Common Cases of Dual Diagnosis in Substance Abuse and Mental Health?
Substance abuse occurs when anyone indulges in illicit drugs, even regular prescription drugs, alcohol, and more. Depending on what a person takes and how often this occurs, mental health issues can also manifest, creating a situation of dual diagnosis. This combination of health issues becomes a revolving door of need more drugs to offset mental issues of anxiety, paranoia, depression, hopelessness, and other mental issues leading to aberrations in cognitive functionality.
Each patient who seeks help to find a recovery system back to better health must have an individualized program created, based on that person’s chemical body makeup. The benchmark occurs when the patient first gets a full medical examination, both physically and mentally.
A recovery treatment plan is designed to address both physical and mental issues because cannot treat just one side first.
Both are interrelated to each other. Pacific Bay Recovery, as just one option in recovery, offers transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) treatment to help with relieving some of these mental issues. This helps to reduce the need to take substances (alcohol, drugs) that may have started first as a habit and then turned into an addiction.
Physical Addictions versus Mental Issues
Physical addiction to prescribed pain pills occurs when you take more of the prescribed amount you were allowed to take when you first received the prescription. As your body accommodates the new number of pills but your pain becomes worse again after several months, then you take more pills just to get rid of the higher pain level. The need to take more pills becomes progressively worse over time. Call your doctor at once if your pain pill medication is not helping you.
Unless you can manage to reduce those pills gradually on your own, you may become anxious, especially when you run out of your prescription. In turn, this makes you irritable, grumpy, causes sleep problems, a lack of attention to daily living details (like driving), and more. Your situation is now turning into a vicious cycle of anxiety because your pain is getting worse. Go here to find out more about the addition of opioid medications which is a big problem in the United States today.
Any prescription that you are taking should be closely monitored by your doctor to avoid becoming addicted to it. For example, Gabapentin, while not on the opioid list, is another drug that is prescribed on occasion for diabetic peripheral neuropathy. As with any drug you take on a regular basis if you feel the need to take more pills because of increased pain, be sure to consult your doctor first.
Knowing When You Need to Get Help
The first sign that a person is losing control is often noted with difficulties within a family unit. If someone in your family who takes prescription drugs, is also drinking alcohol more often than usual, problems can occur when alcohol interacts badly with various prescriptions. Aggressive behavior can occur in a dangerous situation within any family, leading to the destruction of valued relationships. It is at this point that your family member must recognize the situation and seek help immediately to fix the problem.
If you are depressed over the loss of a boyfriend or girlfriend or are facing divorce from a spouse, you may turn to drinking more to escape your troubles. If you have a prescription for a health issue, heavy drinking added on could turn into a lethal combination that could lead to your death. Always know what you are taking and what your limitation is. When you step beyond that, you are out of control. Go to this link to review symptoms that mean you may need assistance.
Who to Call When You Need Help?
The recent pandemic has created problems for people, particularly when our society went under lockdown. For some, especially the elderly, who lived alone and were used to often being in social situations, many experienced depression, anxiety, and hopelessness while wondering if the situation would ever end.
A research study showed women were found to experience anxiety more often than men. For others, living with more people around on a 24/7 basis caused stress and anxiety, particularly if there was already some discord within the family. If you or a family member turned to or used more drugs and/or alcohol during this time, know there is always help available.
Pacific Bay Recovery can help you recover from any substance addiction or mental issues, so you can have a happy and functional lifestyle again. Call us at 619-350-8220 for a free consultation and to set up an appointment to start getting help as soon as possible.
