People who have had a dual diagnosis must learn to identify warning signs that may affect their recovery from drug addiction, alcoholism and accompanying psychiatric disorders. While many addicts and alcoholics pay close attention to not taking that first drink and drug, they often lose focus that a flare-up of psychiatric symptoms can leave them vulnerable to relapsing on drugs or alcohol. For this reason, it is important to have a close relationship, with your psychiatrist. You may want to view them as your psychiatric sponsor or medication management sponsor.
Alcoholism, Drug Addiction and Psychiatric Medication
When a person relapses and enters back into their drug addiction or alcoholism they generally do not manage their psychiatric medication in a responsible manner. Poor management of psychiatric medication, coupled with drug addiction and alcoholism rapidly leads to a relapse that is very complex and challenging to recover from. Alcohol and drugs can change the effects of psychiatric medications creating unpredictable results which are best treated in an addiction treatment center or drug rehab specializing in dual diagnosis treatment.
Dual Diagnosis Relapse Prevention Signals
• Altering medication levels on your own
• Stopping medications on your own
• Refusing to follow the advice of your physician
• Begin to self medicate
• Missing doctors appointments
• Not addressing change in psychiatric symptoms
• Start hanging out with old drug using friends
• Discontinue contact with recovering friends, discontinue going to meetings
• Failure to discuss thinking about using drugs or alcohol
• Failing to follow the aftercare plan designed in drug rehab or addiction treatment
• Believing that relapse triggers don’t affect you any more
Staying clean and sober and managing ones psychiatric symptoms constructively is an ongoing process. Abstinence and dealing positively with a dual diagnosis go hand in hand. By identifying things that put us at risk for relapse and using the various recovery tools on an ongoing basis, we try to prevent a relapse before it happens. We need to periodically review our relapse prevention plans with our doctors, treatment professionals and sponsors. If you went to an addiction treatment center or drug rehab for treatment, stay in contact with them.
If you require additional information regarding relapse prevention, relapse or addiction treatment, go to www.recoveryconnection.org If you require addiction treatment immediately, you might want to cal 800-511-9225, a national referral help line.
