Why is Dual Diagnosis Important to Addiction Treatment?

You may have heard about drug or alcohol addiction coinciding with anxiety or depression. When a person is diagnosed with both a mental illness and addiction, it is termed ‘Dual Diagnosis’ or ‘Co-Occurring Disorders’.

A large percentage of people diagnosed with addiction are also dealing with some mental illness. Mood and personality disorders, anxiety or depressive disorders and many other mental illnesses are often associated with addiction.

When the two – psychological issues and addiction – occur together, it may become difficult to say which came first. Some people experience symptoms of mental illness first and turn to drugs or alcohol to relieve their symptoms, not realizing that it would be counterintuitive to do so. Others show signs of addiction first, which are later followed by mental illness.

Is there a difference between addiction treatment for dual diagnosis and addiction treatment in the absence of a mental illness?

Many people with addiction suffer from severe mood swings, hopelessness and sadness, and delusions or hallucinations. Many of these symptoms are also observed in people with mental illness. The risks for safety and overall health are also greater when a person has been diagnosed with co-occurring disorders. Apart from withdrawal symptoms, there is also the concern for suicide, self-harm and harm to others in people with dual diagnosis.

A person with dual diagnosis needs specialized treatment to recover. This requires an integrated treatment plan that can treat both mental illness and addiction. Such a treatment plan may include psycho-pharmacology, behavioral management therapies, and psychotherapy, or a combination of these. If a person with dual diagnosis is treated for addiction alone, there is a high likelihood of relapse. That means you need to select a rehab that offers specialized dual diagnosis treatment.

If a rehab facility doesn’t treat dual diagnosis, the person undergoing treatment may not receive adequate treatment and care to maintain his/her recovery in the long-term and relapse would occur. It is also important that the rehab offers detox with medical supervision available round the clock. Withdrawal from drugs or alcohol can be dangerous, even fatal, without medical care. When withdrawal symptoms occur together with signs of mental illness, it becomes even more important to have medical supervision and care available.

If you, or a loved is dealing with addiction, with or without dual diagnosis, contact an addiction counselor at Ocean Hills Recovery in Dana Point, California today for help.

To learn more about dual diagnosis treatment in san Diego, call one of the top addiction treatment and drug detox centers in San Diego, Pacific Bay Recovery at 858-263-9700 Today. Pacific Bay Recovery offers a variety of treatments to suit your needs.

Pacific Bay Recovery
1501 5th Avenue, Suite 100
San Diego, CA 92101
(858) 263-9700

This release was published on openPR.