Receiving Dual Diagnosis Treatment in Ohio
People have a dual diagnosis when they have a substance use disorder and a mental health disorder that are both active at the same time. For example, you may feel depressed after you have engaged in binge drinking, or the symptoms of bipolar disorder may become more severe after you engage in using heroin. According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse, 7.7 million adults have both a mental health disorder and a substance use disorder.
It is difficult for medical professionals to determine which disorder developed first. In many cases, people will begin to experience symptoms of a mental health disorder. Rather than visit a medical professional, they decide to medicate themselves with substances or alcohol. Instead of improving the situation, substances usually make it much worse.
The use of substances may also be the reason that people begin to experience a mental health disorder. According to the NIH, of the 20.3 million adults diagnosed with substance use disorders, 37.9% were also diagnosed with mental health disorders. In contrast, 42.1 million adults have a mental health disorder, and 18.2% of this population also have a substance use disorder.
What Is Dual Diagnosis Treatment?
In the past, many people did not receive treatment for their mental health disorders until they received treatment for their substance use disorders. The medical community learned that they needed to treat both disorders as co-occurring conditions because it was difficult to help people become sober while they were in the middle of an active mental health disorder. The mental health disorder may be the underlying reason that the person was experiencing the substance use disorder.
A Guide to Withdrawal
Withdrawal from alcohol or other substances can be extremely difficult for you or your loved one to endure. Withdrawal leads to several emotional, mental, and physical symptoms and is the reason that people cannot stop using their substances of choice.
After becoming physically dependent on a substance, withdrawal symptoms appear if you suddenly stop using the substance. You can also be psychologically addicted, which means that you believe that you must consume the substance in order to function normally. This will also create withdrawal symptoms.
The type of withdrawal symptoms that you will experience depend on several things. For example, it will depend on your substance of choice and how long you have been using it. Depending on the substance, you may experience the following withdrawal symptoms:
- Nausea
- Hallucinations
- Fatigue
- Cravings
- Aches and pains
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Mood swings
- Irritability
- Insomnia
The most severe withdrawal symptoms include disorientation, tremors, confusion, and paranoia.
The withdrawal symptoms can last for a couple of days, but they may also take as long as two weeks to subside. Therefore, the safest way to undergo the withdrawal process is to enter into a drug treatment center. White Light Behavioral Health in Columbus, Ohio can offer you the type of help that you or your loved one need for the withdrawal period.
How and Why Should You Get Help Dealing With an Addiction?
According to the NIH, many people are not receiving treatment for their substance use or their mental health disorders. For example, only 9.1% of people experiencing substance use disorders and mental health disorders at the same time receive treatment for both. A full 52.5% of this population did not receive treatment for either condition.
Most importantly, substance use disorder can possibly end your life. You could overdose on your substance of choice, or you could engage in particularly dangerous behavior while you are under the influence of this substance. It is not inevitable that you will experience these devastating consequences. You can dramatically reduce the likelihood of dangerous behavior by agreeing to get help in a drug treatment center.
Addiction Explained
Substance use disorder is a chronic disease in which you continue to use a substance even though you are experiencing negative consequences. Therefore, an addiction is not the result of your inability to control yourself. If you have a substance use disorder, you can have problems stopping the use of your substance of choice, no matter how much you would like to do so. It is so serious that you might experience life-threatening consequences if you try to stop on your own. That’s because the use of substances leads to changes in the brain that make it difficult and painful for you to cease your substance use, so you require therapy to do so.
The Chronic Nature of Substance Use
The problem is not just that you cannot stop using your substance of choice. Substance use disorder is a chronic disease that gets worse as time goes by. You have to increase the amount that you consume in order to experience the same high that you were experiencing when your substance use was new.
As you continue to use the substances, they begin to change your brain and cause it to be tolerant to the effects of the substance. That’s why you must increase the dose, but this leads you to a point where you can only think about your substance to the exclusion of everything else. You lose the ability to enjoy the things you once liked, and you cannot function normally if you do not have the substance. At this point, the best thing that you could do is check into a treatment center for substance use. At White Light Behavioral Health, we can help you turn this situation around.
Types of Treatment Available
The following types of treatment plans are available in treatment centers in Ohio.
Residential or Inpatient Treatment
Residential treatment is the best type of treatment that someone with co-occurring disorders can receive. It is also the appropriate option for someone without stable living conditions or permanent employment. If you don’t have support from friends or family, the residential option is beneficial for you as well. In the inpatient program, you will begin with medication-assisted treatment, or MAT, which provides you with medications that relieve the withdrawal symptoms.
The medications that are used during the MAT program reduce your addictive behaviors, improve your mood, and alleviate your cravings. For example, acamprosate is one medication that reduces your need to drink alcohol. Also, lofexidine reduces the withdrawal symptoms and the cravings that you experience when you are addicted to opioids.
Intensive Outpatient Treatment
The inpatient program may not be the right option for you or your loved one. If you have a support system and a stable place to live, you may be able to remain at home while you obtain treatment for your co-occurring disorders. These programs require that you attend sessions for nine to 20 hours per week, and they may last for two months or as long as one year.
Outpatient Treatment Programs
Outpatient treatment programs are even less restrictive than intensive outpatient programs. If you are able to continue going to your job or to school, the outpatient program may be for you. These programs offer treatment sessions that you can attend at night or on the weekends so that you can attend to your duties during the day.
Contingency Management
Contingency management, or CM, has been proven to work very well in treating those experiencing a substance use disorder. With this approach, you will receive rewards when you are able to follow your program successfully. It is also a treatment that has worked well to prevent relapse.
Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy
REBT helps you realize when your thoughts are negative. In the process, you learn how to overcome the feelings that are telling you that you are a failure. It will help you see that you are capable of acting and thinking rationally in spite of what is going on in the outside world.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Cognitive behavioral therapy is a great tool to treat all types of addictions. It is instrumental in helping you recognize the behaviors that are the most problematic. Additionally, you learn about your triggers for your substance use and how to develop coping skills.
Is Treatment a Cure?
Treatment for substance use disorder is not a cure for this condition. It is known as a relapsing disease, so it is possible that you could return to using your substance of choice after treatment ends. Some people have returned to substance use after several years have passed since their last drug use. Because substance use disorder is a relapsing disease, you may need to continue treatment for an extended period of time.
Continued treatment will help you keep from relapsing after you return to your old life. You may feel comfortable returning home after your treatment ends, but if not, you have options that will offer you more support. For example, the sober living home is a place that welcomes people from residential treatment centers, and you can remain there for as long as one year. In addition to that, these homes provide you with counseling services to ensure your sobriety.
If you are feeling hopeless because of your substance use, you can find help today. Contact White Light Behavioral Health, and we will brighten your path toward a wonderful future.
