Co-Occurring Mental Health and Addiction

What is a Co-Occuring disorder? The coexistence of both a mental health disorder and a substance abuse use disorder is referred to as a co-occurring disorder. Any combination of mental health and addiction can be referred to as having a co-occuring disorder. The combinations can be seemingly endless, and can even include more than one of either a mental disorder or an addiction. Combinations may include depression and alcoholism, anorexia and cocaine addiction, bipolar disorder and heroin addiction and the list goes on. Surprisingly, as many as 6 in 10 substance abusers also have at least one other mental disorder. There is the classic question – which came first, the chicken or the egg? There is no exact answer to which came first when it comes to mental health and addiction disorders. However, what we do know is that they do exacerbate each other. In some people, a mental health disorder may predate an addiction. This can include a person who has dealt with depression during their adolescence, has experienced trauma and now has PTSD, a person who has been diagnosed with ADHD in their childhood, or a person has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. However, sometimes addiction can come before being diagnosed with a mental health disorder. This is because since mental health and addiction disorders exacerbate each other, the symptoms can be triggered or made worse by addiction. Mental Health Disorders According to the American Psychiatric Association, mental illnesses a...
Source: Cliffside Malibu - Category: Addiction Authors: Tags: Addiction Addiction Recovery Addiction Treatment and Program Resources ADHD Alcohol Alcohol Rehab Information Alcoholism Anxiety Behavioral Addictions Depression Depression Treatment Drinking Drug Treatment Dual Diagnosis and Eat Source Type: blogs