A person with dual diagnoses has both a mental illness and a drug addiction. Drug counseling and twelve step approaches are commonly used to address the addiction. But what can be helpful for the mental illness?

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy For Mental Illness

Drug treatment experts recommend that both diagnoses be treated at the same time. Years ago, the person would have to get sober before any mental illness treatment would start. Research outcomes now point to simultaneous treatment for the best results. Cognitive behavioral therapy is a type of therapy often used with dual diagnoses.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has an acronym that sums up its main therapeutic process – ABC. A stands for “activating event”, also known as the trigger event. B stands for “beliefs and assumptions”. C stands for “consequence” (feelings and dysfunctional behavior). Cognitive behavioral therapy helps a person take a step back and look at their situation more objectively. It helps you understand your options and come up with reasonable solutions.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Helps Find Solutions in Drug Rehab

In its purest form, cognitive behavioral therapy is meant to be a rather short term solution- focused treatment. Cognitive behavioral therapy can be useful when transitioning a person from a state of general crisis to a state of functionality. This works well for dual diagnosis drug rehab centers who may help people about 30-90 days on average. So much of a drug addict’s thinking is skewed by their addiction and mental illness. The techniques and processes in cognitive behavioral therapy help to correct flawed thinking.

Whether a person has schizophrenia or mood disorder, this model of therapy is useful in the short term. The person may eventually have a different type of long-term therapy, but CBT addresses a person’s immediate level of functioning. When the person works with the CBT during drug rehab, they can leave having some handle on managing their mental illness. Upon the conclusion of their rehab stay, the person can get referrals for local mental health providers for long term treatment.

Drug Rehab Treats Mental Illness And Drug Addiction

Though other types of mental health treatment can be used in drug rehab, CBT is a good outcome-based type of therapy. It is fairly straightforward and can help a person see results in a short period of time. No need to lie on a couch for years or drag up endless stories about the past. The therapist and client only work with anything relevant to the current situation. As dual diagnoses drug rehabs become more commonplace, expect more research and headlines about how simultaneous treatment really makes a difference.

Researchers, thankfully, are paying more and more attention to dual diagnosis, or those who suffer from co-occurring disorders like drug addiction and PTSD. Often, one issue influences and worsens the other in a vicious cycle, and it’s a huge step in the development of treatment that medical facilities like The Canyon are learning the links between psychological disorders and addiction and treating them simultaneously.

PTSD and Drug Addiction

It is estimated that about 33 percent to 50 percent of those who seek treatment for drug addiction and abuse are also suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. In fact, more often than not, those who suffer from both PTSD and addiction are addicted to an illegal substance as opposed to alcohol. Additionally, those who suffer from both were more likely to have a higher level of addiction and a more serious physical issue with the disease than those who suffered from addiction but not PTSD.

What the Experts Say About PTSD and Drug Addiction

Martin Driessen is a professor of psychiatry at Ev. Hospital Bielefeld in Germany, and a corresponding author for a recent study on the subject of PTSD and drug addiction. He says:

“We already knew that there is a quite relevant association between PTSD and SUDs. More specifically, PTSD is a risk factor for the development of an SUD, particularly a drug dependence. However, it was unclear whether this is true for both abusers and dependent subjects, or only one of these groups, which is why we studied clearly dependent subjects.”

Andreas Heinz, the director and chair of the department of psychiatry at Charité — University Medical Center Berlin added:

“Drug dependence has frequently been observed in war veterans who also suffer from PTSD. Both men and women often increase drug abuse and develop dependence following war and other trauma.”

What It Means for Those Who Suffer From PTSD and Drug Addiction

Unfortunately, because drug addiction issues are usually far worse for those who suffer from PTSD than those who do not, the dual issues generally manifest in even more problems with family and friends, lost careers and more severe psychological issues exacerbated by drug use. Heinz says:

“The subjects suffering from PTSD had higher hospitalization rates, shorter periods of abstinence, and higher drug craving. However, the study did not show whether PTSD was a cause or consequence of drug dependence in individual subjects.”

