Sometimes, substance abuse is driven by an underlying mental illness. Alternatively, a mental illness can arise because of a long term drug addiction. When these conditions overlap, dual diagnosis treatment is required.
Up until the 1990s, addicts who experienced mental health symptoms like depression, delusions or anxiety attacks often didn’t receive treatment for these symptoms until they were sober and clean.
Instead of compartmentalizing addiction and psychiatric health, the two areas are treated as part of a continuum so health professionals who work in addiction treatment also receive training in the treatment of co-occurring mental health disorders. This ensures that the most successful aspects of mental health care and substance abuse treatment work together to increase your rate of recovery.
A Complex Combination Requires the Proper Treatment
There is no single best treatment option for those with Dual Diagnosis because the range of mental health disorders is so broad, and the relationship between your psychiatric condition and your addiction can be complicated. A dedicated rehab facility that offers recovery services for addicts with Dual Diagnosis is well-equipped to provide effective treatment for each individual and their needs. They know what to consider when it comes to both your addiction and your mental illness as you move through the recovery process.
When looking for the right rehab center, make sure the care program includes things like lateral treatment of your mental health and substance abuse with trained, experienced professionals, solid support systems like group or family therapy and after-care services that help the addict cope with their mental illness and abstain from drug use.
Understanding the Need for Treatment
Those who have Dual Diagnosis are often in complete denial about their need for treatment or help. When you consume drugs or alcohol while harboring a mental illness, your thoughts and logic are altered and it can be easy to neglect your own care (simply because you don’t think you need any).
Not only that, but the symptoms of mental illness can be overwhelming or too disturbing to handle when you’re sober so drugs and alcohol seem like the only way to cope. But getting your life back on track requires hope and lots of help.
Dual Diagnosis may seem like a confusing topic to grapple, but not for treatment facilities who have properly trained staff in addiction and psychiatric health. When a facility offers specific services and an integrated treatment program for your mental illness and substance addiction, then your chance of success and breaking free from the cycle becomes much greater.
