Among the most common mental illness-substance abuse combinations are:
- Alcoholism and Anti-Social Personality Disorder (ASPD): Though alcohol abuse is associated with drug addiction, mania, dementia, and schizophrenia, it is found by National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) that it is closest to antisocial personality disorder. Because people who drink excessively on a day to day basis increase his risk to suffer from ASPD by 21 times.
- Marijuana Addiction and Schizophrenia: In a recent study published by the American Psychiatric Association’s Psychiatric Services, it was revealed that more than 50% of the people who have schizophrenia also struggle with substance abuse, though that includes all drugs. Marijuana was the most abused illicit drug from 1983 to 1986, but cocaine rose to number one from 1987 to 1990. Alcohol is the most used substance by people with schizophrenia and without.
How Common Is Dual Diagnosis?
These facts and statistics show how prevalent dual diagnosis is:
- Almost 18 million Americans 18 years or older suffer from a serious mental health problem and about 4 million people struggle with drug abuse or alcohol dependence.
- The percentage of drug addicts in rehabs who were also diagnosed with mental health disorder rose from 12 to 16% in the past 6 years.
- An estimate of 11% of the workforce suffers from drug and alcohol abuse, while almost 11% also struggle with a serious mental issue, and 3% were already diagnosed with a co-occurring disorder.
- In the past year, among working men, there was a significant increase in the percentage who were struggling with substance abuse from 7% to 14%.
- The percentage of working women who have a serious mental health condition in the past year rose from 7.3% to 14.2%.
Though dual diagnosis is common and getting more common, or at least more diagnosed, only 40% of the 3 million adults with dual diagnosis get treatment for one issue, and only 5% gets treatment for both conditions from dual diagnosis treatment centers.
If you or any of your loved ones are already struggling with substance abuse, here are a few red flags that they might have a mental health issue, too:
- Intently staying away from and avoiding family, friends, and any kind of support offered.
- Having delusions or experiencing sensations not shared by others (hallucinations).
- Verbalizing feelings of unimportance, misery, or desperateness for two or more consecutive weeks.
- Following complex rituals and high standards of order to calm anxiety.
- Having difficulty keeping a job, house, or relationships because of mood swings or erratic behavior.
- Melodramatically changing energy levels and behavior.
- Abuses drugs and alcohol or shows erratic behavior to deal with stress.
The best and most certain way to know whether or not an individual has co-occurring disorders is to consult a dual diagnosis treatment centers in Colorado. At these centers, the client’s psychiatric history and his substance abuse patterns are assessed to come up with a personalized treatment plan.
There’s no single treatment method that will work best for everyone with a dual diagnosis. There are a wide range of mental health issues and a complicated relationship between substance abuse and an individual’s psychiatric state. Individuals who are in addiction rehab and are also seeking treatment for their mental disorder may be diagnosed with the following:
- Bipolar disorder
- Mood disorder
- Major depression
- Anxiety disorder
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
- Personality disorders
- Anti-social personality disorder (ASPD)
- Eating disorders
Before you enter treatment, you will have to undergo diagnostic tests first to determine your mental health syndrome and addictive syndrome. If you are tagged as a dual diagnosis client, you will have to go through addiction treatment and mental disorder treatments to reach recovery.
To improve your chances of recovery, treatments and care include:
- Similar and complementary treatments for both mental health and addiction disorders.
- Highly-trained rehab specialists and treatment teams.
- Use and management of essential psychiatric medications like antidepressants, anti-anxiety medications in treating the co-occurring disorder.
- A supportive environment and therapy sessions that help clients build positive self-esteem and self-confidence.
- Not confronting clients with negative, damning, and hostile statements and treatments.
- Providing an all-inclusive treatment method aimed at bringing families and loved ones into therapy.
- Holding family counseling sessions to help them cope with the adverse effects of dual diagnosis to the family members.
Considering the link between substance abuse and mental health disorders, the best approach to deal with both conditions is through parallel treatment. Through this treatment method, the connection and interplay between both conditions can be established, thus, remedying not only the conditions but also the root causes of the same.
Like in most addiction and mental health treatment programs, the success rate of the treatment is determined by three factors: the willingness of the client to cooperate, the quality of treatment methods being offered, and the support system the client gets while in treatment and recovery. If these factors are strong, the dual diagnosis treatment is much more likely to work.
Before clients submit themselves to a dual diagnosis treatment center, they have to undergo tests to determine their history and mental conditions to devise a personalized treatment plan. Otherwise, any treatment will just be in vain.
Start Your Recovery Today
Today is the right time to start your journey to recovery. If you find yourself struggling with substance abuse or from a mental disorder, know that in Mountain Springs Recovery, we can help you stop the pain. Let one of our dual diagnosis experts help you to find a treatment plan that will be fully customized to your specific needs and conditions.
If money is a concern, don’t worry. Mountain Springs Recovery accepts countless insurance types, so you can even get all or part of your treatment covered. Some insurance companies have been known to fund your entire rehab stay. Mountain Springs Recovery wants you to get the treatment you need. Simply reach out to our insurance verification experts and we can help you get a clearer picture of what your insurance will cover. There are no obligations associated with reaching out to our insurance experts, we’re here to help you every step of the way.