Substance Abuse and Mental Health Facilities in Caribou, ME
Both substance abuse and mental illness tend to cause each other. For instance, if you live in Caribou and you start using drugs or drinking alcohol excessively, there is a high risk that you might start displaying the signs and symptoms of a mental illness.
On the other hand, if you have been living with a mental health disorder, you might start abusing these substances to deal with the signs and symptoms of your disorder. This could later give rise to the development of a substance use disorder, or an addiction.
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is linked to imbalances in the chemicals that are found in the brain - including but not limited to dopamine, serotonin, and glutamate. These imbalances will affect the response of your brain to external stimuli. As a result, you can experience hallucinations and hypersensitivity - some of the common symptoms of this mental health disorder.
There are also differences in the structure of the brain occurring with schizophrenia. These differences include enlarged ventricles (the cavities at the core of the brain that are filled with fluid), decreased gray matter, and decreased or increased activity in certain parts of the brain.
Suicidal Behavior
Addiction is interlinked with suicidal behavior. This is because it can increase the duration and severity of various mental health disorders, such as depression, anxiety, and suicidal behavior. In spite of the temporary relief that drugs and alcohol bring, they can also cause you to suffer from other long-term psychological effects.
This is particularly true when you consider the other problems that addiction causes - such as family conflicts, professional problems, financial issues, and much more. Having these problems could also be a reason why you engage in suicidal behavior.
Although dual diagnosis treatment takes many different forms, you will mostly find that it is offered on an inpatient basis. This means that you will have to live in the recovery facility for a period of time - which could be anywhere between 30 and 90 days - or even longer in some instances.
The reason why you might benefit from inpatient treatment is because you will require a wide variety of round the clock rehabilitation services to manage both your substance abuse and addiction as well as any other co-occurring medical and mental health disorders that you have also been struggling with.
