A dual diagnosis is the manifestation of two mental diseases in an individual. A dual diagnosis is seen in drug treatment when a patient has a diagnosed psychological disorder in addition to their addiction. This claim of dual diagnosis is prefaced by the fact that addiction is a mental disease.
Examples of mental disease commonly seen in combination with addiction in dual diagnosis scenarios:
• Bi-polar disorder and alcoholism: Alcohol impacts the transfer of endorphins in the brain which is the same area of the brain that regulates mood. The manic episodes observed in patients with bi-polar disorder creates susceptibility to alcoholism.
• Panic disorder and benzodiazepines: Benzodiazepine drugs such as Xanax, Klonopin, …show more content…
Individuals predisposed genetically to acquiring a mental disease, or have an underlying mental disease, are vulnerable to having that condition become active when suffering from addiction.
The second element that may be a causal factor in dual disorders is that often addition and other types of mental illness involve the same regions of the brain, and as a result, spur the onset of one another.
The third element likely to be involved with mental disease prompting addiction is that mentally ill patients are known to sometimes attempt to self-medicate to relieve symptoms of their disease. Many patients complain that prescribed psychoactive drugs have side effects which deter patients from continuing use. Patients then may turn to other drugs to mitigate their symptoms.
The fourth element with regard to mental disease succumbing to addiction is due to patients with organic mental illness and, or psychological disorder trying to mask the disease and its symptoms by attempting to regulate their behavior and emotions through the use of …show more content…
Evidence-based behavioral programs help patients develop changes in perception, attitude, and self-awareness. Relapse prevention education is a specific compliment to the curriculum. Psychological counseling, or psychotherapy, is essential in attending to each disorder both separately and together. This is a complicated area of therapy as modes of delivery vary with the type of disorder addressed. Psychopharmacology is utilized in a few different ways in dual diagnosis treatment. One use of psychopharmacology is prescribing psychiatric medications that are non-addictive to patients that are necessary to treat the mental disease. The second use of pharmaceutical drugs is in the administration of medications to accomplish medical detox, medicated detox, and, or manage withdrawal symptoms during inpatient