Dual Diagnosis
Treatment Centers in NJ
Dealing with one disorder takes a hard enough toll on a person’s life. One can only imagine the toll that dealing with two disorders at the same time takes. Sadly, dealing with two disorders at the same time is not uncommon. This is especially true when it comes to the dual diagnosis of addiction and a mental health condition. If you’re struggling with a mental health disorder, you’re not alone — 1 in 5 U.S. adults experience mental illness each year. Mental health issues are growing because 1 in 20 U.S. adults experience serious mental illness each year.
If you have an addiction and a mental illness, it’s important that you seek out the proper dual diagnosis treatment through the guidance of trained medical professionals. Behavioral health treatment is an evidence-based approach to addiction treatment services. To ensure that this happens, you must first have a thorough understanding of what dual diagnosis disorders are and the warning signs and symptoms of dual diagnosis disorders.
It’s also helpful to have a thorough understanding of the different types of dual diagnosis disorders. To help you understand these things and receive the treatment you need, we go over every major type, sign, and aspect of dual diagnosis disorders with you.
At dual diagnosis treatment centers in Northfield, NJ like Achieve, you can receive the treatment you need for your mental health disorder and drug use disorder. We offer many different recovery services and provide a multitude of therapies. Our medical staff is highly trained and understands how to treat co-occurring disorders to prevent relapse.
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What is Dual Diagnosis?
A dual diagnosis occurs when a person has two disorders at the same time. Most dual diagnosis disorders involve substance abuse and mental health disorders. This is because mental illness is often a catalyst for addiction. Or, substance abuse can be the catalyst for mental health disorders. Another common name for dual diagnosis is “co-occurring disorders.”
Common Types of Dual Diagnosis
There are a variety of different types of substance abuse and mental health illness combinations. Therefore, there are many types of dual diagnoses.
Common mental health disorders that co-occur with substance abuse include:
- Personality disorder
- Anxiety disorder
- Bipolar disorder
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Depression
- Schizophrenia
These mental health disorders can co-occur with substance abuse for a variety of reasons. Drugs can alter the chemicals in our brain and cause the disorders to develop or exacerbate the symptoms. Medication management may be offered at an addiction treatment center. Alternatively, dual diagnosis can be the result of someone trying to self-medicate a mental health disorder.
Whatever the reason for someone suffering from substance abuse and mental illness, seeking addiction treatment with a program that targets dual diagnosis will be crucial for recovery to prevent the chance of relapse. A medication-assisted treatment program can help those with substance abuse problems.
There are ten different types of personality disorders that are categorized into 3 “clusters.” Cluster A is commonly referred to as the eccentric group as this includes schizoid personality disorder. Cluster B is known as dramatic or moody as it includes antisocial personality disorder and borderline personality disorder. Cluster C is grouped more by its anxious, fearful nature. This cluster includes obsessive-compulsive personality disorder and avoidant personality disorder.
Past psychiatric research has determined that somewhere between 65 percent and 90 percent of people in an addiction treatment program are also suffering from a personality disorder. Alcohol and drug abuse can have a significant role in the development of personality disorders. In fact, more than 66% percent of patients diagnosed with a borderline personality disorder also suffer from alcohol addiction or drug abuse. Like most other behavioral disorders, individuals struggling with addiction can fuel a personality disorder or vice versa.
Schizophrenia is a mental illness that causes people to have an alternate perception of reality. This is because people with schizophrenia experience hallucinations, delusions, and disordered thinking and behavior. Due to the severity of schizophrenia disorder, you must receive treatment for it your entire life.
Like with alcoholism and antisocial personality disorder, it isn’t uncommon for people with a marijuana addiction to also have schizophrenia. In fact, according to the American Journal of Psychiatry, more than half of the people with schizophrenia also suffer from a substance use disorder. On top of that, the rates of people with a dual diagnosis disorder of schizophrenia and marijuana addiction are high.
The exact reasons for the association between marijuana addiction and schizophrenia still aren’t clear. The only thing that is clear is that the symptoms of both of these disorders are very similar to one another. As a result, someone with schizophrenia could easily adjust to abusing marijuana to the point of needing substance abuse treatment. Because the symptoms of schizophrenia and marijuana addiction are similar to one another, it makes receiving dual diagnosis treatment for both of these disorders easier.
Anxiety disorder is characterized by constant and overwhelming feelings of paranoia, fear, and worry. There are countless different types of anxiety disorders.
When people have severe anxiety, it can also cause them to experience heart palpitations, excessive sweating, trouble breathing, and insomnia. Untreated anxiety disorders can even cause a person to experience heart disease, diabetes, digestion issues, and more.
Cocaine by itself often makes people feel a sense of euphoria and power. As a result, it’s easy to want to take it again and again until you become addicted to it. Unfortunately, when you chronically abuse cocaine, it often leads to anxiety-like symptoms. This is why cocaine addiction and anxiety disorders often go together. As a result, cocaine addiction and anxiety disorder is a common dual diagnosis treatment program.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is when thoughts or reminders of past trauma trigger an emotional response of panic and anxiety. Oftentimes, people with post-traumatic stress disorder experience flashbacks and nightmares about their past trauma.
The symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder can get so severe that they cause people to have physical injuries. As a result, some doctors will prescribe opioids to patients with PTSD to help them manage their physical pain. War veterans often take opioids to help them manage their symptoms.
Unfortunately, because of how addictive opioid pain relievers are, it’s easy to develop an addiction to them. Opioid abuse may only intensify PTSD symptoms worse, and vice versa.
Depression is a mental illness characterized by moodiness and persistent feelings of sadness, loneliness, helplessness, and worthlessness. Depression that’s left untreated can even cause physical symptoms like heart disease, diabetes, insomnia, and gastrointestinal issues. Long-term depression can even cause someone to commit suicide.
The symptoms of heroin addiction and depression are extremely similar. As a result, it’s very common for these two disorders to occur together. Ultimately though, if both of these disorders aren’t given an adequate amount of individual attention during dual diagnosis treatment, relapse can occur.
Bipolar disorder is a challenging illness that can have dramatic effects on mood, cognitive functioning, and judgment. People with bipolar disorder will often experience swings from being depressed to manic in just weeks or days. Symptoms will depend on the type of bipolar disorder someone has. The risks associated with this condition include relationship conflicts, occupational difficulties, and an increased risk of suicide. If not appropriately managed, this disorder can be devastating to an individual’s quality of life.
A study conducted by the National Alliance on Mental Illness found that bipolar disorder is more common among individuals with addiction than in the general population. The majority of people who struggle with this mental illness (56 percent) also abuse or are dependent on alcohol or drugs. When someone is struggling with addiction and bipolar disorder, finding dual diagnosis treatment centers in NJ that offer a combination of therapy and medication is crucial for success.
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Finding Help at Dual Diagnosis Treatment Centers in NJ
Since addictions often occur because of underlying mental illnesses, many people with co-occurring disorders don’t get proper treatment. Instead, they just get treated for their substance use disorders and not both their substance use disorders and mental illnesses.
Receiving treatment for two disorders simultaneously is called dual diagnosis treatment. It’s important to treat both conditions within a dual diagnosis simultaneously because both disorders are often connected. Therefore, if you treat one without treating the other, the untreated disorder could cause the treated condition to come back.
Achieve Wellness Recovery offers comprehensive mental health and addiction treatment programs, including the following:
Medical detox may be necessary depending on the addiction and mental illness. Detox is the first step in any addiction treatment comprehensive program, especially in New Jersey. Physical dependency on substances can sometimes lead to a medical emergency. For New Jersey clients, the symptoms of mood disorders can bring more discomfort.
Inpatient or residential rehab in New Jersey will be recommended after detox. The type of treatment plan will depend on what is best for the individual. The medical team will determine the type of therapy, medication, and treatment services that are necessary to manage the co-occurring mental illness and addiction. Treatment options such as individual therapy are critical in psychiatric care. Art therapy and music therapy can be utilized as tools for treating substance abuse and underlying mental health conditions.
Outpatient care is used as a step down from inpatient or residential care. This is important because outpatient programs offer some amount of structure for someone who is going back to living at home. Residential treatment to treat substance dependency may not suit someone who has a support system to combat addictive behaviors. Most clients need to get acclimated to regular activities like work or school life while still in treatment so they can learn to manage stressors as they occur.
In some cases, a well-rounded addiction treatment plan will include sober living or aftercare. Sober living is for individuals who need a supportive home life that is free from drug addiction. In many cases, people cannot return home due to family members also struggling, so sober living helps fill this void.
Integrated co-occurring disorder treatment can be a powerful way to help people maintain sobriety or significantly reduce their substance use and manage the symptoms of a mental health disorder. Integrated treatments may utilize multiple techniques proven effective in managing both disorders. This will include counseling, support groups, medication, and proven treatment techniques such as:
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy can help individuals understand their thought patterns to help better them shift their behaviors.
- Dialectical behavior therapy can help individuals reduce their negative actions related to substance abuse or other behavioral health issues such as eating disorders.
- Group therapy helps individuals recognize they are not alone in treatment as there are other patients dealing with drug addiction or mental health problems.
- Family therapy is geared towards working with a patient’s family to help them understand the disease of addiction and gain their support.
- 12-step support groups are common to allow individuals to share struggles and build support within the recovery community.
- Relapse prevention planning helps clients develop a proactive plan to avoid substance abuse triggers. They also develop a treatment plan if they should slip up.
Achieve Wellness Is the Place for Dual Diagnosis Treatment Centers in NJ
At Achieve Wellness Recovery, we know just how connected substance use disorders and mental health disorders are. That’s why we provide a plethora of treatment services that cater to both types of disorders.
We offer treatment for many types of addictions, including alcoholism, benzodiazepine addiction, cocaine addiction, heroin addiction, and prescription drug abuse. Some of the common mental health disorders that we specialize in providing dual diagnosis treatment for include anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
At Achieve Wellness Recovery in Northfield, we are known for our dual diagnosis treatment. This is because, unlike many other addiction treatment centers, we embrace mental health in every aspect of our addiction treatment. To learn more about Achieve Wellness Recovery and the addiction and mental health services that we offer here in New Jersey, contact us today.
