self-acceptance and reinforcing self-esteem, a person will truly understand the dangers of combing drugs and alcohol with mental illness.
