Dual Diagnosis - Willimantic
Recent medical research has found that addiction and other mental disorders occur together. One in two people who abuse drugs or alcohol also have a mental illness such as an anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder, or depression. Dual diagnosis is an area of particular importance in modern drug rehab treatment science.
The only way to adequately help a person with co-occurring disorders is to treat them in quick succession. This is complex treatment science, and can take a great deal of medical expertise. If you believe that a loved one that you wish to help suffers from a dual diagnosis condition, you should contact Drug Treatment Centers, Willimantic, at (877) 804-1531.
What is a Dual Diagnosis?
When mental disorders and substance abuse occur together, they mutually reinforce one another. When one is treated on its own, the disorder left untreated often brings about relapse. Dual diagnosis is a term that researchers and doctors dealing in addiction science use to describe the way in which substance abuse and mental illness need to be treated together for effective results.
Mental Health Disorders and Addiction
While research of the link between mental illness and drug and alcohol dependence is ongoing today, doctors and scientists currently ascribe co-occurring conditions to patients attempting to "self-medicate."
The effects of drugs and alcohol often feel therapeutic to people battling the effects of mental illness. Drugs and alcohol can, for instance, alleviate depression or anxiety for short periods of time, or curb the racing thoughts seen in schizophrenia.
The relationship between substance abuse and mental disorder can run the other way too -- drug use can cause mental illness in people who carry genetic vulnerabilities to addiction. Drugs can also worsen the symptoms of pre-existing mental conditions.
What Dual Diagnosis Treatments are Available?
As with conventional approaches to treating drug and alcohol dependence and mental illness, rehabilitation methods for co-occurring conditions use medications, psychotherapy and behavioral therapy.
Treatments for mental illnesses don't usually run concurrently with detoxification processes, though, which use powerful drugs. They begin immediately after. Treatment philosophies that favor treating mental disorders soon after detoxification tend to have better success rates. They make sure that patients have enough self-control to resist the temptation to go back to drugs.
Addiction After-care Services
Patients out of detox and in preliminary therapy for mental illness and drug and alcohol abuse need considerable help getting back on their feet and re-entering life. Drug rehab centers are able to offer patients a great deal of assistance in this area.
Patients are given access to step-down residential care centers that offer them a safe, drug-free environment, halfway houses, daycare centers that allow access to therapy groups, doctors and counselors and support groups. It can take years of care for a patient to truly learn to cope with his cravings and emotions, and face the pressures life without turning to drugs again.
Successful dual diagnosis treatment requires doctors with years of experience. It can take considerable homework to find a rehab center with such expertise. Find treatment for a loved one who may suffer from a mental disorder in addition to trouble with substance abuse, call Drug Treatment Centers, Willimantic, at (877) 804-1531. They can assist you or your loved one in finding the best rehab or treatment facilities that fit your specific needs.