Archive for February, 2007

Drug Rehab and Dual Diagnosis

February 17, 2007 at 9:00 am · Filed under About Drug Addiction

In your studies on drug addiction and abuse, or at your addiction treatment center, you might have stumbled upon the idea of dual diagnosis. This is something that has stricken many people, and it is often something that goes undiagnosed for a long time, which may contribute to a greater surge in addictions. 

Dual diagnosis means that a person has two different illnesses. They have a mental health or behavioral condition, and they also have an addiction or a substance abuse problem. When a person has dual diagnosis, both of these factors are contributing to their standard of living and the amount of time that they spend below the standard, or where they should be living. 

Dual diagnosis is going to take a toll on much more than just the parts of a person’s life that are affected by drug and alcohol abuse. Mental health issues are going to prevent a person from holding down a job or relationship that they might be able to hold down if their only problem was the addiction. Mental health issues add so much to addictions, and in turn, addictions add so much to mental health issues. It is a vicious cycle, made even worse when someone introduces the idea of trying to hold down a life. 

Dual diagnosis is something that many people have. Studies have shown that almost half of the people who have an addiction will also have a mental health issue as well. Unfortunately, many times the mental health issue does not get addressed during treatment. 

When an addiction treatment center only deals with addiction, and fails to deal with the actual mental health issues, the mental health problems are going to lead right back to addiction after the person has been in recovery. This happens more often than we are aware of, and it could be one of the biggest contributors to chronic relapse. 

When it comes right down to it, mental health and addiction issues should be treated together. A person cannot get rid of one of these problems without hurting the other, unless they are being treated for both. If a person with depression gets treatment for alcoholism but not for the depression, the depression will get worse without the alcohol, and will probably lead them right back to drinking. If a person with both of these gets treatment for the depression but does not stop drinking, there is going to be no way that they are actually going to get any better. The only successful treatment for dual diagnosis is treatment that incorporates both of the problems into one. 

If you have gone through an addiction treatment program and have gone back to using, you might have a mental health condition that is preventing you from getting any better. Perhaps there is depression, or other mental health issues that are keeping you from staying on the path to recovery. Ask your doctor about dual diagnosis, and have him or her decide if this is something that you should be treated for as well. Many times after a person has relapsed, they have realized that they also have a mental health issue. Once they have been treated for dual diagnosis, they are much more likely to be able to make a full recovery and stay on the correct path for the rest of their lives without a higher chance of relapse. If you think that this might be something you are dealing with, talk to your doctor today. You can get into a treatment program that will treat both your addiction and your mental health problems at the same time and get better much faster.

For additional information on dual diagnosis treatment you can go to www.dual-diagnosis-treatment-center.com or www.recoveryconnection.org.

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Dual Diagnosis

February 17, 2007 at 8:41 am · Filed under About Drug Addiction

When mental illness and substance disorder coexist, both disorders should be considered primary, and integrated dual primary addiction treatment is required. This category is dedicated for those seeking addiction treatment for substance abuse and a dual diagnosis. We have included the definition of dual-diagnosis denitrified by SAMHSA’s Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT): “the simultaneous existence of a substance use disorder interacting with one or more independent DSM-IV Axis I or II mental disorders and/or a cognitive/physical/sensory/and/or developmental disability.

The dual disorder/disability is of a type and severity which exacerbates the substance use disorder or other conditions, and/or complicates treatment of the substance use disorder, and/or interferes with functioning in age appropriate social roles.” Examples of Mental Illness are bipolar disorder, depression, trauma, Post Tramatic Stress Disorder, and Eating Disorders.

If yuo are looking for dual diagnosis treatment go to www.steppingstonecenter.org

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Dual Disorders and Dual Diagnosis

February 16, 2007 at 7:43 am · Filed under About Drug Addiction

The term dual diagnosis is a common, broad term that indicates the simultaneous presence of two independent medical disorders. Recently, within the fields of mental health, psychiatry, and addiction medicine, the term has been popularly used to describe the coexistence of a mental health disorder and AOD problems. The equivalent phrase dual disorders also denotes the coexistence of two independent (but invariably interactive) disorders, and is the preferred term used in this Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP). 

