Dual diagnosis occurs when individuals who are suffering from drug or alcohol addiction show indications of psychological or psychiatric problems simultaneously - hence the terms co-occurring issues, co-morbidity, concurrent sicknesses, and dual disorder that are also used to describe this issue. Read more information click here
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Research shows that 37 percent of alcoholics and 53 percent of drug addicts have at least one co-occurring mental disorder. However, research shows that 29 percent of all mentally ill persons also have drug or alcohol problems. The mental or emotional illnesses that often co-occur with substance abuse problems are depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorders, and other psychiatric conditions just like schizophrenia and personality issues.
Though a persons substance addiction requires a specific treatment strategy, it's greatly related with his psychiatric disease. Many dual diagnosis treatment units identify this interrelation between chemical dependencies and psychiatric disorders. Not only is an addict affected physically, socially, psychologically and spiritually by the two separate sicknesses, both disorders may also aggravate the other person.
Normally when a dual diagnosis patient gets treatment for one of their disorders, the untreated sickness often causes the relapse of the previously treated condition. For instance, a person who undergoes substance abuse rehab will most likely experience a relapse of his addiction if his mental illness is not properly handled. His depression or anxiety disorder may cause him to seek temporary respite from drugs or alcohol once more, which may finally cause the repeat of his addiction.
It's not easy to recognize which sickness developed first in a dual diagnosis patient. Typically, it is the psychiatric problem that triggers drug or alcohol dependency. A person suffering from depression may seek happiness or that preppy feeling from drugs or alcohol. Likely, someone who is having an anxiety attack may turn to drugs and alcohol in his attempt to feel calmer. Read more information click here addiction diagnosis
These self-medication attempts by persons with emotional and mental problems generally lead to their physical or psychological dependency on harmful substances. Regrettably, this can also trigger worse psychiatric disorders because substance abuse progresses. The depression that first led a persons alcohol or drug addiction can develop into severe and life-threatening psychiatric illnesses in the long run.
Within the hand, there are people who become alcoholics or drug addicts first before developing a mental disorder. This occurs when an addicts dependency on harmful substances becomes too serious that it harms his brain and starts to trigger emotional and psychiatric symptoms for example hallucinations, fits of rage, episodes of depression, and even suicidal tendencies.
In dual diagnosis treatment, it is said that both conditions of chemical dependency and psychiatric disorder should be treated simultaneously. Interestingly, most dual diagnosis treatment centers find it more important for a patient to undergo detox rehab or substance abuse withdrawal first, regardless of whether the primary issue is the addiction or the psychiatric sickness.
Detox rehab is normally done under close medical supervision, and only after the patient has shown considerable withdrawal from his substance abuse do his physicians begin to focus on treating his psychiatric condition. This is the common practice in most dual diagnosis treatment centers. But, there are also those who do have rehab programs that offer simultaneous treatment for both addiction and psychiatric sicknesses in dual diagnosis patients. Read more information click here
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If you would like more information about dual diagnosis therapy please contact Hawaii Island Recovery at 866-515-5032.
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