Dual Diagnosis Treatment in Laredo, TX
Dual diagnosis is a term professionals use when you are diagnosed with both an addiction (typically substance addiction) and some type of mental illness. For example, a person might be bipolar and addicted to alcohol. Some individuals abuse drugs or alcohol to cope with the mental conditions they have. Others develop mental health conditions or experience a worsening in mental health symptoms because of the way substances influence brain chemistry. Drug abuse thus can cause mental health problems and vice versa. Centers that offer dual diagnosis treatment in Laredo increasingly recognize this interplay for a better outcome.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness asserts that roughly 1 out of 3 people with mental illness and about half of people with severe mental illnesses also experience substance abuse, so dual diagnosis is quite common. Relapse prevention in Laredo cannot miss a dual diagnosis or one of the conditions can revive the other. The symptoms, however, can be all over the map, simply because there are so many combinations of conditions and drugs that can occur. They might include
- Extreme mood changes
- Suicidal thoughts
- Change in social behavior (withdrawal or relationship shifts)
- Confusion
- Concentration difficulties
- Engaging in risky behaviors
- Loss of control over the use of substances
Types of Mental Health Disorders
Professionals recognize dozens of different health disorders, thanks largely to improved awareness and research. In fact, there are over 200 classified forms of mental illness. Professionals usually put these disorders within broader categories, including
- Anxiety disorders (e.g., phobias, social anxiety disorder)
- Mood disorders (e.g., depression, bipolar)
- Psychotic disorders (e.g., schizophrenia)
- Eating disorders (e.g., anorexia, bulimia)
- Impulse control and addiction (e.g., alcohol, drugs, kleptomania, pyromania)
- Personality disorders (e.g., paranoid personality disorder)
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Stress response syndromes (adjustment disorders)
- Dissociative disorders (e.g., split personality)
- Factitious disorders
- Sexual and gender disorders
- Somatic symptom disorders
- Tic disorders
Depression and anxiety are the most common co-occurring disorders found alongside substance abuse, but ADHD, bipolar, schizophrenia, dissociative identity disorder and eating disorders are diagnosed at high rates, as well.
Many of these conditions have similar symptoms, so it is important for a professional to assess an individual to determine what the issue actually is. Once the individual knows what condition they have, they're in a better position to get the treatment that is appropriate for them.
It's also important to recognize that mental illness can have different causes. Genetic factors can be involved, for example, as can environmental and biochemical stresses. And those elements can play on each other, as well. Specific environmental elements, for instance, might affect genes. Mental illness thus should not be stigmatized as the fault of the individual, nor should it be considered to be completely within their control.
Why Is Dual Diagnosis Treatment Necessary?
As outlined above, substance abuse and mental illness can influence each other. Concentrating only on one issue might mean that symptoms of the other condition worsen. For example, if a person addresses only their alcohol addiction, they might use their eating disorder to cope instead of drinking. Dual diagnosis rehab reduces this risk. Dual diagnosis treatment in Laredo also makes it easier for therapists to determine which symptoms stem from which condition.
Dual diagnosis treatment in Laredo also matters because of safety. Many centers are not equipped to handle co-occurring conditions, which can increase the risk of injury or even death. Individuals also might not take one of their conditions as seriously because of the other. Sometimes, individuals also are on medications related to their mental illness. Medical personnel have to take these drugs into account when they help a person go through drug detox In Laredo. That might mean using a different substance to manage withdrawal symptoms, for example, or adjusting the dose. It also might mean having other tools or substances available to address secondary side effects that occur from combining medications.
Research has shown that people do better when professionals in a dual diagnosis treatment program use an integrated approach, treating both the mental health issue and substance abuse as connected issues. But many dual diagnosis rehab facilities still use sequential or parallel approaches, treating one condition before the other or treating them separately. Much of the reason for this is that many professionals simply don't have expertise in more than one area. But as the recognition of the high rate of co-occurring conditions grows, more doctors and therapists that offer dual diagnosis treatment in Laredo are advocating for integration to become the standard treatment method.
If you need treatment for yourself or a loved one, make sure you clarify with the representatives at our dual diagnosis treatment center. Call us now (877) 804-1531.