Substance Abuse and Mental Health Facilities in Ankeny, IA

In case you abusing substances like alcohol and drugs in Ankeny, they can prove effective at managing - albeit in the short term - the symptoms of your mental health disorder. This form of self-medication, however, can be dangerous because it can lead to addiction.

The temporary relief that you derive from these substances could soon be overtaken by other negative physical and psychological effects. Eventually, you may even find that you have started struggling with more of the common mental health problems that are linked with drug and alcohol addiction.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

The symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder tend to change over time. Whereas some of these symptoms will appear about 3 months after the traumatic episode you suffered, others will take years before they develop.

The important thing to keep in mind is that the condition will impact the regions of the brain that are associated with emotions and memory. If you have a healthy brain, it will be able to differentiate between present and past experiences. However, PTSD can interfere with this natural process. This is why it is important to seek professional assessment and treatment before turning to drugs and alcohol to self-medicate this condition.

Psychosis

It is possible to develop psychosis as a result of abusing alcohol. however, this will typically happen after day - or even weeks - of intense alcohol abuse. If you have been struggling with a chronic alcohol use problem that has been going on for years, you might also be vulnerable to the hallucinations and intense paranoia that are typical hallmarks of psychosis.

This is because alcohol produces damaging effects on the brain. This could happen as a result of the lack of the vitamin B complex thiamine, which could cause you to develop Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome.

A dual diagnosis treatment program can help you understand the reasons behind your substance abuse and addiction as well as how this disorder is affected and continues to affect the other co-occurring behavioral and mental health disorders that you have also been diagnosed with.

This type of treatment would most likely be highly specialized and integrated. This is because it has to manage all the disorders that you have been struggling with at the same time - or simultaneously. It is recommended that you go through dual diagnosis treatment if you have been living with both addiction as well as any other co-occurring medical or mental health disorders.