Approximately 38% of adults struggling with addiction also have a mental illness, and nearly 18% of people with mental illness have also struggled with addiction.[1] Mental health conditions that often co-occur with addiction include depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and others.
If you or someone you love are struggling with mental health and addiction at the same time, it’s important that you seek treatment that can address both conditions simultaneously. Dual diagnosis treatment programs in North Carolina provide comprehensive, integrated treatment for individuals with co-occurring disorders, but how do you know if dual diagnosis treatment is right for you?
At Next Step Recovery, our dedicated admissions counselors are available 24 hours a day to take your call, assess your needs, and help you find the treatment you deserve.
Understanding the Benefits of Dual Diagnosis Treatment
Since so many people affected by addiction also suffer from a mental health condition, many drug and alcohol rehab centers offer dual diagnosis care. There are many advantages of attending a dual diagnosis rehab in North Carolina, for example, dual diagnosis treatment can help you identify and overcome the root causes of your addiction.
Addiction is often the result of trauma, mental illness, or unresolved emotions that become too powerful to handle, causing people to turn to drugs and alcohol. Dual diagnosis programs treat the underlying causes of addiction by helping you process trauma, manage mental health conditions, and resolve painful emotions that may be contributing to your substance abuse.
Treating the root cause of your addiction comes with many benefits, including:
- Improved mental health
- Improved physical health
- Increased treatment outcomes
- Increased recovery outcomes (staying sober)
- Improved quality of life
- Increased motivation and incentive to stay sober
Signs Dual Diagnosis Treatment is Right for You
Without an evaluation conducted by an addictions specialist, choosing the right treatment program for you can be challenging. However, you may need dual diagnosis treatment if you identify with any of the following points.
Previous Mental Health Diagnosis
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, an estimated 49.5% of adolescents have had a mental health condition at some point in their lives.[2] While early treatment and intervention can allow young people to live normal, healthy lives, mental health conditions have the potential to come back or get worse with age and other life experiences. Some mental health conditions can last a lifetime. As a result, if you’ve previously been diagnosed with a mental illness and have now developed a drug or alcohol problem, you can benefit from dual diagnosis treatment.
Self-Medication
Whether it is trauma, mental health, or painful emotions like grief, people sometimes turn to drugs or alcohol as coping mechanisms. Using drugs or alcohol to cope is known as self-medication because you are trying to cope with or “medicate” specific symptoms using substances. Self-medication often leads to addiction.
If you’ve found yourself turning to drugs or alcohol when you feel sad, angry, lonely, or upset in any way, you may be self-medicating an underlying issue that needs to be addressed in a dual diagnosis program.
A History of Trauma
Traumatic events take many shapes and forms. There is emotional trauma that can stem from childhood neglect, narcissistic abuse, or grief and loss, there is physical trauma that can stem from childhood abuse, spousal abuse, sexual assault, and violence, and there are environmental traumas such as natural disasters or witnessing a traumatic event.
Regardless of the nature of trauma, it can have long-lasting emotional impacts. Approximately 75% of people with substance use disorder have experienced trauma at some point in their lives.[3] A dual diagnosis treatment program can help you process your trauma and learn how to cope in a healthy way.
Feelings of Anxiety, Depression, Hopelessness, and Despair
You don’t have to have a diagnosed mental health condition to be able to benefit from a dual diagnosis rehab in North Carolina. If you experience regular feelings of anxiety, depression, hopelessness, despair, or experience suicidal ideologies, you can benefit from dual diagnosis care.
Other symptoms of poor mental health include:
- Isolating from loved ones
- Mood changes
- Confusion
- Difficulty concentrating
- Avoiding social activities
- Engaging in risky behaviors
Find out if Dual Diagnosis Treatment in North Carolina is Right for You
Dual diagnosis treatment programs in North Carolina offer a safe place for clients to receive individualized care for mental health conditions, physical ailments, and substance use disorders. Treatment begins with intake during which a specialist will assess your physical, emotional, and mental needs to develop a treatment plan tailored specifically for you.
At Next Step Recovery, we implement evidence-based and dual diagnosis treatment in a safe environment where men can successfully overcome addiction, take control of mental health disorders, and transition back into society as productive citizens. If you or a loved one are looking for treatment in the Asheville, North Carolina area, please contact us today to learn more.
References:
- National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA): Comorbidity: Substance Use and Other Mental Disorders, Retrieved April 2023 from https://nida.nih.gov/research-topics/trends-statistics/infographics/comorbidity-substance-use-other-mental-disorders
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: Mental Health for Adolescents, Retrieved April 2023 from https://opa.hhs.gov/adolescent-health/mental-health-adolescents
- National Library of Medicine: Childhood trauma among individuals with co-morbid substance use and post-traumatic stress disorder, Retrieved April 2023 from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3188414/
