If you’re struggling with a mental health and substance abuse disorder, you may wonder do I need dual diagnosis treatment. In short, completing a dual diagnosis treatment program is the best way to improve your ability to fully recover. Addiction, substance abuse disorders, and alcoholism are chronic, powerful, and progressive conditions that impact your physical, mental, and emotional health. Drugs and alcohol are mood-altering substances that alter your brain chemistry and create significant neurotransmitter imbalances. Addiction is capable of creating personality and behavioral changes, as psychoactive substances impair judgment and lower inhibitions. Another complication of addiction is that it aggravates and worsens underlying mental health disorders. Having both a mental health disorder and a substance abuse problem means that you have a dual diagnosis. 9.2 million Americans meet the criteria for a dual diagnosis annually.
Addiction and Mental Health
Addiction is a mental health disease that causes you to compulsively abuse drugs and alcohol despite wanting to quit or encountering harmful consequences as a result of your use. Psychoactive substances are neurotransmitter inhibitors, causing your brain to release more neurotransmitters than it should. Neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine, and GABA are responsible for pleasurable emotions. Mental health disorders, like addiction, are progressive diseases. When you struggle with a mental health disorder, symptoms can become disabling without treatment. Symptoms can interfere with your ability to engage in healthy relationships, work, or pursue your goals. Untreated symptoms increase your risk of using drugs and alcohol, as substances can immediately relieve certain symptoms, like anxiety and depression. However, long-term use and abuse of drugs and alcohol ultimately creates massive neurotransmitter imbalances. The imbalance not only worsens mental health symptoms but also makes mental health treatments, such as medications, ineffective. Some of the most common mental health disorders that occur in dual diagnosis patients include:
- Depression and Major Depressive Disorder
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder
- PTSD
- Mood Disorders
- Eating disorders
Having a dual diagnosis means that you either have both a mental health and substance abuse disorder at the same time or you develop one condition right after the other. If you’re wondering do I need dual diagnosis treatment, the simple answer is you need to ensure you receive treatment for both conditions to fully recover.
Do I Need Dual Diagnosis Treatment?
Wondering do I need dual diagnosis treatment likely means that you have a co-occurring disorder. The reason why dual diagnosis treatment is essential to recovery is that untreated mental health symptoms can lead to relapse while using drugs and alcohol prevents you from managing a mental health condition. Your mental health is impacted by substance use which is why dual diagnosis treatment focuses on ensuring you have the proper medications and therapy during substance abuse treatment. Dual diagnosis programs offer immediate access to mental health professionals, including psychiatrists. Since psychoactive substances can compromise the effectiveness of mental health medications, it’s common to need medication adjustments during treatment. Since withdrawal symptoms can become more severe if you have a co-occurring disorder, dual diagnosis treatment typically includes detox services. Many withdrawal symptoms are reduced with the use of medications, which makes it easier to begin recovery. Dual diagnosis treatment can occur in an inpatient or outpatient setting, although inpatient is usually the best option considering co-occurring disorders are complex and require a higher level of care.
Finding the Best Dual Diagnosis Program Today
If you’re wondering do I need dual diagnosis treatment, chances are you’re struggling with a co-occurring disorder and recognize you need help to recover. Dual diagnosis programs provide you with the support, guidance, and understanding you need to successfully find lasting sobriety and abstinence. If you’re ready to take the first step on your recovery journey, reach out to Promises Treatment Centers today at 844.875.5609 to explore your treatment options.