Substance Abuse and Mental Health Facilities in Malden, MA

If you live in Malden 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.

Borderline Personality Disorder

Borderline personality disorder often tends to occur concurrently with substance abuse and addiction. In fact, about 66 percent of all the people who have been diagnosed with BPD have abused these substances at least once in their lives.

You might start using drugs and alcohol to self-medicate the signs and symptoms of your mental health condition. Eventually, this could cause you to start suffering from addiction - over and above the borderline personality disorder that you were diagnosed with. In this situation, you would require dual diagnosis treatment to manage both of these disorders.

Depression

The signs and symptoms of depression are highly varied. The important thing to keep in mind is that these symptoms will increase in severity if you are also struggling with a co-occurring substance use disorder, or an addiction involving drugs and alcohol.

For instance, your depression could increase your risk of suicidal ideation and attempts. Other signs include pessimism, hopelessness, feeling useless, irritability, trouble concentrating, issues with sleep, changes in weight and appetite, and loss of interest in your personal goals, hobbies, and work.

Irrespective of the symptoms you display, it is recommended that you seek professional help from a dual diagnosis center.

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.