What is dual diagnosis?
When looking for a facility to assist a colleague who was having mental health issues, a friend of mine showed me around a number of dual diagnosis treatment centers. This is how I first learned about dual diagnosis.
I discovered that dual diagnosis refers to a situation in which a person has been diagnosed for both a substance use disorder and a mental health disorder, such as depression, anxiety, or bipolar disorder.
When we visited the dual diagnosis rehabs, the mental health professionals who spoke to us explained how the interactions between the two conditions could make a person's rehabilitation more difficult.
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According to Dual Diagnosis Treatment Center, Los Angeles, if a patient with a dual diagnosis is not appropriately treated, the interplay of the two disorders results in a less favorable treatment prognosis as well as greater risks of adverse health repercussions.
Dual diagnosis is a common phenomenon
A majority of the information gathered from leading diagnosis centers, Ca shows that 1 in 4 people with a mental disorder also have a problem with drugs or alcohol. Therefore, it is not unusual for someone to battle both a psychological disease and substance abuse.
With such statistics about how dual diagnosis is a common phenomenon, it is clear that the dual diagnosis of mental health problems and substance abuse is an issue that mandates careful attention and treatment.
Mental illnesses tend to be associated with specific substances
Different drugs typically have a rather predictable effect on certain mental health conditions.
Leading dual diagnosis treatment centers in California assert that the effects of a particular abused substance usually serve to counter the symptoms of the associated psychological disorder. For instance, those with anxiety-related disorders take sedatives more frequently, but those with mood disorders including sadness and anxiety use "feel-good" medications more frequently.
Dual diagnoses are associated with certain mental health conditions
Common mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, personality disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, and eating disorders are frequently linked to substance abuse problems.
For instance, people with schizophrenia are more likely to abuse stimulants like marijuana, cocaine, and nicotine, while drinking too much alcohol is linked to depression and anxiety.
Substance abuse sometimes appears like a mental disorder
Substance addiction and use may cause symptoms that would typically be associated with organic mental health problems.In fact, Dual Diagnosis Treatment Center California contends that since these symptoms are a direct effect of substance misuse and can frequently be cured more rapidly by stopping the use of the abused substance, they differ somewhat from those of an independent mental condition itself.
Substance abuse can lead to mental illness and vice versa
Self-medication, increased exposure to drug use, and lessened barriers to drug experimentation are just a few of the ways that mental problems may foster substance abuse.
A person who has a mental illness might use the drugs in an ineffective effort to self-medicate and alleviate other symptoms. For instance, a depressed individual may use narcotics like heroin that have euphoric effects.
It has been widely reported that certain disorders may make a person more likely to be exposed to drugs and substance use. Conduct disorder in young people, for example, has been associated with later substance abuse.
A person with a mental illness may be more likely to experiment with drugs, especially if the illness involves issues with impulse control.
Need more information or help with dual diagnosis?
If you have a mental health disorder and a substance use disorder, LA Valley Recoverycanassist you. To contact them,click here to fill out a contact form or call 844-777-5287 to speak to a dual diagnosis expert.