Dual Diagnosis Treatment in Abilene, TX

Dealing with addiction and working your way through drug detox in Abilene, rehabilitation, and maintenance of your sobriety is tough and takes a lot of dedication and hard work. No matter whether you are addicted to illegal street drugs, prescription medications, alcohol, or use more than one drug, sooner or later the negative effects on your life will add up. The hardest thing to do is quit and you have to be committed to succeed. Taking all of that into consideration, people who are classified as having co-existing disorders, otherwise known as a dual diagnosis, have an even steeper hill to climb. A dual diagnosis treatment center can help educate both addicts and their family members regarding the aspects of a person who has a dual diagnosis. Dual diagnosis treatment in Abilene is available at a dual diagnosis treatment center that offers a variety of dual diagnosis rehab programs.

Being properly diagnosed is an important part of any medical treatment so if you have been diagnosed as having co-existing disorders, consider this a plus on your way to being treated properly. If you're an addict or a family member who has a loved one with a problem with drugs or alcohol, the trained professionals of a dual diagnosis treatment center can help you understand what a dual diagnosis is, how dual diagnosis and addiction are related, and the types of mental disorders that are often found in people who are also fighting addiction.

What is Dual Diagnosis?

According to the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA), Dual diagnosis is the term used when a person has a mood disorder such as depression or bipolar disorder (also known as manic depression) and a problem with alcohol or drugs. A person who has a dual diagnosis has two separate illnesses; each illness needs to be treated by medical professionals in coordination with the other disorder.

At a dual diagnosis treatment center that offers a variety of dual diagnosis rehab programs specialists ensure that each illness is treated in correlation with the other, and treatment options for one disorder do not interfere with treatment for the other. This was one of the pitfalls of having co-existing disorders in the past, treatment for one was not always properly coordinated with treatment for the other. Dual diagnosis treatment in Abilene uses the most up-to-date techniques when it comes to treating patients with co-existing disorders.

A person can have one of many metal disorders that combined with addiction to drugs and alcohol results in a dual diagnosis. Some addictions more often combine with specific mental disorders -- alcohol and depression or depressants and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) are two examples -- but there is no definitive list of what mental disorder can occur with what an addict's drug of choice may be.

Dual Diagnosis and Addiction -- Why the Two Go Hand-in-Hand

One of the reasons mental disorders and addiction goes hand-in-hand is the prevalence of those with mental disorders to do what is called self-medicating. Self-medicating occurs when a person who has an existing mental disorder takes it upon themselves to use a drug in order to deal with the symptoms of their mental illness. For example, a person who has an anxiety disorder and feels like their mind is racing may have a drink in order to calm themselves down.

Another person who is depressed might take a number of drugs that either give them a sense of euphoria, like an opioid, or a prescription pain or sleep medication just to make themselves feel better. If any of the self-medicating they do seems to work for them, they can easily continue until they are addicted to the drug they've tried. Dual diagnosis treatment programs in Abilene can help these people overcome both illnesses.

Dual diagnosis treatment in Abilene takes all of the aspects of a person's mental disorder and their addiction into account when proposing dual diagnosis rehab treatment for them.

Types of Mental Health Disorders

As part of having a dual diagnosis, it's important to know that either the addiction or the mental disorder can be affecting the individual first, there is no set order in which they occur. There are a lot of very specific diagnoses that mental health professionals can make regarding mental health disorders but here are a few of the common types that can be combined with addiction: anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder, depression, eating disorders, Obsessive-compulsive disorder, and other personality disorders.

Dual diagnosis treatment in Abilene addresses each illness an individual has and ensures that the treatment for one does not interfere with the treatment for the other as part of their overall dual diagnosis rehab treatment plan. Fighting addiction and a mental disorder at the same time has its own special challenges and the treatment professionals who deal with dual diagnosis treatment in Abilene are ready to help all those in need. Call us at (877) 804-1531.