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Dual Diagnosis
Every day, men and women emerge from the self imposed cages of alcoholism and drug addiction to reclaim their families, friends, jobs, lives... Every Day. You can too.
If a Person Does Have Both an Alcohol/Drug Problem and an Emotional Problem, Which Should Be Treated First?
Ideally, both problems should be treated simultaneously. For any substance abuser, however, the first step in treatment must be detoxification - a period of time during which the body is allowed to cleanse itself of alcohol or drugs. Ideally, detoxification should take place under medical supervision. It can take a few days to a week or more, depending on what substances the person abused and for how long.
Until recently, alcoholics and drug addicts dreaded detoxification because it meant a painful and sometimes life-threatening "cold turkey" withdrawal. Now, doctors are able to give hospitalized substance abusers carefully chosen medications which can substantially ease withdrawal symptoms. Thus, when detoxification is done under medical supervision, it's safer and less traumatic.
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Ask Yourself
- Do I get more depressed when I drink?
- Have I noticed that I need more and more drink or drug to achieve a high?
Definition
The term dual diagnosis is often used interchangeably with the terms co-morbidity, co-occurring illnesses, concurrent disorders, comorbid disorders, co-occurring disorder, dual disorder, and, double trouble. Professional literature has used a confusing array of terms and acronyms to describe co-occurring disorders or a dual diagnosis.
Individuals who experience a dual diagnosis often face a wide range of psychosocial issues and may experience multiple interacting illnesses (more than two). The term "co-occurring disorders" is becoming a common term used to refer to dual diagnosis, or co-occurring substance abuse disorders and psychiatric or emotional illnesses.
Dual Recovery Anonymous defines "dual diagnosis" as meaning that an individual has two separate but very interrelated diagnoses:
- A psychiatric diagnosis
- A substance abuse diagnosis which may include both drugs and alcohol
Diagnosis of a "Dual Diagnosis" is complicated. It is often essential that you go to a health care professional to determine if you have a dual diagnosis e.g. another psychiatric disorder in addition to your addiction.
Besides major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder there are many other disorders that are quite serious that require psychiatric care, and sometimes hospitalization. When ever someone is a danger to themselves or others, not functioning adequately, is hallucinating, or is out of touch with reality, they require immediate psychiatric care.
Many alcoholics and addicts, come to the point of requiring psychiatric care for the types of reasons cited above. In many cases, they turn out to have what is known as a "dual diagnosis." In dual diagnosis, people are considered to have a disorder like bipolar disorder and alcohol dependence simultaneously. This is a dual diagnosis because substance abuse disorders are also considered major psychiatric disorders. Treatment consists of treating both disorders. For example, someone with bipolar disorder may be detoxed, placed on lithium, and follow up with psychiatric appointments, and attend AA meetings.
In recent years, the mental health profession has also come to learn that symptoms of alcohol dependence and other addictions can mimic almost any disorder in the DSM-IV. Thus disorders like Major Depression and Bipolar disorder have qualifiers that require that they are not due to the direct physiological effects of a substance. Mood disorders which are due to the direct effect of a substance are called substance induced mood disorders. They are due to either the use of, or the withdrawal from substances like alcohol or other substance of abuse. Because there can be a protracted withdrawal state from many substances, these disorders may first occur or persist several weeks into abstinence. Other common substance induced disorders include, substance induced psychotic disorder, substance induced anxiety disorder, and substance induced sleep disorder.