Dual Diagnosis
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It can occur that somebody with a drug or alcohol problem might also have another mental health problem; when this happens it is referred to as a dual diagnosis. This combination of problems can make treating either condition problematic. Even if an individual who is suffering with dual diagnosis substance abuse manages to escape their addiction, there is little chance that they will make much progress in their recovery until the other condition is treated; they will most likely quickly relapse.
Many of those with a dual diagnosis fail to get identified by the medical profession. This is because the symptoms of alcohol or drug addiction are so similar to mental illnesses such as; depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia. It is not uncommon for depression, mania, anxiety, or hallucinations to be just dismissed as due to the addiction. Failure to spot the condition is a big problem because it could ruin the only attempt that an individual has of escaping addiction. If someone with dual diagnosis substance abuse makes it into recovery, but their other problems are ignored, they will find it unbearable and soon return to addiction – they might never get another chance to recover.
The cause of dual diagnosis substance abuse is not always the same for everyone who develops the symptoms. Some people have a pre-existing mental health condition while others develop mental health problems due to their addiction. It could be the case that a mental health problem, such as depression for example, was making someone’s life a bit unbearable and in an attempt to escape this they turned to drugs or alcohol. In the beginning this strategy might have proved successful and their symptoms might have seemed to disappear; at least while they were drinking or using. This initial success is likely to have encouraged them to continue abusing chemicals until they became addicted; they will then need to use increasing amounts of their drug of choice in order to get the same amount of relief. After a few years the substance will stop giving any relief and they will have the problem of addiction along with their other mental health problem to deal with.
Another scenario for dual diagnosis substance abuse developing is that a person becomes addicted to a drug first of all and then develops other mental health problems because of this. The individual then gets trapped in a vicious cycle of abusing substances and suffering with mental health problem but then further abusing these chemicals to deal with this suffering. This really is a no-win situation and the only possible escape is treatment for both conditions.
The usual way to treat dual diagnosis substance abuse is to deal with the drug or alcohol problem first of all. No progress can be made while the individual is still drinking or using, and any attempt to treat the other condition would likely be futile. Once the individual is in recovery though, there is no reason why their other problems cannot be managed successfully.