An interesting question that is always at play when you suffer from two co-occurring disorders: did the PTSD instigate drug addiction or did drug addiction inflame the PTSD? What we do know for sure is that one always makes the other worse and that to effectively treat either disorder, you must treat both simultaneously.

Women, PTSD and Drug Addiction

The issues for women in this area of dual diagnosis is significant, according to Heinz. She says:

“Women in this study showed higher PTSD rates, which is in accordance with the literature. Women also more often show clinical depression, which often precedes alcohol dependence, while in men, depression seems to follow alcohol dependence in most cases. Further research on psychotrauma and its sequelae such as PTSD, anxiety and depression may point to gender differences in the course and consequences of drug and alcohol addiction.”

If you or someone you love is suffering from PTSD and drug addiction, finding help sooner rather than later can help mitigate the effects of the disorders. If you would like more information about our dual diagnosis program, contact us at The Canyon.

Adolescent Drug Use Linked to Insomnia

A study just released in the October issue of Sleep journal has discovered a definite link between chronic sleeplessness in teenagers and mental illness. Author Brandy M. Roane, MS, elaborates, “The current study suggests adolescents with insomnia are more prone to developing mental disorders, specifically depression. Previous research in adults has found similar results to this study.”

Sleep Study Links Insomnia with Mental Illness and Drug Abuse

Adolescents between the ages of 12 and 18 years at the beginning of the study were re-evaluated after six or seven years – a total of 3,582 young people in all, of which, 9.4 percent reported having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep nearly every night.

Of the 336 individuals with sleep difficulties, rates of depression were 2.3 times more prevalent in adulthood compared to those who did not report symptoms of insomnia. Drug and alcohol use as well as thoughts and attempts at suicide were also higher among the group suffering from insomnia.

Teenager Sleeplessness a Risk Factor for Depression and Mental Illness

In short, the findings of the study point to a greater risk of teenage insomniacs developing mental health issues and increased severity of the symptoms to boot. These conclusions suggest that insomnia could be a risk factor for mental illness and drug addiction – valuable information for parents, teachers, coaches, pastors, and mentors who play the major roles of keeping teens clear of danger.

There are many theories of why sleep is necessary for healthy functioning, and what exactly happens while our bodies rest. Studies abound on the effects of sleep related to memory, cognitive ability, motor function and control, wound healing, growth, even hormone production. While no one fully understands what happens inside our bodies while we sleep, one thing we do know for certain is that extensively long periods without sleep can kill you.

Tell Us: What do you think is the link between restful sleep and sound mental health? Is it dreams? Rapid eye movement? The difference between daylight and darkness?

Stay At Home Moms & Drug Addiction

On the outside it may be unthinkable for a mother to abuse drugs or alcohol while caring for her children. The view from the inside, however, can be quite different. Raising children is the biggest, most important commitment you can ever make. Frequently, this task falls on the mother’s shoulders – or rather, her breasts, as breastfeeding is typically the main focus for an infant’s first three to six months of life. The father’s task, then, is to provide for the mother and child until they are both able to fend for themselves.

Quick Switch in Roles Leaves Women Feeling Lonely and Depressed

What may have been a modern, progressive living situation prior to baby’s arrival, reverts (quite literally) overnight into the ancient male/female, provider/nurturer roles. In a culture founded on equal rights and doctrines of non-discrimination, such an immense shift in personal values may leave Mom and Dad wondering where they went wrong.

Added to that sense of secret shame is a newfound, neverending workload of diapers, laundry, and dishes, endless nights without adequate sleep, constant pressure and performance anxiety, all rewarded generously with extra helpings of baby poop, vomit, and breastmilk covering every piece of clothing you own. Weight gain, fluctuations in hormones, enormous eating habits, and total lack of any free time whatsoever leaves Mom completely frazzled and exhausted. And that’s just on day three.

