The term “dual diagnosis” is used when a person has a co-occurring substance abuse and mental health issues. Either the mental illness or substance abuse can develop first. A person experiencing a mental health condition (eg: depression, bipolar, anxiety) may turn to drugs and alcohol as a form of self-medication to alleviate the troubling symptoms they may experience (“F”, n.d.). Eventually, they become dependent on the substances to feel “normal”. Other times, repeated use of drugs or alcohol can heighten symptoms like anxiety which in due time exacerbates to full blown mental illnesses. It then becomes a never-ending cycle of substance abuse to numb the symptoms which recycles back into the mental illness worsening. According to “What Does It Mean to Have a Dual Diagnosis”, (2015);
Most psychological illnesses seen in dual diagnosis, but not limited to are:
Bipolar disorder Borderline personality disorder (BPD)
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Depression Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Panic Anxiety Disorder Eating Disorders (including anorexia and bulimia)
Schizophrenia
Most drug addictions are:
Cocaine addiction
Heroin addiction
Crystal meth addiction
Prescription drug addictions (OxyContin, Vicodin, etc.)
Marijuana …show more content…
Patients tend to have “tend to have symptoms that are more persistent, extreme, and resistant to treatment than either disorder alone” (“T”, n.d.). Intervention is more effective when both illnesses are treated together because they are interconnected. However treatment is often complicated because often treatment facilities are only equipped to focus and treat one disorder. Medication options to treat mental disorders are limited because the potential for a patient to abuse them is higher. Rather than integrating both disorders in the recovery process, some are forced to work on each disorder separately which reduces its
Most psychological illnesses seen in dual diagnosis, but not limited to are:
Bipolar disorder Borderline personality disorder (BPD)
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Depression Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Panic Anxiety Disorder Eating Disorders (including anorexia and bulimia)
Schizophrenia
Most drug addictions are:
Cocaine addiction
Heroin addiction
Crystal meth addiction
Prescription drug addictions (OxyContin, Vicodin, etc.)
Marijuana …show more content…
Patients tend to have “tend to have symptoms that are more persistent, extreme, and resistant to treatment than either disorder alone” (“T”, n.d.). Intervention is more effective when both illnesses are treated together because they are interconnected. However treatment is often complicated because often treatment facilities are only equipped to focus and treat one disorder. Medication options to treat mental disorders are limited because the potential for a patient to abuse them is higher. Rather than integrating both disorders in the recovery process, some are forced to work on each disorder separately which reduces its