Substance Abuse and Mental Health in North Dakota

North Dakota has reported high rates of dual diagnosis. This occurs when you are struggling with a substance use disorder as well as a co-occurring mental health disorder. When this happens, it could be because you are living with an addiction linked to alcohol and drugs but also struggling with some form of psychological illness such as anxiety, depression, and eating disorder, or post-traumatic stress disorder. These mental illnesses could be coupled with an addiction involving prescription drugs, alcohol, heroin, marijuana, or any other substance of abuse.

In most cases, it might be difficult to ascertain the problem that came first. This is because living with an addiction means that you will display some of the signs and symptoms of mental illness due to your ongoing drug and alcohol use. On the other hand, having a mental health disorder could compel you to start taking these substances as a form of self-medication.

If you live in North Dakota with co-occurring disorders or a dual diagnosis, you might have a high risk of struggling with the problems that are commonly associated with these conditions. As a result, you will require intensive and integrated dual diagnosis treatment to manage both disorders.

Co-Occurring Substance Abuse and Mental Health Disorders

It is important that you seek help so that your mental health issues are identified in an addiction treatment and rehabilitation facility. This is the only way you can improve your overall outcomes.

Through early detection of a dual diagnosis for substance abuse and addiction and co-occurring mental health disorders is crucial. This is because these conditions need to be managed simultaneously to ensure that you achieve long term recovery from both.

SAMHSA - the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration - reports that the most effective and efficient dual diagnosis regimen will treat both the substance use issues and mental health disorders at the same time.

But what is a co-occurring disorder? In the context of addiction treatment and recovery, it is a dual diagnosis for both substances abuse and a co-occurring mental health disorder or medical illness. In many cases, the mental illness might be the underlying cause of your substance abuse and addiction.

Other studies have reported that about 50 percent of all the people in North Dakota who live with a mental illness will also end up struggling with addiction at one point or the other in their lives.

However, dual diagnosis and co-occurring disorders are fairly new as a concept in the field of treatment and recovery. Before, there were separate treatment facilities and models for managing mental illnesses and addiction. This is because mental health disorders were exclusively treated in psychiatric environments while substance abuse and addiction were managed at drug and alcohol rehabilitation facilities.

Over time, research showed that this segment approach to recovery did not work. this is because clients would receive treatment for addiction in a rehabilitation facility that would effectively omit the psychiatric care that they need to heal in mind and body. In this way, the programs would neglect the cause of the addiction.

By failing to address these underlying reasons behind alcohol and drug abuse, the programs eventually failed in ensuring that their clients were fully recovered. Although clients would leave these centers having overcome their substance addiction, they eventually relapse after completing treatment.

But why do co-occurring disorders happen? If you are struggling with a psychological disorder, you might suffer too much from its debilitating symptoms and effects. As a result, you might turn to alcohol and drugs to deal with the pain that these symptoms cause.

Known as self-medicating, this form of substance abuse is quite dangerous. Even though you might be using the addictive substance to manage your mental health symptoms, eventually, you will find that this does not work in the long run. Instead, it leads to the development of other additional symptoms - which, in most cases, tend to be worse than before.

Common Mental Health Problems Associated with Drug Abuse in North Dakota

But which are the mental health problems that are most commonly associated with drug and alcohol abuse in North Dakota? Although every state has its fair share of substance abuse and addiction issues, research studies show that North Dakota is close to the top in terms of alcohol abuse across the country.

In a recent CBS study, for instance, it was reported that close to 30 percent of all the residents of this state had engaged in binge drinking at least one within the 30 days prior to the study. This means that 1 out of every 3 residents of North Dakota had drank alcohol excessively at least once the month before the study.

Another 2015 study conducted by the state government showed that there was a decline in the abuse of prescription medications. In 2011, close to 6.5 percent of the residents of the state reported that they had abused these medications. This number went down to 4.9 percent by 2015 - the end of the study period. Among these people, about 16 percent of students in grades 7 through to 12 reported that they had engaged in the non-medical use of prescriptions at least once in their lives.

In spite of the fact that there has been a decrease in the abuse of prescription medications, North Dakota still reports high rates of drug overdose deaths. From 2011 to 2015, for instance, these rates more than doubled. This could be as a result of the increase in the strength and potency of most prescriptions. However, it is still important to note that prescription drug abuse is often linked with the abuse of other opioids, such as heroin and fentanyl.

But what about the nature of dual diagnosis in North Dakota? There are many people who abuse drugs and alcohol to manage the signs and symptoms of their mental illness. In the same way, there are some residents who struggle with mental health disorders as a result of abusing these substances. When this happens, it is known as a dual diagnosis of addiction and a co-occurring mental health disorder.

Some of the mental illnesses that are most commonly associated with substance abuse and addiction in the state include but are not limited to post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorder, depressive disorders, eating disorders, sleep disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, dementia, and many more.

Types of Treatment

In case you have been abusing drugs due to a mental illness or you have a mental illness that occurred as a result of your ongoing substance abuse, it is recommended that you check into a dual diagnosis treatment center.

In many case, these centers will provide you with a highly integrated treatment and recovery plan to ensure that you are able to overcome all of these disorders. By integrated, it means that your treatment will be targeted at both the substance use disorder as well as the mental illness. These conditions will be managed simultaneously to ensure that they do not exacerbate each other.

First, you will go through an evaluation and assessment process. This would be designed to screen you for all drug and alcohol abuse problems as well as check if you display some of the signs and symptoms of commonly known mental health disorders.

Once the assessment is completed, the recovery center will help you create a highly personalized and individualized treatment plan. This will be comprised of various integrated treatment modalities to ensure that you are able to overcome your substance abuse and addiction as well as manage the mental illnesses that you were diagnosed with.

Integrated dual diagnosis treatment programs will also offer medically supervised detoxification services at the start of your recovery journey. These services will manage the withdrawal symptoms that arise when you give up the substances that you were abusing. They might also prove useful in managing the drug cravings that you will experience towards the start of your recovery.

Detox is important because some of these withdrawal symptoms might turn out to be life-threatening. This is particularly true if you were abusing drugs that cause dangerous symptoms during withdrawal, including substances such as benzodiazepines, opioids, and alcohol.

Examples of these withdrawal symptoms include but are not limited to depression, anxiety, heart palpitations, high fever, insomnia, nausea, vomiting, night sweats, psychosis, seizures.

After the detoxification process, you will be asked to go through inpatient treatment. this way, you will be living in the recovery center so that you can receive the round the clock medical supervision, care, and management services that you need to ensure that you get started on the road to health and wellness.

Today, most integrated dual diagnosis treatment centers offer their programs on an inpatient basis. This is because inpatient treatment is typically considered to be the most successful type of recovery. It can remove you completely from the stress factors that caused you to abuse drugs and drink alcohol as well as struggle with mental illness.

You will also be placed in an environment that is supportive, within a setting where you will be surrounded by other people who understand the pain that comes with struggling with a dual diagnosis - including clients working their way towards recovery as well as treatment and rehabilitation professionals.

However, you can also choose outpatient treatment - although this is recommended after you have already been through an intensive integrated dual diagnosis treatment program. Outpatient rehab in North Dakota can offer you the same services as any inpatient facility, but without requiring you to live at the treatment center.