Dual Diagnosis: Substance Abuse and Mental Health

Healthcare providers can guide you to advanced recovery systems and programs that can help you overcome alcoholism, which is a chronic mental health condition. Northbound’s drug addiction treatment center is aleading treatment center dedicated to transforming the lives of people struggling with addiction & co-occurring mental health disorders. Furthermore, under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008, health insurance companies are legally required to cover treatment for substance abuse and mental health disorders, including alcoholism.

• Specific anxiety disorders, such as panic disorder, social phobia, and PTSD,
  however, appear to have an increased co–occurrence with alcoholism (Schuckit
  et al. 1997b; Kranzler 1996; Brady et al. 1995).
• Women who drink during pregnancy run a serious risk of damaging their fetuses.

Treatment providers are available 24/7 to answer your questions about rehab, whether it’s for you or a loved one. Submit your number and receive a free call today from a treatment provider. It is not uncommon for an addiction to alcohol to also come with a mental health dual-diagnosis. But in 1956, the AMA officially designated alcoholism as a disease, meaning people should be hospitalized and treated for the condition.

Dual Diagnosis Treatment

The limited evidence on treatment approaches to co-occurring alcohol dependence and mood disorders support the role of integrated treatment. Using one or more of several types of psychological therapies, psychologists can help people address psychological issues involved in their problem drinking. A number of these therapies, including cognitive-behavioral coping skills treatment and motivational enhancement therapy, were developed by psychologists. Additional therapies include 12-Step facilitation approaches that assist those with drinking problems in using self-help programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). However, when mood changes are restricted to clinical criteria, like those of a major depressive episode, it paints a bleak picture.

MentalHelp has partnered with several thought leaders in the mental health and wellness space, so we can help you make informed decisions on your wellness journey. MentalHelp may receive marketing compensation from these companies should you choose to use their services. While alcohol in low doses may improve performance on complex mental tasks during stressful situations, its use has been shown to increase stress response mechanisms.

Knowing the Signs and Symptoms of Addiction

Approximately percent of alcoholics show comorbidity of alcoholism and depression. While a clinically depressed person doesn’t necessarily become an alcoholic, alcohol and depression are linked; more than 80 percent of alcoholics have psychiatric complaints at some point. The depressive effects of alcohol itself can account for many of these complaints, and there may be no underlying condition.

• For individuals with comorbid alcoholism and mental health disorders, this type of care usually isn’t enough.
• Both alcohol use disorder and mental illness are chronic brain disorders and interact with brain pathways similarly.
• SAMHSA’s mission is to lead public health and service delivery efforts that promote mental health, prevent substance misuse, and provide treatments and supports to foster recovery while ensuring equitable access and better outcomes.
• Traditional treatment programs infrequently employ drugs and psychotherapy together, but even when they do, such programs operate independently of each other.
• Sometimes, mental illness can develop as a result of severe AUD, but many people turn to alcohol to cope with trauma or an underlying mental health condition.

At Northern Illinois Recovery Center, we offer treatments for co-occurring disorders such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). As a result, alcoholism is recognized as a mental illness by both the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Additionally, under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008, health insurance providers are legally required to cover treatment costs for alcoholism since it is considered a mental health condition and a substance abuse issue.

Does the medical community recognize alcoholism as a disease?

Antisocial behavior increases the likelihood of substance abuse; drinking lowers inhibition and lowers the threshold for antisocial behavior. For people who also experience alcohol dependence, the first step in AUD treatment may involve medical support. Still, only a small number of people with AUD need medical care during this process.

Although heavy, prolonged
alcohol use can produce psychiatric symptoms or, in some patients, more severe
and protracted alcohol–induced psychiatric syndromes, these alcohol–related
conditions are likely to improve markedly with abstinence. This characteristic
distinguishes them from the major independent psychiatric disorders they mimic. It is clinically useful
to distinguish between assorted commonly occurring, alcohol–induced psychiatric
symptoms and signs on the one hand and frank alcohol–induced psychiatric
syndromes on the other hand. A syndrome generally is defined as a constellation
of symptoms and signs that coalesce in a predictable pattern in an individual
over a discrete period of time.

Is Alcoholism Considered A Mental Illness?

Once a working diagnosis
has been established, it is important for the clinician to remain flexible with
his or her assessment and to continue to monitor the patient over time. Like
most initial psychiatric assessments, the basic approach described https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/mental-disorders-alcohol-use/ here is hardly
foolproof. Therefore, it is important to monitor a patient’s course and, if
necessary, revise the diagnosis, even if improvement occurs with abstinence
and supportive treatment alone during the first weeks of sobriety.

• Additionally, you should make sure that the program has experience with your particular mental health issue.
• A compulsive need to consume alcohol despite the physical, psychological, and social ramifications characterize this end-stage.
• For others, drinking can turn into mild, moderate or severe alcohol use disorder, the term doctors and clinicians now use instead of alcoholism, alcoholic or alcohol abuse.

When someone suffers from alcoholism, they tend to go through three different phases of drinking. The first stage is to drink enough to get either intoxicated or inebriated. Once that happens, if the person doesn’t keep drinking, the alcohol will begin to wear off, and they will start to experience withdrawal symptoms both physically and mentally.

Dual Diagnosis: Substance Abuse and Mental Health

Whether alcohol use disorder is mild, moderate, or severe is based on the number of questions answered with a yes. If you said yes to 2-3 questions, it is likely mild AUD, 4-5 questions answered yes is moderate AUD, and 6 or more questions answered yes is severe AUD. Mental health treatment often focuses on and exploration of a person’s thoughts, feelings and behaviors, focusing on ways to improve those feelings through one-on-one counseling or group therapy. This type of treatment often includes medication paired with psychotherapy.

Alcohol withdrawal can be extremely uncomfortable and sometimes unsafe to go through at home. At Northbound’s accredited detox and alcohol treatment facilities in Orange County, patients can safely detoxify in a comfortable, secure environment with around-the-clock access to clinical staff and psychiatric care. Addiction is a disease, but like many diseases, alcoholism isn’t curable. For those who are experiencing an addiction to alcohol, a future free of alcohol dependence exists. Be realistic about the amount of care you’re able to provide without feeling overwhelmed and resentful. Letting the co-occurring disorders take over your life isn’t healthy for you or your loved one.