If you have an addiction, you may hear about a dual diagnosis treatment program as a treatment option. What is dual diagnosis, and do you qualify for it? Understanding more about dual diagnosis, how many people have it, and the treatment methods used for it can make the process easier to go through. You’re not alone if you suffer from a mental illness and an addiction. You can get help for both at a treatment facility that offers care for dual diagnosis. To learn more about your treatment options, contact Fort Behavioral Health.
What Is Dual Diagnosis?
So, what is a dual diagnosis? This term means that you have a psychiatrist officially diagnose you with both a substance use disorder and a mental illness. Having both conditions is more common than you might think. In fact, 9.2 million American adults in 2018 had both problems at the same time, which equaled about 3.7% of the adult population. The incidences of substance use disorder and mental illnesses alone are even higher, with 19.3 million and 47.6 million adults, respectively. Therefore, it’s possible that you know someone who has experienced both problems at some point in their lives.
Getting a correct evaluation and recognition of a dual diagnosis is critical because left untreated, mental illnesses can make substance use worse or increase the difficulty of recovery. Similarly, substance use disorders can worsen mental illnesses. Mental illnesses that often accompany substance use disorders include the following:
- Bipolar disorder
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Schizophrenia
In fact, for many cases, dual diagnosis becomes a chicken and egg situation. Mental illnesses can alter your brain’s chemistry to make stopping drug or alcohol use harder. Additionally, using drugs or alcohol can create changes in your brain that can worsen underlying mental disorders.
How Do Treatment Facilities Help Those with Dual Diagnosis?
If you go to a treatment facility for help with an addiction, you may also undergo a screening for other types of mental illnesses. Typically, these screenings consist of some questions about your moods, behaviors, and thoughts. Answer as honestly as possible to ensure that you get the best treatment.
Don’t worry about people from work or friends finding out about your diagnosis. Unless you tell them, they won’t find out because strict privacy laws exist. Therefore, the team at the facility cannot tell anyone without your consent what you are getting treatment for or your diagnosis.
Treatment facilities offer multiple types of therapy for helping both problems. At our facility, we offer the following treatment modalities:
- Motivational interviewing
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy
- Somatic experiencing
- Dialectical behavior therapy
- Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy
Now That You Know What Is Dual Diagnosis, Take the Next Step
Understanding what is dual diagnosis is the first step, but you still need to embrace treatment. If you have a problem with drugs or alcohol and think you may also have a mental illness, stop the cycle of addiction worsening your mental illness which fuels your addiction.
Even if you haven’t succeeded in the past, don’t give up on recovery. You can get over your substance use disorder and find treatment for your mental illness through our facility, Fort Behavioral Health, in Texas that offers private rooms for adults. We also work with people who have experienced frequent relapses. You’re not a lost cause. We believe in you.
At Fort Behavioral Health, we’re committed to your overall recovery. As a result, we offer a wide option of addiction treatment programs, including:
- Alcohol addiction treatment
- Heroin addiction treatment
- Cocaine addiction treatment
- Opioid addiction treatment
- Prescription drug addiction treatment
Contact us today at 844.332.1807 to begin your journey on the path to breaking free.
