Dual diagnosis treatment centers

Much attention has been given to those with mental illness and those with substance abuse problems. However, as with most complications in life, many persons may suffer from multiple conditions simultaneously and this is where the emerging science of dual diagnosis arises along with treatment centers that specialize in it.

I, myself, have an affinity towards certain types of drugs and also suffer from severe depression. I believe it is genetic as my father also suffered from depression. My depression sometimes is so severe that I cannot stand and walk around as the deadness of the space before me and every breath that i take is fully incapacitating.

It is through these episodes that my use of certain stimulants was born and though i believed they aided me i believe that I too suffer from multiple conditions simultaneously and am therefore a dual diagnosis sufferer.

Many problems that arise from the diagnosis of potential sufferer is that substances often trigger chemical imabalances that may themselves cause psychiatric problems. In my case my depression preceded my substance problems and my father's condition also presupposes the conclusion that I am indeed in need of dual diagnosis treatment.

I am writing all this and hope to initiate a discussion on the subject so that people may share their experiences with treatment centers that have had success as it is a rare and uncommon service that does not receive the same funding as the more popular singular treatments.

I, myself, reside in California and have found a doctor that personally assists me and a number of others with experimental methods to segregate my two problems and control them individually.

The biggest problem seems to be a lifestyle built upon these two problems working off one another to create a life i emotionally believe to be 'normal', but does not lead to long term happiness.

how could u get beyond urself body brain when u mean to condition urself to its chemical state??
u cant b normal, so constant self way, but by being a kind of the free sense out of humans objective condition to exist, u cant handle being constant unless it is really u so u become light to move usefullly and act according to urself needs

being constant from smthg else is kind of gravity reason, for that heavy weight u become by constinuously being attached to what is constant elsewhere
while the constant reference being smthg else force urself to realize the constance superiority to u, which also confirm the heavy weight u become in having to represent else constancy that is not u

heavy in meaning the lack possibility of moving and the dependance on absolute abstractions of ur objective existence that u dont need

My sympathies to you, Loheny.

I also struggle with severe depression and problems with addiction, though my addictions have involved food and relationships, as opposed to "substances". I overcame bulimia in my early 20s and then sex/relationship addiction more recently. The depression has persisted throughout.

I agree that lifestyle is a huge part of the problem. While I have managed to conquer the unhealthy behaviors I was previously engaged in, my life is now extremely isolated and empty. I continue to search for the ultimate source of my pain, in the hope that I won't have to spend my entire life trying to avoid it. I've yet to encounter much happiness in this life.

I can't really comment on dual diagnosis centers, though I am familiar with the concept. Just wanted to let you know that you're not alone and that I appreciate your openness.

After 25 years of therapy and numerous psychiatric drugs, I must say that the practice of meditation is what has proved to be most helpful for me. I recently did an intense 8 months of meditation, for an hour daily, and saw much improvement in my state of mind. Unfortunately, a stressful move then intervened and I kind of lost motivation. But I do hope to get back on track one of these days.

Has anything been helpful for you so far, in terms of treatment or coping skills?

Perhaps.... though I've yet to figure out just what reality is....

reality is when u admit ur body being existing aware too and/or when u recognize and realize others self conscious freedom being objective true existing right

anything we perceive objectively is absolutely free from us, that is why subjective life is the way for abusive wills meaning to take advantage from objective existence that is why life cant b real but in lies meaning subjective wills

what everyone seem to ignore or take also advantage from knowing, is that to what exist objectively only individual freedom in absolute terms exist
so actually as if truth of the ground keep realizing our self freedom each one individually

reality is by ultimately admitting this from what truth want u to b real

to me it is more from admitting that truth is real while else not me but me as anyone is always relative somehow to so i must clarify my freedom right and will of which make me realize alot of my true reality by realizing a lot of lies realities pretenses rights and living evil wills

ummm... that was rather unclear

it was just to point it, if u want more lets complete the point

what i said reveal the crucial element of reality which is else
truth is freedom bc else exist
and else is true bc freedom is real

tht is why u cant have a sense of reality even alone so by ur still perspective over anything, unless u separate smthg of urself from u

that is why one is always wrong while freedom is always right

The separation of the two afflictions is the #1 priority when it comes to having a disorder that is bound to an addiction. Disorders are mostly out of our control and so the priority lies in curbing one's addiction to the maximum extent.

Chewing gum is an often under appreciated mechanism that has both psychological and mechanical stimulation that serves to offset cravings. The sugar contained in the gum is a drug in itself, albeit less harmful than your drug of choice.

I find dual diagnosis treatment centers to be very helpful in curbing these addictions primarily because you are surrounded by a positive environment that is conducive to healing.

Sexual addition is a unique addiction because it, like food addiction, involves a natural need. Separating that is increasingly difficult because it still must be partaken in whereas blowout does not.

After reading a few articles, what I understand about dual diagnosis is that it's a condition that can occur as a result of an untreated mental condition. A person has a psychological condition, they may be unaware that what they are experiencing is indeed a mental illness, and they resort to drugs/alcohol to self medicate as a way of alleviating the pain or confusion they are experiencing. They feel better initially, but then over time what happens is that the effects of the drug worsens their original psychological problem. And then it can be like a cyclical problem where the elevated psychological problem escalates the substance abuse and vise versa. And then to make it even worse, the interplay of the effects from each condition - the drug abuse and the psychological problem - can produce new symptoms of an additional mental problem, sort of like a by product.

I can see how this condition would be quite difficult to treat if handled by inexperienced doctors. It seems that in terms of choosing the right treatment facility, you really have to look for a few key ideals:
- the environment should be a very positive environment that offers a lot of hope towards life
- the facility should have staff thoroughly experienced in dealing with both substance abuse and mental illnesses
- the approach used to treat individuals should involve a dual treatment approach whereby both conditions are addresses simultaneously
- the best treatment centers should offer assistance beyond the scope of their immediate facility. i.e. have services which help the sufferer find a job, provide direction and advice on housing options and offer family counselling.

It does seem like finding a good, honest treatment facility is hard - I have not come across any patient reviews for dual diagnosis treatments - only a few research paper findings.