Co-Occurring Disorders Research Paper

659 Words3 Pages
If you have struggled with addiction for years and can't seem to shake it, there may be a reason: co-occurring disorders. Co-occurring disorders create a mental imbalance in your life that drives you to addiction and makes it nearly impossible to quit. Thankfully, treatment options are available for this problem, options that can help you obtain life-long sobriety. What are Co-Occurring Disorders? When substance abuse is paired with an underlying mental or emotional problem, you are suffering from co-occurring disorders. This condition is incredibly common: some statistics claim that as much as 50% of people with mental or emotional disorders also possess a substance abuse disorder. Why is this problem so common? The key reason is self-medication.…show more content…
Unfortunately, these underlying problems (of which a person may have more than one) are one of the major contributors to serious relapse risk. How Do I Know If I Have Co-Occurring Disorders? If you are suffering from a drug addiction, there's a very strong chance that you also have underlying mental or emotional disorders. These disorders contribute to your addiction and make it nearly impossible to quit. Understanding if you have undiagnosed disorders can help you get the treatment you need to fully recover from addiction. Symptoms of co-occurring disorders include: Depression: hopelessness, weight changes, difficulty concentration, problems sleeping, suicidal thoughts, severe anger, and loss of energy Bipolar Disorder: wild and uncontrollable mood swings between mania (euphoria, grandiose beliefs, decreased need for sleep, intense creativity) and depression Anxiety: nausea, trouble sleeping, jumpiness, irritability, headaches, extreme worrying for little to no…show more content…
It should only serve as a discussion guide for you and your psychologist and rehabilitation treatment specialist. Are There Treatment Options for Co-Occurring Disorders? Dual diagnosis is the most commonly prescribed treatment option for co-occurring disorders. This treatment plan works to treat both your physical addiction and the mental and emotional problems that contribute to it. Basically, it attacks both fronts in an effort to fully eliminate all addiction symptoms. Typically, you will undergo a detoxification procedure before dual diagnosis begins. Detoxification cleans your body of any addictive substance to give you a cleaner and more focused state of mind. The physical aspect of dual diagnosis will then focus on treating withdrawal symptoms as well as any physical problems caused by your addiction. The psychological aspect of dual diagnosis is likely going to be the hardest part of your recovery. First of all, your psychological disorder needs to be diagnosed, which often takes difficult analysis and frank discussion. Then, a treatment plan will be created to help eliminate or lessen the severity of your disorders. Typical treatment options for co-occurring disorders include: Psychotherapy Individual or group therapy
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