Depression Leads to Drug and Alcohol Abuse as A Way of Coping

Who wouldn’t love a quick reminiscence of “normal life,” a much needed break from waiting on everyone else hand and foot? When you’re bogged down in teething toys and dirty diapers, and you haven’t had a real conversation with another adult in days, it’s tempting to reach for the one thing you know will bring you instant relaxation.

If you already struggle with depression, mental illness, or drug addiction, being off your meds during pregnancy can invoke enough anxiety that you either withdraw or act out in unpredictable ways. Depression, and the general stress of motherhood, increases the likelihood of consuming drugs or alcohol as a way of controlling the chaos of your new life.

Quality Relationships Help Recharge Mom’s Batteries and Fend Off Depression

Questioning your own competence at being a new mother is perfectly reasonable, considering the skills needed to provide constant care to a child are ones that many people don’t have until they’ve been thrust into the limelight. Instinct (knowing you need to do something) is part of it, but experience (knowing what to do) carries much more weight.

Connecting with other moms who are going through the same crazy scenarios as you can provide a genuine sense of relief, not to mention support, encouragement, and valuable tips and tricks for making your everyday life a little easier. Alone time is also a must, so Mom can have the opportunity to indulge in something she enjoys and a chance to connect with her personal needs that otherwise would never be met.

Tell Us: What’s your favorite way to relax and stay connected to the things in life that bring you joy?

Relapse is a trying time for anyone afflicted with addiction. Feelings of failure, low self worth, and hopelessness can certainly overcome a person who realizes they’ve taken a step backwards. However, it really helps to take a look at relapse as a part of a bigger picture. Relapse prevention is best done with a wide angle lens.

Dual Diagnosis Treatment

Some conditions can be cured with the right treatment. Got strep throat? Get some penicillin. Got tonsillitis? Take your tonsils out. Some health problems cannot be cured at this moment in time. We all hope that some day diseases like diabetes, asthma, and cancer can be cured forever once they are found inside a person.

Unfortunately, that is not reality for any human being. Cancer can come out of remission. Asthma problems can come and go. Diabetes needs careful daily monitoring. This is much the same for addiction. Unlike cancer, asthma, and diabetes, drug and alcohol addiction involves voluntary actions and consumption of toxins. Even so, addiction has the potential to do as much damage as any other chronic health problem.

Relapse Is Part of Addiction

Relapse is a natural normal part of addiction. Of course, no one looks forward to it and many people do whatever they can to avoid it. However, addiction has such a profound and long-lasting effect on the mind and body. It is hard to completely erase any chance of relapse, even after years of sobriety.

In fact, the attitude that you have addiction for life could help you stave off relapse. If you get into the “I’ve totally got this thing licked” mode, you may set yourself up to be blindsided by relapse triggers. Acknowledging that you may continue to have various triggers through your whole life can help you understand the possibilities.

Self Discovery Helps Relapse Prevention

Making new discoveries about yourself keeps your brain “tickled” about who you are at the moment. From moment to moment, who you are continues to develop. You don’t just sit still in time, you change and evolve to account for the changes around you and personal changes inside you. Or, you don’t make good adjustments, you stay focused on some kind of past moment for too long, and you lose sight of what really matters now.

The things that are important in your twenties aren’t usually the same as when you are in your thirties or forties. This progression continues upward as you age and see your environment change and grow. The “aha” moments you have along the way are often unexpected – they are usually quiet moments of realizing and embracing a new thought, a new feeling, the truth that has been there all along.

If all goes well, you will continue to evolve as you grow older. You keep the good stuff and throw out the bad stuff along the way. So of course, being in a constant state of self-awareness and renewal is a great way to keep yourself from getting stale and too far from reality. And denying reality is what addiction does best. Lies lies and more lies – before you know it, you are caught up in old beliefs, old patterns, and old problems.

Relapse Prevention at Drug Rehab Help People With Dual Diagnosis

If you have struggled with addiction relapse too many times, you may need a different rehab experience. Perhaps your untreated dual diagnosis is preventing you from having a long lasting period of sobriety. Sound like you? Don’t wait to get help – learn more about The Canyon dual diagnosis drug rehab.

