Dual diagnosis is an issue that comes up with many people who suffer with drug and alcohol addiction. Approximately 53 percent of people who have drug addictions also suffer from a mental illness. Similarly, nearly half of the people who are diagnosed with severe mental disorders also have issues with drug and alcohol abuse. This statistical data shows that mental disorder and substance abuse are directly related to one another. Therefore, in order for individuals to receive adequate and effective treatment for drug addiction, they must also receive a diagnosis and treatment for the underlying mental illness.
Relationship Between Mental Illness and Drug Abuse
In most cases, people who suffer from mental illness have difficulty maintaining emotional and psychological stability. Depression and anxiety are often symptoms associated with the mental disorder. Additionally, compulsive and impulsive behaviors are found to exist within people with underlying mental illnesses. Many individuals with existing mental disorders attempt to self-medicate by using illegal substances. These substances may temporarily alleviate depression and anxiety due to their ability to alter brain chemicals. The self-medication process quickly leads to compulsive rituals with the substances, thus causing the sufferers to have severe mental addictions as well as physical habits.
Continued use of illegal substances causes further imbalances in the brain chemicals of the users. For example, prolonged opiate usage interferes with the brain's natural production of endorphins. Eventually, such prolonged usage results in the users' complete inability to produce endorphins naturally. The lack of endorphins causes the symptoms of the preexisting mental condition to worsen. The users are then compelled to self-medicate further and the cycle continues.
Treatment and Dual Diagnosis
Proper treatment for individuals with mental illness and drug addiction issues involves a regimen of medicinal and psychological therapy. The treatment must be approached in stages, with the drug addiction taking precedence over the mental disorder. The first stage of adequate care would involve a supervised detoxification program. The patients must be carefully purified of all toxins and monitored to avoid suicide attempts and bouts of psychosis.
Once the patients are clear of all foreign substances, the caregiver can begin to assess them for the underlying mental disorder. Assessment could involve collecting data by way of question and answer sessions, psychiatric evaluations, behavioral monitoring, or a mixture of methods. Determining the correct diagnosis is crucial to the treatment process. Thorough evaluation must be conducted as the patients may have several overlapping mental disorders.
Treating the mental disorders should be handled with a blend of medication and talk therapy. Anti-depressants or anti-anxiety medications may be necessary to alleviate the symptoms after drug use cessation. However, the bulk of the mental disorder should be treated with either cognitive or behavioral therapy. The patients will have to learn coping strategies after getting the root of the psychological disturbances.
Peter Wendt is a writer and researcher living in Austin, Texas. Over the years he has become an authority on drug addiction recovery Texas. If you would like to learn more about this subject, then the author recommends a visit to OriginsRecovery.com
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