Co-Occurring Disorder Treatment
Individual’s with drug addiction often use alcohol to medicate themselves. Often one or both of these problems are improperly treated or given the wrong diagnosis. Many people who are suffering from alcoholism or drug addiction have some form of diagnosed or undiagnosed psychiatric disorder. They are, in most cases, considered to be self-medicating their disorder with drugs and or alcohol. Having a dual diagnosis, co-occurring disorder is very significant to successful alcoholism treatment and drug addiction rehab. Unless the disorder is properly diagnosed and addressed, it will always be one of the primary reasons someone cannot maintain long term recovery from their drug addiction.
It is often difficult to know whether the mental illness or drug abuse problem occurred first. Someone with a psychiatric problem may drink or use drugs in an attempt to feel calmer, more energetic or cheerful. Doctors call this self-medication. Frequent self-medication may lead a person to a drug addiction. On the other hand, a person whose drug addiction problem has become severe may develop symptoms of a psychiatric disorder, including depression, rage, hallucinations, delusions or attempts at suicide.
Co-Occurring Disorder Treatment and Drug Addiction
Although dual diagnosis treatment or co-occurring disorder treatment has only been recognized in recent years, dual diagnosis is pervasive. It has been estimated that 37 percent of alcohol abusers and 53 percent of drug abusers also have at least one serious mental illness. Conversely, it has been estimated that 29 percent of all people diagnosed as mentally ill abuse either alcohol or drugs.*
Many suffering from drug addiction and mood disorders are a constant companion. Among cocaine abusers, for example, depressive disorders are the most common examples when it comes to dual diagnosis, co-occurring conditions. The relationship between psychiatric problems and drug abuse in these patients is often complex and interconnected: Drug abuse patients may develop depression as a result of the physical and psychological suffering associated with their drug use, and patients suffering from mood disorders may become drug dependent in attempts to self-medicate. For patients suffering from both drug abuse and mood disorders, the conditions once seemed impossible to untangle, but recent NIDA research suggests that treatment for the mood disorder alone also can have a positive effect on drug addiction rehab.
People with a mental illness are three to six times more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol than people without a mental illness. However, some mental illnesses occur more frequently than others. The most common are:
• depressive disorders, such as depression and bipolar disorder;
• anxiety disorders, including generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and other phobias; and
• other psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia and personality disorders.
One NIDA-supported study found that drug use declined among teenage drug dependence patients being treated with a medication for bipolar disorder, which is characterized by alternating periods of depression. In a related study, chronic opiate-dependent adults reported less drug abuse when they were treated with the antidepressant imipramine for co-morbid depression. There are drug addiction rehab programs which do a good job of dual diagnosis treatment.
Dual Diagnosis Helpline
If you are looking for Co-Occurring Disorder Treatment, dual diagnosis treatment or drug addiction rehab, you can call the national dual diagnosis helpline at 1-800-511-9225 and those on the helpline will help you to locate a rehab that can make a difference in your life. Call the helpline NOW!