subject: Mental health and staying sober go hand in hand [print this page] Different situation demand different approaches, consistent changes in social, economical status or roles can lead to stress and many times depressions. Overcoming these hurdles in life is not always easy for everybody. It only takes a strong mind and stubborn willpower to get over these stressful things. Many times individuals only give in and go with the flow instead of finding their own way out. These individuals mainly suffer from dual diagnosis. This term is used for mental illness and addiction together. Wikipedia describes it as a term used for people with an intellectual disability and diagnosed with a mental illness. Making a dual diagnosis in substance abusers is difficult as drug abuse itself often induces psychiatric symptoms, thus making it necessary to differentiate between substance induced and pre-existing mental illness.
It can be also described as a co morbid condition of a person considered to be suffering from a mental illness and a substance abuse problem at the same time. There is considerable argument which surrounds the aptness of this term being used to describe a heterogeneous group of individuals with complex needs and a varied range of problems. The concept can be used broadly to describe, for example depression and alcoholism, or it can be very well restricted to specify severe mental illness (e.g. psychosis, schizophrenia) and substance misuse disorder (e.g. cannabis abuse), or a person who has a milder mental illness and a drug dependency, such as panic disorder or generalized anxiety disorder and is dependent on opioids. In short this term broadly means use of drugs and mental illness combined together.
Dual diagnosis rehab combines two treatments combined into tone holistic recovery treatment. This treatment should be given together for its higher effect and not separately. The clinical experts follow cognitive therapies and medical treatment together for a combined effect. It is proven in a study conducted by the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration that at least 50 percent of the 2 million Americans with severe mental illness abuse illicit drugs or alcohol, compared to 15 percent of the general population. The problem for professional counselors and mental health care providers in trying to help these patients is making an accurate diagnosis. This disorder does not only affect the adults, but also teen. With them it is particularly very difficult, because understanding them and their mood variations can be tedious.
