Mix Of Mental Health And Substance Abuse in Arkansas

There is a connection between mental health and substance abuse disorders. Many people in Arkansas also struggle with this condition, also known as a dual diagnosis. A dual diagnosis happens when you are living with both a substance use disorder - or an addiction - as well as a co-occurring mental health disorder.

Many of the people in Arkansas who have been diagnosed with a substance use disorder also have a mental health disorder. The reverse is also true. Multiple population surveys show that about 50 percent of all the people who live with a mental illness also struggle with addiction.

There is also a high rate of comorbid anxiety disorders and substance use disorders. Examples of these anxiety disorders include post-traumatic stress disorder, panic disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder.

At the same time, addiction also co-occurs are relatively high rates with mental illnesses like bipolar disorder, depression, psychotic illness, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (or ADHD), antisocial personality disorder, and borderline personality disorder.

Patients living with schizophrenia also report high rates of drug use disorders involving substances like tobacco and alcohol. the overlap is particular pronounced with respect to serious mental illnesses, also known as SMIs.

A serious mental illness is a diagnosable emotional, behavioral, or psychiatric disorder that causes severe functional impairment that can significantly interfere with and limit major life activities. Examples of these illnesses include bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, major depression, and any other mental health disorder that can cause severe impairment. Unfortunately, about 25 percent of the people living with a serious mental illness in Arkansas also have other a substance use disorder.

If you are living with a mental illness - irrespective of its severity - there is a high probability that you will start abusing drugs and alcohol. this would be because you would be trying to manage the symptoms of your mental health disorder.

Although this form of self-medication - as the practice is commonly known - can prove effective in the short, it could also lead to other long term adverse effects. Over time, you will develop tolerance to the substances that you were abusing.

This means that you will have to take these drugs in higher doses or more frequently than you initially used to. Only by so doing will you be able to derive the calming and pleasurable effects that you have become accustomed to.

Eventually, tolerance will be replaced by dependence - both physical and psychological. This could lead to the development of other adverse symptoms of your growing dual diagnosis comprised of the initial mental illness as well as the new substance use disorder.

Once you are living with a dual diagnosis, your life will quickly spin out of control. This is because you will have two severe illnesses that often interfere with and aggravate each other - the mental illness as well as the addiction.

If you find yourself with a mix of mental health and substance abuse disorder, it is recommended that you seek highly integrated dual diagnosis treatment. there are several centers in Arkansas that offer such treatment and they can guide you on the road to health, wellness, and long term recovery.