Substance use and mental illness often feed into each other. Treating one issue and neglecting the other could worsen both disorders until you experience a full-on relapse. Dual-diagnosis treatment centers in Florida aim to treat both disorders so you can find long-lasting relief from substance use.

What Is Dual Diagnosis?

Dual diagnosis, more often referred to as co-occurring conditions, means a person has at least one mental health condition occurring at the same time as another, often addiction. Some of the conditions they might have alongside their addiction include schizophrenia, depression and anxiety. Other conditions, such as anorexia or bulimia, might also occur with addiction and other mental health disorders.

How Prevalent Is Dual Diagnosis in Mental Health?

A 2022 study revealed that 21.5 million adults had both a mental illness and a substance use disorder. While 12.7 million people sought treatment for at least one disorder, 8.8 million declined to receive treatment at all. Of these 12.7 million, most of them only sought mental health treatment. These findings show that dual diagnosis is common but not everyone acts on it.

Diagnosable mental illnesses include:

The study also revealed that adults with a serious mental illness are more likely to receive treatment. However, most of these people still opted to treat only their mental illness, not their substance abuse disorder. Dual-diagnosis recovery is typically more effective and has long-lasting results.

Why Is It Beneficial to Treat Both at the Same Time?

For some people, drugs and alcohol are a way to cope with the symptoms of a mental health condition. They try to use them to feel as normal as they can, but these substances cause problems of their own. Receiving treatment for co-occurring conditions optimizes their chances of success once they leave the dual-diagnosis treatment center.

Either condition can manifest first, but being able to treat them both is critical for success. If the mental illness isn’t treated, the person may succumb to their addiction again. Likewise, if the addiction isn’t treated, it may pull them back into the mental illness.

Which Comes First, Addiction or Mental Illness?

In some cases, addiction comes first; in others, it’s mental illness. This primarily has to do with the type of mental illness and the type of substance abuse.

When Substance Abuse Can Lead to Mental Illness

  • Genetic factors. If you have a family history of mental illness, your risk of developing a disorder can be increased by substance abuse. Genes alone don’t lead to mental illness, but they’re involved in increasing your risk, along with environmental and other factors.
  • Drug use side effects. Some substance abuse is linked to specific symptoms. For example, methamphetamine abuse and chronic marijuana use can lead to psychotic illness and schizophrenia. Similarly, alcoholism can exacerbate your depression and anxiety.
  • Brain changes. Because substances affect pleasure and reward centers as well as neurons, any substance use causes brain changes. However, long-term substance abuse can make it more probable you’ll develop a mental illness.

When Mental Disorders Can Lead to Substance Abuse

  • Self-medication. People who have undiagnosed mental illness often turn to substances rather than prescribed psychiatric drugs to alleviate symptoms. This is especially true with chronic depression and anxiety but can happen with any mental disorder.
  • Prescription medication abuse. Some people do go to their doctor for medication but end up taking more than the prescribed amount and becoming addicted to higher doses. This can lead to the person seeing multiple doctors for more frequent refills than any one doctor would allow.
  • Brain changes. Because neurotransmitters play a role in both mental illness and addiction, worsening mental health symptoms can create a greater susceptibility to substance abuse.

What Types of Treatments Are Used for Dual Diagnosis?

Once you start dual-diagnosis recovery, the treatment program will usually start with detox and inpatient rehab. The detoxification period will last up to 7 days while the substances that were being abused leave the body. At Restore Mental Health, our trained team monitors residents during this phase of treatment.

During the inpatient portion of the program, you’ll be able to focus on healing yourself under the guidance of our trained staff. The supportive program at Restore Mental Health includes:

  • Group therapy
  • Individual therapy
  • Family therapy
  • Cognitive behavioral therapy

Some individuals may need medications to help them overcome their mental illness. Each resident is closely monitored for optimal medication management for their condition, with adjustments to the medication made as needed.

When you leave our program and go back out into society, you’ll have much more freedom than you had here. By that time, however, you should have the tools you need to remain sober while you deal with real-world issues. We’re still here to support you during that time.

Some people prefer a gradual transition to full freedom. Our sober house and outpatient therapy options provide more support and a more structured environment than going out into the world directly after treatment. These are great transition options for people who don’t have family members or a strong support system in the area.

How Untreated Dual Diagnosis Could Be Causing Relapse

While it’s possible for you to stop abusing substances on your own — and you may have in the past — an untreated dual diagnosis makes you especially prone to relapse. Early recovery is the most crucial period, with 90% of alcoholics relapsing at least once during treatment. Here are some examples of common relapse triggers:

  • HALT. Relapse for any individual can be triggered by being hungry, angry, lonely or tired. Various mental disorders can affect any one of those four risk factors. For example, someone suffering from depression can feel tired easily, while a person with anxiety might be more likely to isolate themselves and feel lonely.
  • Negative thinking. People with dual diagnosis are even more susceptible to negative thinking that can lead to relapse. This includes jumping to conclusions, catastrophizing and overgeneralization.
  • Fantasizing about past drug use. Someone who’s been using substances to self-medicate to alleviate symptoms may actually prefer the way they feel while abusing substances. This can make these fantasies more frequent and intense.
  • Lack of coping skills. While anyone can relapse due to not having the coping skills to deal with the stress, anxiety and emotional pain experienced in everyday life, dual-diagnosis sufferers are even more vulnerable.
  • Returning to prior behaviors. For dual-diagnosis mental health sufferers, prior behaviors may have been part of their strategy for alleviating mental illness symptoms.

Effective dual-diagnosis treatment includes equipping you with the skills you need to be successful in recovery. This includes addressing self-regulation, cravings, perceptions and thoughts and establishing your support network. If you’re well-prepared for the process of dual-diagnosis recovery, you’re more likely to succeed.

Why Choose Restore Mental Health?

When you come to Restore Mental Health for dual-diagnosis recovery, we start with a complete evaluation. Our psychologists and psychiatrists are trained to work with patients who are detoxing so they can get the treatment plan established quickly.

Once your treatment program begins, you can focus on yourself in the comfort of our dual-diagnosis treatment center. Because you don’t have to worry about what’s going on outside the program, you can truly work on meeting your goals. Our staff members are here to support you every step of the way.

Contact a Dual-Diagnosis Treatment Center in Florida

The team at Restore Mental Health is here to help you go through your treatment program so you can enjoy your life. Contact us today to discuss your needs with one of our knowledgeable team members. We accept many insurance policies, and we have a convenient self-pay option for individuals without insurance coverage.