It’s fairly common for people with an addiction to drugs or alcohol to have co-occurring mental health disorders. When you’re choosing a Maryland drug and alcohol rehab center, or you’re going to travel out-of-state, you might specifically look for a facility offering dual diagnosis treatment.
Someone with a dual diagnosis has a diagnosed alcohol or drug problem and a mental disorder. Around half of the people with a mental health disorder will have a substance use disorder at some point, and vice versa. When the two interact with one another, it can worsen both.
While mental health disorders and drug or alcohol addictions often occur together, it doesn’t always mean one caused the other.
Researchers believe they tend to occur together for a few main reasons.
First, common risk factors, including stress, trauma, and genetics, can contribute to both.
The second is that mental health disorders can lead to substance use disorders because of self-medication. When dealing with a mental health disorder that isn’t well-managed, you might rely on drugs and alcohol to mask your symptoms. Substances can become a coping mechanism for mental health disorders, raising the risk of addiction.
The third reason these may occur together is that substance use can change your brain in ways that make you more likely to develop a mental health disorder.
If you have a dual diagnosis, both conditions have to be treated. Otherwise, you’re at a much higher risk of relapse.
Centric Behavioral Health specializes in dual diagnosis treatment to promote the best possible outcomes for clients in their recovery.