Anxiety and Addiction

Anxiety is a pretty common response to something frightening, unknown, or somewhat dangerous. Humans are built to have some anxiety to help keep their impulses under control, think twice before you make a move sometimes. But what if even ordinary activities and interactions made you feel this way much of the time? What if you turned to drugs and alcohol to calm your nerves? Unmanaged anxiety and addiction can go hand in hand to cause a lot of problems.

Anxiety Disorders And Symptoms

Anxiety disorders can range from mild social or performance anxiety to panic disorders and agoraphobia. As stated earlier, a little anxiety is pretty normal. You do need to worry a little about what would happen if you paid your bills late, or if you didn’t get to work on time, or if you remembered to turn off the oven before you left town. The usefulness of anxiety only goes so far. When most things trigger the fight-or-flight response, it becomes difficult to tell what is really threatening and what is a false alarm.

Anxiety symptoms can include many sensations including heart palpitations, sweating, clammy hands, a hot flushing feeling, tingling, shakiness, faintness, upset stomach, and diarrhea. There are also lots of negative thoughts, “what if’s”, self-doubt, feelings of uncertainy and fear. Some people who have panic attacks can feel so bad they believe they might be dying, having a heart attack, or losing control of their mind.

How Would an Addict With Anxiety Look to Others?

A person with anxiety may isolate themselves, or limit their activities that cause their anxiety to get worse. They may have the idea that if they don’t “push” themselves, they can prevent the anxiety from coming on. They might make their personal world smaller and smaller, avoiding anything that might seem to difficult to cope with. They might very well still feel anxiety, regardless of their self-limiting actions.

They most likely do a lot of their drinking or drugging alone. If they do need to be out in public and feel anxiety from this, they are likely to use just prior to or while being with others in the situations that make them uncomfortable. And some drugs may actually make their anxiety worse, such as marijuana and stimulant use and coming off alcohol or another depressant. The person is compelled to use more drugs to get rid of the uncomfortable anxiety sensations.

Treatment For Anxiety and Addiction

Generally, a person can learn to manage their anxiety with cognitive behavioral therapy. Often, anti-anxiety medication is used to help calm the mind and make physical symptoms better. When a person with anxiety also has an addiction, it is important to get treatment for both together. The reason for the drug use is tightly linked with the anxiety. Getting a person sober without addressing their underlying anxiety problem will make sobriety difficult to maintain.

The Canyon offers a full program for anyone suffering from anxiety and addiction together. The beautiful surroundings, expert dual diagnosis staff, research-based addiction treatment, and the unique therapies help the whole person through the start of their recovery process.

Addiction is a process that retools your brain, emotions, and body to accept a foreign substance as your boss. You risk life and limb for it, it changes your emotions, it distorts how you think. So once you stop using drugs and alcohol, why doesn’t everything just go back to normal? The changes made by the drugs stick around for a lot of different reasons.

Genetic Vulnerability to Addictive Behavior

What really causes one person to become addicted to drugs when another person won’t? Researchers don’t know exactly how this happens, but they have uncovered one important factor. A person can have a genetic predisposition to addictive behavior. That means they have the right personality and physical “recipe” to grab on to an addiction in whatever form it might take – gambling, drugs, shopping, etc.

So say a person with genetic vulnerability to addictive behaviors is exposed to a lot of stress or rapid adjustment. They are also presented with an opportunity to escape from this stress (drugs, alcohol, etc). When these two forces come together, they can create the perfect storm of emotional pain and emotional cover-up. This is when the addiction is born.

Mental Disorders and Emotional Pain Go With Addiction

Many times, psychological factors like depression and low self worth go along with addiction. You have the stress, the poor outlook on life, and a bottomless mixed drink or endless round of marijuana joints. It’s the recipe for a full-blown addiction to form.

