Dual Diagnosis Treatment in Alice, TX
When a person experience a dual diagnosis, it's important that they seek treatment through our program for dual diagnosis treatment in Alice that is specifically geared toward treating both conditions, not just their substance abuse.
A dual diagnosis is when a person struggles with both a mental illness and a substance abuse problem. Dual diagnosis is a common occurrence as many people who struggle with a mental illness may turn to substance abuse as a means of self-medication.
According to Dartmouth University, an estimated 50 percent of people with a mental illness also have a substance abuse problem. Substance abuse is never a healthy coping mechanism, nor does it help a person better cope with their mental illness.
As time goes on and research regarding substance abuse advances, experts are better able to understand the connections between drug abuse and mental illness and how each impacts the other. They now know that treating a substance abuse problem without addressing a person's mental health and helping a person find the medications and treatments that can best help them greatly impacts the person's overall health.
According to Dartmouth University, those who are most likely to be impacted by dual diagnosis include males ages 18 to 44. They are most likely to abuse alcohol, followed by marijuana and then cocaine.
While a mental illness can complicate dual diagnosis treatment in Alice, it does not mean that a person cannot overcome their addiction. Through treatments for dual diagnosis in Alice, a person can live a life free from substance abuse and with a mental illness that is better controlled.
Types of Mental Health Disorders
Dual diagnosis treatment in Alice can encompass many different types of addictions as well as mental health disorders. Traditionally, the more severe a mental illness, the more difficult it may be to treat a person's dual diagnosis. While a person may require a longer treatment program in Alice, this does not mean they are treatment-resistant. Examples of the types of mental health disorder include:
Bipolar disorder: This is a severe mental illness that causes a person to fluctuate between extremes of personality. Examples include depression symptoms or mania, which is a very "elevated" personality where a person cannot sleep and often engages in risky behaviors, such as spending sprees.
High-anxiety: This condition causes a person to feel an extraordinary high level of panic and fear that is unrelated to the situation at hand. Anxiety may lead a person to be afraid to go out in social situations or even out in public.
Schizophrenia: This is a serious mental illness that causes a person to lose touch with reality, such as seeing, hearing, or even smelling things that are not there. This condition can severely impact a person's quality of life and substance abuse may worsen the level of hallucinations.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD): This is a condition that causes a person to adopt obsessive thoughts and behaviors. An example could be washing their hands 50 to 100 times a day because they constantly think they are dirty. A person may turn to drug abuse because they are trying to escape their persistent thoughts.
Depression: This condition causes a person to have feelings of extreme sadness and hopelessness. A person may even consider suicide.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): This condition often occurs after a person has experienced a traumatic event, such as abuse, a military battle, or natural disaster. A person with PTSD often has "flashbacks" or moments where they feel they are reliving traumatic events.
Why Is Dual Diagnosis Treatment Necessary? What Are the Benefits?
If a person requires dual diagnosis treatment in Alice, help is available. A person can seek treatment, which will focus on helping the person detoxify from their substance or substances of abuse. They can then work with a therapist to explore their mental illness and its effects.
A doctor can prescribe medications that will help them regular the chemistry in their brains so they can lessen the most significant symptoms associated with their mental illness. Medical treatments such as this can help a person control their mental illness instead of using drugs and/or alcohol that will only worsen their illness.
After the process of detox at our center for medical detox in Alice, a medical specialist can then recommend treatments that help a person stay sober. Medical research tells addiction counselors that those with a dual diagnosis in Alice are less likely to respond to some traditional treatments, such as Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous.
As a result, they may be more likely to recommend programs that build social and coping skills as well as participating in individual counseling sessions. Call us now at (877) 804-1531.