Substance Abuse and Mental Health Facilities in Duluth, MN
If you live in Duluth and you start abusing drugs and alcohol, there is a high risk that you might develop a co-occurring mental health disorder. On the other hand, if you have an undiagnosed mental illness, there is a likelihood that you might start abusing these substances to self-medicate the symptoms of your mental illness.
Research studies show that substance abuse and mental health disorders tend to have some underlying causes in common. These might include changes in the composition of the brain, early exposure to traumatic and stressful events, and genetic vulnerabilities.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
The distress that occurs from your obsessive compulsive disorder and the obsessions that you struggle with could cause you to withdraw from your family and friends. It might also make it difficult for you to form new relationships with other people. Both of these situations could eventually lead to the development of depression.
To manage all these conditions and situations, you might try to self-medicate using drugs and alcohol. although this might work in the short term, it could also cause you to become addicted to these substances. When this happens, you could be said to be living with a dual diagnosis of addiction and a co-occurring mental health disorder involving OCD.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
If you have post-traumatic stress disorder, you might react to the current environment especially when it reminds you of the past trauma that you suffered, witnessed, or experienced. In this condition, your brain would respond as if you were still living in the past. As a result, it could trigger stress, fear, and anxiety.
Over time, you might even experience suicidal thoughts as a result of your PTSD condition. If you abuse alcohol and drugs, these thoughts could be intensified. To protect and preserve yourself, it is recommended that you seek help for this condition as well as work on overcoming your addiction before it is too late.
It is recommended that you seek dual diagnosis treatment to manage all of the disorders that you have been struggling with simultaneously so that one does not cause the other to recur in the future.
This is especially true if you have been diagnosed with both substances abuse as well as another co-occurring mental health or medical disorders. Although these disorders tend to occur at the same time in many cases, it is possible to overcome them. To be able to do so, you will have to go through a highly integrated dual diagnosis treatment program.