The acronym MICA, which represents the phrase mentally ill chemical abusers, is occasionally used to designate people who have an AOD disorder and a markedly severe and persistent mental disorder such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. A preferred definition is mentally ill chemically affected people, since the word affected better describes their condition and is not pejorative. Other acronyms are also used: MISA (mentally ill substance abusers), CAMI (chemical abuse and mental illness), and SAMI (substance abuse and mental illness). 

Common examples of dual disorders include the combinations of major depression with cocaine addiction, alcohol addiction with panic disorder, alcoholism and polydrug addiction with schizophrenia, and borderline personality disorder with episodic polydrug abuse. Although the focus of this volume is on dual disorders, some patients have more than two disorders, such as cocaine addiction, personality disorder, and AIDS. The principles that apply to dual disorders generally apply also to multiple disorders. 

The combinations of AOD problems and psychiatric disorders vary along important dimensions, such as severity, chronicity, disability, and degree of impairment in functioning. For example, the two disorders may each be severe or mild, or one may be more severe than the other. Indeed, the severity of both disorders may change over time. Levels of disability and impairment in functioning may also vary.

 

 

Thus, there is no single combination of dual disorders; in fact, there is great variability among them. However, patients with similar combinations of dual disorders are often encountered in certain treatment settings. For instance, some methadone treatment programs treat a high percentage of opiate-addicted patients with personality disorders. Patients with schizophrenia and alcohol addiction are frequently encountered in psychiatric units, mental health centers, and programs that provide treatment to homeless patients.

 

 

Patients with mental disorders have an increased risk for AOD disorders, and patients with AOD disorders have an increased risk for mental disorders. For example, about one-third of patients who have a psychiatric disorder also experience AOD abuse at some point (Regier et al., 1990), which is about twice the rate among people without psychiatric disorders. Also, more than half of the people who use or abuse AODs have experienced psychiatric symptoms significant enough to fulfill diagnostic criteria for a psychiatric disorder (Regier et al., 1990; Ross et al., 1988), although many of these symptoms may be AOD related and might not represent an independent condition.

 

 

Compared with patients who have a mental health disorder or an AOD use problem alone, patients with dual disorders often experience more severe and chronic medical, social, and emotional problems. Because they have two disorders, they are vulnerable to both AOD relapse and a worsening of the psychiatric disorder. Further, addiction relapse often leads to psychiatric decompensation, and worsening of psychiatric problems often leads to addiction relapse. Thus, relapse prevention must be specially designed for patients with dual disorders. Compared with patients who have a single disorder, patients with dual disorders often require longer treatment, have more crises, and progress more gradually in dual diagnosis treatment.

 Psychiatric disorders most prevalent among dually diagnosed patients include mood disorders, anxiety disorders, personality disorders, and psychotic disorders. Each of these clusters of disorders and symptoms is dealt with in more detail in separate chapters. 

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Gay Friendly Drug Rehabs; Needed More Than Ever

February 15, 2007 at 6:55 pm · Filed under About Drug Addiction

Gay Friendly Drug Rehabs Are Needed 

After reading the Tim Hardaway story on how he hates gay people, it is safe to say that homophobia, prejudice and discrimination is alive and well. It is for these reasons that the need for gay friendly drug rehab or gay friendly alcohol rehab programs is not overstated.

Take this specific case and turn the person who is an NBA star into a a regular every day person who has dealt with shame and prejudice their entire life. They develop a drug addiction and alcohol addiction and decide to enter a drug rehab program. They know their main issue is centered around their sexual orientation and would rather continue their drug addiction then come to terms with their sexual preference.  

GLBT Friendly Addiction Treatment Programs Make Sense

It only makes sense that the GLBT person with a drug addiction would feel safer in a drug rehab program sensitive to their GLBT needs. The entire drug rehab need not be gay, but the treating staff should have dealt with their homophobic issues and understand the key issues many GLBT addicts and alcoholics need to deal with.

This is no different than addiction treatment programs which have specialty treatment services for people with eating disorders, compulsive gambling or sex addiction. To be amongst those who understand make recovery from drug addiction and alcoholism that much easier.

If you are looking for referral to a gay friendly drug rehab program in your area you can call the national addiction treatment helpline at 1-800-511-9225 or go to www.recoveryconnection.org.

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