Drug addiction is rarely a simple problem that occurs without outside influences. For example, a growing number of people experience emotional difficulties that influence their substance use. As a result, we need to educate people to help them learn more about co-occurring disorders. This will help people better understand how co-occurring disorders can affect and worsen substance use, and vice versa. Read on to learn how high-quality drug rehab helps you recover from addiction and how co-occurring disorders can worsen addiction.
What are Co-Occurring Disorders?
Co-occurring disorders are a severe mental health problem that coincides with substance use. Co-occurring disorders often take on multiple forms, such as a person experiencing depression and anxiety alongside their addiction. These issues go beyond occasional sadness and include “diagnosable” mental health disorders that cause functional impairments.
When these problems occur in a person, it is easy for their addictive behaviors to worsen and become harder to control. This danger makes the treatment of co-occurring disorders essential for anybody trying to overcome any addiction. Therefore, it is crucial to fully understand the question “what are co-occurring disorders?” to understand how these types of problems occur and how rehab can help you manage them.
How Do They Worsen Addiction?
Co-occurring disorders worsen addiction by creating a cycle of abuse that can be hard to escape from. Let’s examine a hypothetical case to answer the question “what are co-occurring disorders?” and to help us understand how they worsen addiction. In our example, a person starts smoking marijuana daily because their job makes them anxious. While marijuana seems to calm their nerves, it only helps the symptoms and not the underlying disorders. They form an unhealthy addiction in order to cope with their mental health issue, which makes the problem worse over time.
As a result, that person continues to behave in ways that worsen their anxiety and depression. They increase their levels of marijuana consumption to “help” out their fear. Then, they become dependent on marijuana to manage their nerves and believe that they “need” it to be happy. Since they are not managing their emotional troubles, they only get worse and increase the grip of addiction on their life. This cycle can happen with all drugs, including alcohol and methamphetamine. This is how co-occurring disorders can worsen addiction and cause even more problems for an individual.
Can Rehab Help?
Now that you understand the answer to the question “what are co-occurring disorders?” you can begin to understand how rehab can:
- Manage physical health problems first
- Diagnose the nature of a person’s co-occurring disorders
- Create a treatment that helps manage both
- Decrease a person’s risk of relapse by managing trigger potential
All of these beneficial processes take place in what is known as a dual-diagnosis center. Dual-diagnosis works by spotting the influence of emotional problems and drug addiction. Through dual-diagnosis, individuals learn how to deal with their problems in a healthy way that does not involve drugs or alcohol. By tackling these issues simultaneously, it is usually more comfortable for a person to overcome substance use and become a happier and healthier person.
We Can Help You Recover
If you need help answering the question “what are co-occurring disorders?” please contact us at Crestview Recovery today. When you call 866.262.0531, you get access to a high-quality professional who will do what it takes to help you recover. We provide treatment in an intensive outpatient program with high-quality aftercare facilities. We also offer dual-diagnosis therapy, as well as additional services like white water rafting, skiing, and snowboarding in a beautiful environment. Verify your insurance to get started on the road to recovery at Crestview Recovery today.
Since 2016, Dr. Merle Williamson, a graduate of Oregon Health Sciences University, has been the Medical Director at Crestview Recovery, bringing a rich background in addiction medicine from his time at Hazelden Treatment Center. He oversees outpatient drug and alcohol treatments, providing medical care, setting policies, detox protocols, and quality assurance measures. Before specializing in addiction medicine, he spent 25 years in anesthesiology, serving as Chair of Hospital Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee and Chief of Anesthesia at Kaiser Permanente. This experience gives him a unique perspective on treating prescription drug addiction.
