You must have come across a term called “dual diagnosis” when searching for rehab treatments. Dual diagnosis is nothing but identifying more than one health disorders in your body. Now, this may seem a rare case where an individual suffers from more than one health condition. Sadly, that’s not the case. It has been recorded that nearly 8 million people in the USA suffering from addiction also have an underlying mental health condition.
Thus, such a condition is not an exception and knowing about it becomes more important.
How is Dual Diagnosis Caused?
Before knowing about the cause, let us first understand what the situation is like.
Dual diagnosis is referred to the condition where an individual suffers from substance use disorder along with an underlying mental health condition. Now, these two can be both, cause and effect for one another.
For example, an individual is suffering from a mental illness, say anxiety. They begin to abuse the prescription medications they have been given by the doctor. This abuse leads them to develop an addiction to that medication. As time passes, the addiction becomes severe and the anxiety remains untreated.
In other cases, addiction can happen first followed by mental health conditions. For example, an individual has been abusing substances for a while now. They are already addicted to them and now also suffer from a mental health conditions. This is the case where mental illness is the side effect of addiction.
In the cases of dual diagnosis, it is often difficult to identify which condition occurred first. But it is possible to treat both of them.
Treating Dual Diagnosis
It is difficult to overcome mental health illnesses and addiction individually. The fight is even tougher when they occur together. But that’s what the experts are here for. The professionals can help you overcome dual diagnosis by recommending a few therapies and treatments. Some examples of the same are:
- Detox
It helps you to safely quit substances along with medical help if needed.
- Therapies
These help you to treat mental health disorders and also learn coping techniques to prevent future relapses.
- Aftercare
This is to assure that you are recovering and receive any additional help if needed.
There can be multiple treatments involved in treating dual diagnosis. You can know more about the same by approaching Skyward Treatment in Houston, Texas. Call us now for more information.