A dual diagnosis is when a client has been diagnosed with addiction and at least one accompanying mental health disorder. If you have been given a dual diagnosis, it’s important that you take action to receive the right treatment. Your mental health and your odds for a successful recovery depend on it.

What is a Dual Diagnosis?

A dual diagnosis is when a client of addiction has also been diagnosed with at least one accompanying mental health disorder. Sometimes it’s the mental health disorder that leads to the addiction, because the tendency for substance use is a symptom or because clients try to self-medicate by means of alcohol and/or drugs.

Other times it’s the addiction that leads to the development of a mental health disorder(s) due to the stressful and complicated natures of addiction, as well as the challenging circumstances it conjures in clients’ lives. For example, a client of addiction may develop depression because of their extreme unhappiness with their lives and worries for the future. In other cases, the substances being abused can also lead to mental health disorders, such as a drug addiction leading to anxiety. Still other circumstances can be such that the correlation or connection is unclear.

Treatment for a Dual Diagnosis Can Lead to Success

The symptoms of mental health disorders affect how clients may handle their addictions and vice versa. If you want to receive successful treatment for your addiction, you should seek treatment for your mental health at the same time. Managing your mental health disorder symptoms and entering the recovery process can set you up for success for handling both.

The Treatment Procedure for a Dual Diagnosis

If you have been given a dual diagnosis, please seek treatment from an addiction center experienced and equipped to handle dual diagnoses. You should receive treatment for both your mental health disorder(s) and addiction during the same period of time in order to achieve the best results for success.

Psychotherapy is the main treatment method for most mental health disorders, as well as for addiction. It helps you gain personal insights into the underlying causes for your mental health disorder and your addiction. This can give you the necessary foundation to build towards successfully managing symptoms and leading a life of recovery.

Your mental health treatment may also include counseling and possibly prescription medication depending on the nature of your disorder, severity, medical history and other factors. Your dual diagnosis addiction treatment should also include such methods as attending support group meetings and creating and utilizing relapse prevention strategies. Lifestyle counseling and stress management can also be incredibly helpful for both mental health treatment and addiction.

Receiving a dual diagnosis means you face a greater challenge for your recovery but the proper treatment can help you achieve the success you deserve!

If you or someone you love is suffering from the effects of alcohol abuse, substance addiction or any other type of addiction, please call us today.  Our addiction treatment counselors can help you deal with physical, emotional and psychological consequences of drug and alcohol abuse.  A substance abuse treatment program is effective, safe and has helped many men reclaim their lives. Destination Hope is a full service drug, alcohol and dual diagnosis treatment facility in Florida for men suffering from substance abuse and mental health issues.