Substance Abuse and Mental Health Facilities in Petersburg, AK

If you live in Petersburg 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.

Schizophrenia

Research studies report that most of the people who live with schizophrenia - a common mental health disorder - also struggle with substance abuse and addiction. If you are among these people, you might use drugs and alcohol to manage the symptoms of your mental illness.

In the short term, this could provide you with some relief. However, it will soon lead to the development of a substance use disorder, or an addiction. When this happens, you will require dual diagnosis treatment to manage both disorders before you can get started on the road to recovery.

Suicidal Behavior

Research studies have shown that substance addiction is linked to suicidal behavior. In particular, if you abuse drugs and drink alcohol excessively, there is a high risk that you might experience suicidal tendencies and thoughts. On the other hand, if you are prone to these tendencies, you might start abusing these substances to manage the symptoms of your mental health disorder.

To ensure that you do not suffer from these disorders - or end up taking your own life - it is recommended that you seek help from a dual diagnosis treatment facility. This could lead you down the road to full recovery.

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.