An untreated mental disorder can be like gasoline on a fire. It makes an already bad situation worse in a moment’s notice. A mental disorder does many things to distort reality and magnify various emotions for a person. This provides perpetual fuel for the addiction. Some rough days at work through the lens of depression seems hopeless – drown it in alcohol. Too much to do at home and constant fear that their effort isn’t good enough – escape with marijuana.

Family Patterns and Surroundings

Another ingredient in an addiction is a person’s environment and experiences, especially from their childhood. Let’s imagine that Sara grows up with parents who do a lot of shouting and fighting mixed with cold silence. Mom spends the whole paycheck before the next one comes, dad goes out with the guys all night long, both of them have affairs.

Sara copes with this chaos by burying her head in the sand however she can as a child – fantasizing, making herself too busy, being a little parent to her brother. Meanwhile, no one is really teaching Sara how to deal with her own stress and feelings. Her parents do a lot of avoiding, showing intense emotion, and getting stuck in their own world.

As an adult, Sara faces ordinary and usual stresses of being on her own but has no idea how to cope in healthy ways. She makes herself overly busy, has friends but feels lonely, and marries a charming guy who ends up being abusive. The pain from this “life of extremes” is so overwhelming, she eventually escapes through drugs and alcohol.

Drug Rehab Helps A Person Focus Their Life With Balance

Holistic drug rehab is the most comprehensive way to deal with dual diagnosis situations. The Canyon is a known leader in the field of residential drug treatment for co-occurring disorders. The genetics, the mental disorders, the family factors – The Canyon is equipped to deal with all of them. They teach a person with dual diagnosis how to balance their life, something they may be learning for the very first time.

Dual Diagnosis is like a time bomb. If it’s ignored, you just never know it’s going to make someone’s life explode into shattered pieces – over and over again. Unfortunately, dual diagnosis does just that to millions of people. Mental illness and addiction tangle themselves into a person’s judgment, emotional coping skills, decision making processes, and relationships.

How Dual Diagnosis Turns Into Legal Trouble

As if people with a dual diagnosis don’t have enough problems already, they sometimes become involved with legal trouble. Think about it – if your judgment was impaired most days by either a bipolar manic episode and alcohol or drugs, would you think twice about punching someone or driving too fast?

A person whose mind is swimming in drugs and poor judgment is likely to make the same mistakes many times. They aren’t in drug treatmentand aren’t capable of making changes to avoid more trouble. Instead of making plans to avoid the same bad decisions, they act on their emotional impulses. Pretty soon, they are faced with repeated DUI’s or the third charge of first degree assault in a few months time. A revolving door of problems and trouble.

Prison Population and Dual Diagnosis

Not everyone in jail or prison has a dual diagnosis. But having a dual diagnosis increases your odds of having a night in the clinker or spending some time up in “the big house.” A report from NAMI states that about 16% of those in jail or prison have a substance abuse disorder.

Obviously, having a dual diagnosis isn’t the only reason people end up in jail. But it’s easy to see that this section of the prison and jail population has a great risk of offending and re-offending if they are not given proper dual diagnosis treatment. Their untreated mental illnesses and addictions will perpetuate their problems.

Dual Diagnosis Treatment in Jail and Prison

It seems that true dual diagnosis treatment is difficult to come by in the jail and prison system. Drug treatment and mental illness services are sometimes available depending on how long a person is incarcerated. But let’s face it – jail and prison are jail and prison. It’s just not the same as going to a carefully chosen drug rehab center.

And all drug rehab facilities are certainly not made from the same mold. The Canyon has an established reputation for being experts in the field of dual diagnosis. No other place has the solid background of research and holistic drug treatment approach.

Dual diagnosis problems can be particularly tough to crack – their issues are intertwined like thick weeds with deep roots. If a person can be quickly rerouted to a true dual diagnosis drug treatment center like The Canyon, they stand a much better chance at turning a real corner in their life.

Avid pot smokers don’t want to hear it, but more and more studies are coming out lately that say that marijuana abuse affects more than just your motivation; it affects your brain and, specifically, parts of your brain that control your psychological behavior. Summed up, it’s not just one study but many that are pinpointing marijuana abuse as part of the problem in cases of psychosis, schizophrenia and brain abnormalities.

