Dual Diagnosis Disorder FAQs
Do you have questions about dual diagnosis disorders? Mental illness or addiction on their own would be a challenge to live with. Having both is even more complex. You need to know what to do and where to go for treatment. Take a look at these frequently asked questions about dual diagnosis disorders.
Dual Diagnosis Disorder Questions
What Is A Dual Diagnosis Disorder
Which comes first, mental illness or drug addiction? In many cases, the mental illness has come first. People with a dual diagnosis often develop the addiction because they self-medicate with addictive drugs or alcohol. They use more and more to mask the mental illness symptoms, and before long they can become addicted. Not everyone with a mental illness uses drugs and alcohol to manage their symptoms. Some people are more vulnerable to drug addiction than others.
Why Are The Mental Illness And Addiction Treated At The Same Time
Research has shown that people have a better recovery when both problems are managed at the same time. Several years ago, people with a dual diagnosis were treated for their addiction first. They needed to get stable with their sobriety before mental illness treatment was started. Now, both are done simultaneously.
If the mental illness remains untreated for a while, it will remain a potent threat to sobriety. Because a person with a dual diagnosis disorders usually self-medicates the mental illness, this underlying problem must be addressed immediately.
Why Did My Doctor Give Me Drugs For My Mental Illness
A doctor prescribing medication for someone with a dual diagnosis must be cautious. Some anti-anxiety medications and sedatives are in an addictive drug class. Many helpful medications for mental illnesses are safe for people with a dual diagnosis. Check with your doctor to be sure he or she knows of your dual
diagnosis issues before they prescribe any medication for you.
Can Any Drug Rehab Center Treat My Dual Diagnosis Disorder
Some drug rehabs treat people with a dual diagnosis as well as those with just addiction. A few newer drug rehab centers focus on dual diagnosis as their specialty. You need to be sure that no matter where you go for drug treatment, you are treated by professionals who are trained for dual diagnosis. If you see a place you’d like to try, ask if they treat dual diagnosis. If not, you need to keep looking. Leaving your mental illness untreated can dramatically lessen your chances of maintaining sobriety.
More Questions About Dual Diagnosis Disorders and Drug Rehab
If you find yourself with more questions than answers, you aren’t alone. Recovering from a drug addiction and managing a mental illness is a tricky balance. Contact the Canyon Drug Rehab to ask more important questions about drug treatment for someone with a dual diagnosis.
Tags: drug treatment, drug-rehab, Dual Diagnosis Disorder FAQs
Forgive me for this long post – I will try to be as succint as possible.
I have a good friend who suffers from dual diagnosis – alcoholism and what we think is bipolar (she has had episodes of mania and depression). She was sexually abused by her paternal grandfather for her entire childhood and has gone through a tremendous amount of therapy. She was sober and doing great for 16 years – very active in AA and helped a tremendous amount of people. She’s one of these people with an electric personality and literally lights up a room when she comes in.
All this changed about 4-5 years ago when she came down with an absess between her skull and brain membrane (not in the brain actually, but they had to go under her skull and drain it.) They later found it it was caused by a staph infection and she was treated post surgery with mega antibiotics. She seemed to recover well, but then had another manic episode and checked herself into a facility. She then went on different meds – mood stabilizers, anti-psychotics and her personality totally flattened out. She still went out though with her husband and friends, but just kind of stared off into space and didnt’ participate.
For the past 2 years, she’s become more and more indecisive – cripplingly so. It would take her all day to get out of the house because she couldn’t decide what to wear. She would show up 3-4 hours late for an event or not at all. This situation slowly devolved into her not even going out of the house. She acts severely depressed, will not share much how she’s feeling and wears the same thing every day (she does bathe, though). This past April, she began drinking again, breaking her 16 year sobriety. She went to a dual diagnosis in-patient facility (Cottonwood in Phoenix) for 2 months but then drank again within a few weeks of being home. She then went to another inpatient facility in west LA for another two months but drank within a few days of being home. She then went to stay with her (sober) brother and sister in law and their family in a remote area of Oregon and continued phone therapy. She stayed for 2 months but drank the next day after coming home.
At this point, her husband has separated from her. She seems to have lost motivation to get better, does not seem to want to accept accountability, is not in any therapy, AA, etc. Her friends continually come by – as does her husband – to visit, bring food, etc. and try to talk to her – offer to take her to meetings, etc. but to no avail. Actually, we’re probably enabling her current situation more than anything else.
We are all so worried about her – and seem to have tried so many things. If you can please give me some insight on how to best help, I would be eternally grateful….thank you
JG