Dual diagnosis mental health and substance abuse

Dual Diagnosis – Mental Health and Substance Abuse

Dual diagnosis is essentially defined as a person that has both a mental illness and a co-existing issue with alcohol and/or drugs. Unfortunately, it is not a rare condition. Studiesindicate that about 17.5 million adult Americans have a serious mental health disorder. This roughly translates to 8 percent of the population. Of these, about 4 million people are also identified as having an alcohol or drug dependency.

These numbers obviously strike a call to response, as both mental health issues and addiction to alcohol and drugs are serious ailments that need full attention in the hope that those afflicted by them could find the kind of peace that comes with recovery. However, some people may look at a dual diagnosis and feel as if they are at a crossroads of sorts: one in which they think that they must decide whether or not one treatment takes priority over the other. However, standing at the intersection of mental illness and substance abuse and debating on which path to take is not the correct way to go about things.

The Importance of Proper Dual Diagnosis The fact of the matter is, in a dual diagnosis scenario, you cannot treat one issue without treating the other. Yet before the treatment can accurately move forward, both diagnoses must happen independently from each other.

This could be a tricky proposition. If the alcoholic or addict does not have substantial evidence of a preexisting psychiatric condition, he or she must medically detox from the abused substance in order to make an accurate diagnosis. While this step prior to the diagnosis may be interpreted as putting one part of the overall treatment in a position of a priority over the other, it is not the case in reality. Rather, performing the medical detox enables a proper dual diagnosis, which is an essential step for both conditions to be simultaneously treated.

If a medical detox did not happen beforehand, any semblance of a proper dual diagnosis would not be possible. By that extension, the addict or alcoholic would not receive the most accurate prognosis possible, which could end up putting a monkey wrench in the overall treatment process.

Treating Dual Diagnosis Once a proper dual diagnosis is discovered, the treatment can commence. However, before the treatment begins, the individual being treated must be conscious of the fact that the treatment of mental health issues and addiction are separate elements that must be treated differently, even though they are treated concurrently. For the journey of addiction recovery, the alcoholic or addict would enlist the aid of a qualified drug treatment center. These types of facilities can work with the individual to forge the proper kind of road to recovery. In most cases, they will utilize a holistic approach to the recovery process, along with traditional methods of support and love.

In the case of mental health issues, the individual would need to seek aid from a mental health professional to treat the issues once they are uncovered. Fortunately, most clinics that specialize in drug and alcohol rehabilitation can help the individual find a suitable mental health professional that can help him or her receive the kind of treatment that is needed and deserved.

A Tough, yet Achievable Goal There is no denying that dealing with a dual diagnosis is a tough prognosis, just because it contains a different dimension to the overall treatment process than would otherwise be needed. Yet while receiving concurrent treatment for mental health and substance abuse may seem like a daunting task, it is nonetheless a mountain that can be climbed. And its summit can be reached by staying true to the essential tent poles of the 12-step system. This philosophy at its heart boils down to the acknowledgement of a higher power and forging a connection with that power in a way that relinquishes control. By doing this, it goes a long way into alleviating the pressure that one may feel by trying to take this treatment under the guise of individuality. And considering the that there are two types of elements to build a recovery from, this sense of “letting go� is something that can be extremely critical to finding peace with both issues.