What the Experts Say About Marijuana Abuse and Mental Illness

* One study put out by Cygnet Health Care, a British provider of psychiatric care for patients with psychological, emotional and addiction problems, and published in the British Journalo of Psychiatry and Medical News Today states that, “Teenage cannabis users are more likely to suffer psychotic symptoms that raise the risk of full-blown mental illness in later life.” The significance of this study is that psychosis was linked to the very earliest stages of marijuana usage. This means that no experimentation with the drug is harmless.
* Another study published in the Archives of General Psychiatry, and Medical News Today found that long-term use of marijuana can lead to structural abnormalities in the hippocampus and amygdala. These areas are smaller in marijuana smokers, areas that regulate things like emotions, memory, fear and aggression. This translated into more symptoms of psychosis among marijuana users than those who did not use the drug.

Are You Experiencing Symptoms of Psychosis Due to Marijuana Abuse?

There are a number of different things that you may experience when you are addicted to or abuse marijuana, but the following symptoms of psychosis occur even when the “high” has worn off. Look for feelings of:

* Suspicion of being followed or that someone is trying to influence you
* Strange things are happening around you or to you
* Uncontrollable thoughts or speedy thoughts

Dr Zerrin Atakan is a consultant for Cygnet Health Care and has researched and written on the effects of marijuana. He says there is hope: “The provision of appropriate knowledge delivery on the subject and early intervention are both important to prevent the development of a psychotic illness.”

What Do You Think?

There are a number of studies that link long-term marijuana abuse to health problems and yet people are still pushing for legalization. These studies show that short-term use, too, can have an effect on people and further prove that among the long-term health consequences are psychological problems.

But what do you think? Marijuana: health risk or restorative drug?

Mental health is the foundation for all life skills, including communication with others. For people with dual diagnoses, these skills may be underdeveloped at best, frozen at the developmental stage when their mental illness or addiction began. Mental illness and addiction makes a person focus primarily on themselves, which makes good communication difficult. In dual diagnosis drug rehab, people learn how to reach out to others again and build useful communication habits.

A person with good mental health has the basis for good communication. People use all their senses to communicate back and forth with others. To be effective, the message sender and the message receiver need to aware, responsive, and adaptive. There are many things that can change a person’s message from the time it forms in their brain to the time it gets out so another person can see or hear it. Also, there are many things that can interfere with a message being interpreting in the way the sender intended. Even on a good day, clear communication can be tricky!

So now throw in some depression and methamphetamine, or maybe bipolar and alcohol. The whole proposition gets even stickier. Now, you have a person, or persons, who have serious distortions with both message delivery and message reception. The mind of someone affected by mental illness and addiction is scrambled, desperately confused and warped. The drugs distort sensations and a person’s state of mind. The mental illness creates a “fun house mirror” effect with a person’s thoughts and feelings – everything is out of proportion, and often extreme in nature.

Basic skills and abilities come together to make communication possible. Unfortunately, these skills are sabotaged when drugs and mental illness run amok. These skills include basic listening and short term memory, empathy, patience, being able to use words clearly, staying emotionally calm. For most people with dual diagnosis, communication problems hinder their ability to form and keep good relationships, it keeps them from getting the mental illness and drug treatment they need.

At the Canyon, dual diagnosis drug rehab uses drug detox and alcohol detox, counseling, traditional addiction 12-step methods, and ancient therapies. The holistic drug treatment approach attends to the whole person, allowing healing to occur in many ways. When a person regains balance in their life, they have the opportunity to re-tune their communication skills. Individual and group counseling are safe environments for practicing these skills and making good habits.

After completing drug rehab, a person needs to stay aware of their new habits and their old unhealthy habits. Addiction and mental illness are multi-faceted problems. It can take a person many months or even years to establish a healthy lifestyle. Drug rehab isn’t a miracle cure, but it is a place to start a new direction in life.