Treatment of drug and alcohol addiction is seldom as simple as merely addressing the particular chemicals an addict is taking into his body. More often than not, addicts suffer from other disorders in conjunction with their chemical dependency which is clinically referred to as co-occurring disorders. The National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services says about 45% of U.S. citizens seeking treatment have been diagnosed with co-occurring disorders. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health in 2014 approximately 7.9 million adults in America suffered from co-occurring disorders.
What is a Co-occurring disorder?
Co-occurring disorders means that a person is affected in two ways: they are chemically dependent and experiencing an emotional or psychiatric illness. There are many personality and disorders that can co-occur with substance abuse. They can include, but are not limited to: antisocial personality disorder, borderline personality disorder, obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, narcissistic personality disorder, and paranoid personality disorder. Mood disorders can also co-occur with substance abuse. Some mood disorders that are common with chemical dependency are: depression, trauma, bipolar disorder, and anxiety. To fully recover, someone with co-occurring disorders, also known as a dual diagnosis, must be treated for both conditions. After the patient has gone through titration and stabilization, the next step is rehabilitation for the substance problem and treatment for the mental disorder.
Some people are diagnosed with a mental health disorder at a young age and have been trying to handle it since then. Some addicts develop mental health issues because of their substance abuse. There are still addicts who started abusing substances to deal with an unknown mental health issue. Many people throughout the nation suffer with an undiagnosed mental health issues. Someone who is depressed may feel they need a substance just to get out of bed to go to work or do anything in the morning. Someone who suffers from extreme anxiety may feel they need their substance just to leave their house and meet new people. Someone with a personality disorder may feel the need to use different substances to make them feel normal. There are many different reasons that people start using substances.
How to know?
The only real way to find out if you have a co-occurring disorder is to visit with a mental health professional such as a mental health counselor, a substance abuse counselor, licensed social worker, psychologist, or a psychiatrist. They will ask you many questions about your mental health history, substance abuse, and may want/need to monitor you over a period of time to make a specific diagnoses. The signs of a co-occurring disorder depend on the mental health disorder and which substance is being abused. One of the most noticeable signs of co-occurring disorder is difficulty with day-to-day functioning. Many addicts with co-occurring disorders find it difficult to maintain a job, healthy relationships, their finances, and their emotions.
Possible mental health disorders diagnosed in co-occurring patients
Personality Disorders
There are many types of personality disorders. They can range from mild to severe in terms of how much they interfere with day-to-day functioning. Most people can live normal lives with mild personality symptoms. However, increased times of stress can make a personality disorder more problematic. It is common for people with personality disorders to self-medicate with drugs or alcohol to escape the pain of their disorder. Personality disorders that co-occur with substance abuse can include, but are not limited to: antisocial personality disorder, borderline personality disorder, obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, narcissistic personality disorder, and paranoid personality disorder.
Mood Disorders
The clinical definition of the term mood disorder is a disturbance in a person’s mood which is, or eventually becomes, the underlying cause of a detrimental physical or mental condition. The most well-known and common mood disorder is clinical depression, which can be the underlying cause for a host of physical maladies. Some other well-known mood disorders are: anxiety, bipolar disorder and substance induced mood disorders. A mood disorder is considered substance-induced if its roots can be traced directly back to the physiological effects of specific substances the person is using. For addicts, quite often such mood disorders first come to light during the process of withdrawal, although that’s not always the case. In some addicts, mood disorders occur simultaneously with a substance abuse disorder; a condition known in the medical community is having co-occurring disorders.
A dual diagnosis presents specific treatment challenges depending on what combination of disorders are being dealt with. Treatment centers specializes in identifying the co-occurrence of substance abuse, mood disorders, and personality disorders and then effectively treating them appropriately. Programs are designed to break the addiction cycle, stabilize moods, and teach the addict how to cope with mood and personality disorders effectively. Treatment centers can help relieve the pain and confusion of having a dual diagnosis or co-occurring disorder by treating both conditions simultaneously. By taking a realistic approach to helping clients recovery they can treat both the substance abuse and the emotional or psychiatric illness, provide individual attention to the core issues that are below the surface, and develop a personal recovery program that will support the individual needs of each client.
