Most of the people living in South Dakota understand that abusing drugs and drinking alcohol can have devastating effects and consequences in the lives of the individuals concerned. Examples of these effects include broken families, overdose, severe health complications, and many more. What most people are not aware of is the existence of dual diagnosis.
If you have received a dual diagnosis, it means that you have been struggling with both a substance use disorder as well as a co-occurring mental health disorder. While living with a mental illness, you might resort to the use of these intoxicating substances to calm yourself. In the process, however, you could increase your risk of developing a substance use disorder over and above your psychological distress. Once this happens, you could be said to be struggling with a dual diagnosis.
It can be difficult to overcome alcohol and drug abuse. However, many of the people who are addicted to these intoxicating and mind altering substances also struggle with issues related to their mental and behavioral health.
Research studies have also indicated that mental health disorders often tend to occur at the same time as drug and alcohol abuse and addiction. In fact, about 80 percent of all the addicts living in South Dakota also have a co-occurring mental health disorder. These people are commonly said to be living with a dual diagnosis.
If you are one of these people, it could be much more difficult for you to achieve full sobriety, health, and wellness than if you were just living with a mental health challenge or a substance abuse problem. This is because both of these disorders would have to be managed at the same time to ensure that you overcome both of them and get back to normal health.
As we mentioned earlier, a dual diagnosis refers to a situation in which you are living with both substances abuse and addiction as well as a co-occurring mental health disorder. If you are addicted to drugs and alcohol, there is a high probability that you are also likely to also struggle with other mental health disorders - such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and stress.
But why do these conditions occur so often? Essentially, if you have been struggling with the symptoms and effects of a mental illness, you might start abusing drugs and drinking alcohol excessively. This is because you would be attempting to manage these effects by turning to these substances of abuse.
In the short term, you might even be able to achieve some level of relief from your adverse effects of mental illness. Over the long term, however, this is highly likely to change for the worsen. This is because you will soon find that you are also struggling with tolerance, dependence, and addiction to the substances that you were abusing - over and above your original mental health disorder.
On the other hand, you may not display any adverse symptoms of mental illness when you get involved with drugs and alcohol. over time, however, you will soon find yourself abusing these substances in higher doses or more often than you used to when you got started. Once this happens, you would find that you are also struggling with negative psychological symptoms and consequences of your growing tolerance, dependence, and addiction.
In time, these symptoms might eventually resemble those that you would display if you were living with a mental health disorder. It is for this reason that addiction is now known as a disease of the brain.
The other reason why substance abuse and addiction can cause mental illnesses to develop is because drugs and alcohol will change the functioning, chemical composition, and structure of the brain. This could increase your susceptibility to the development of other mental illnesses over and above your substance use disorder. Examples of these mental health disorders include anxiety, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and obsessive compulsive hyperactivity disorder.
But what is a dual diagnosis in the context of treatment and rehabilitation services? It refers to a situation in which you are struggling with a substance use disorder as well as a co-occurring mental health disorder. These dual diagnosis cases have been increasing in the state of South Dakota.
In particular, many of the people in this state who are struggling with emotional and psychiatric disorders often abuse drugs and drink alcohol excessively and eventually find that they are also living with a substance use disorder or an addiction.
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According to surveys that were conducted by the government of South Dakota from 2014 to 2015, it was reported that about 6 percent of all teenagers in the state aged between 12 and 17 years had abused marijuana. This amounted to about 4,000 teenagers. During the same period, 10 percent - or 70000 - of all teens had abused alcohol in the month before the survey.
During the same period, over 2,000 people above the age of 12 years in South Dakota reported that they had used heroin at least once in the year before the survey. It was also estimated that more than 400,000 residents of this state had abused alcohol within the same time frame while about 51,000 people - about 7 percent of the entire population of the state - were living with alcoholism or an alcohol use disorder.
The American Medical Association has also reported that about 50 percent of all the residents of this state living with a severe mental health disorder also struggle with substance abuse and addiction.
Additionally, 29 percent of all the people who receive a diagnosis for a mental illness also abuse drugs or drink alcohol. another 45 percent of drug users as well as 48 percent of alcohol abusers also live with at least one severe mental health disorder.
Other studies involving people who were abusing drugs other than alcohol in South Dakota showed that 28 percent lived with anxiety disorders, 26 percent with mood disorders, 18 percent with antisocial personality disorder, and 7 percent with schizophrenia.
But which of these problems comes first between substance abuse and mental illness? Although mental health disorders and addiction are closely linked, it can be difficult to tell which one came first.
In the course of struggling with the effects of your mental health disorder, you might turn to drugs and alcohol to provide you with some relief. This could lead to the development of a substance use disorder.
On the other hand, if you have been abusing substances that cause prolonged psychiatric effects and reactions, there is a high risk that you might eventually find that you are also struggling with a mental health disorder in the long term.
If you are living with addiction and a co-occurring mental health disorder in South Dakota, it is recommended that you seek integrated dual diagnosis treatment services. through comprehensive treatment and aftercare services, you might be able to reduce your risk of struggling with both of these disorders. Such treatment services can also ensure that you overcome all the disorders that you have been diagnosed with so that you can get started on the road to health and wellness.
An integrated dual diagnosis treatment program is one that is designed to address the existence of both substances abuse and mental health issues. This is because people living with a dual diagnosis tend to display symptoms that are often more resistant to treatment and severe than those only living with a mental illness or an addiction problem.
Research studies have reported that it is essential that these disorders are treated and managed at the same time to ensure that they do not continue aggravating or affecting each other.
When you enroll in a dual diagnosis recovery program, you will first be provided with medically managed detoxification services. the goal of these services would be to help you overcome your withdrawal symptoms, drug cravings, and physical dependence on the substances that you used to abuse.
Once you have achieved physical stability, you will have offered ongoing treatment and rehabilitation services - with a therapy and counseling approach to recovery. This is because you would have to get help to manage your psychiatric disorders as well as overcome your psychological dependence on drugs and alcohol.
Examples of these therapy and counseling options include group therapy, medication management, family therapy, individual therapy, aftercare planning, couples counseling, cognitive behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing, and dialectical behavioral therapy.
Some centers might also offer alternative recovery options - either as a standalone form or treatment or in addition to the evidence-based recovery models listed above. Examples of these alternative or complementary treatment services include Ayurvedic medicine, animal assisted therapy, meditation, massage therapy, yoga, art therapy, music therapy, acupuncture, and traditional Chinese medicine.
The important thing is to ensure that you are enrolled in an accredited and integrated dual diagnosis treatment center in South Dakota so that you can get the help that you need to overcome both your substance abuse and addiction as well as manage any other co-occurring behavioral or mental health disorders that you have also been struggling with at the same time.
Learning what treatment is best for you or your loved one is easy. Speak to one of our trained counselors and let them guide you to the best treatment options available for your specific needs.
