Dual Diagnosis
Dual diagnosis is the official term to describe when someone has both an alcohol and/or drug problem alongside a mental health issue. The term “co-occurring disorders” is a common term used to refer to dual diagnosis. Such co-occurring conditions are very common and treatable. In particular, alcohol and drug problems tend to occur hand-in-hand with depression, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder and narcissistic personality disorders. To recover fully, the individual with a dual diagnosis needs treatment across the board so both major problems are addressed.
Dual diagnosis is more common than you might imagine. According to a report published by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA): 37% of alcohol abusers and 53% of drug abusers also have at least one serious mental illness. Of all people diagnosed as mentally ill, 29% abuse either alcohol or drugs. The co-occurring disorders tend to exacerbate each other and each disorder predisposes to relapse in the other disease. At times, the symptoms can overlap and even mask each other, making diagnosis and treatment more difficult.
Often the mental problems come first, resulting in self-medication by the individual to address difficulties faced. Frequent self-medication may eventually lead to physical or psychological dependency on alcohol or drugs. If it does, the person then suffers from not just one problem, but two. Over time, such self-medication evolves into full flung alcoholism and addiction, increasing the intensity of both the emotional and mental problems.
In other cases, alcohol or drug dependency is the primary condition. A person whose substance abuse problem has become severe may develop symptoms of a psychiatric disorder: perhaps episodes of depression, fits of rage, hallucinations, or suicide attempts. At the initial examination, it can be difficult to determine which came first. Since many symptoms of severe substance abuse mimic psychiatric conditions, the person must go through a withdrawal from alcohol and/or drugs before a doctor can accurately assess whether there’s an underlying psychiatric problem.
To find true recovery, an individual with a dual diagnosis must treat both conditions. First, the person must detox from both alcohol and drugs with a focus on normalizing the body’s physical equilibrium. This stabilization period ranges from a couple of weeks to longer time periods given the particular substances involved.
The next step is combined rehabilitation for the substance problem and treatment for the mental disorder. Once detoxification is completed, dual treatment begins at ONE80CENTER even if the body’s equilibrium has not been fully restored. What’s important is to begin rehabilitation for the alcohol and/or drug problem and treatment for the psychiatric problem. This treatment can include medical intervention, 12-step support, group dynamics, counseling sessions and talk therapy.
With both rehabilitation for substance abuse and treatment for a psychiatric problem, education, counseling sessions, and support groups for the patient’s family are important aspects of overall care. The greater the family’s understanding of the problems, the higher the chances the individual will have a lasting recovery. As with any illness, a person with dual diagnosis can only improve once proper care is given. At ONE80CENTER, we have experience help helping clients with a dual diagnosis live healthier and more fulfilling lives.
