Mental illness and addiction can be quite closely linked, which means it can be very difficult to determine the question, “Which came first, the drinking or depression?” In some instances, a person is living with depression first and then turns to alcohol, while in others, the substance abuse issue was present initially and the mental…
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a condition where a person experiences a high degree of anxiety after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event. The trauma can be either physical or psychological. Military veterans, victims of crime, survivors of natural disaster or first responders are especially at risk. A person with PTSD typically experiences flashbacks to…
You may be wondering why so many people who have substance abuse issues also struggle with an addiction (dual diagnosis). This statement can easily be turned on its head and put in a different way: Why do so many people living with a mental health concern also struggle with substance abuse issues? Mental Illness And…
It’s not uncommon for people who are living with a mental illness to also need treatment for an addiction. They need to seek co-occurring disorders treatment to properly treat both concerns concurrently. According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, mental illness increases the likelihood that a person will turn to addictive substances in comparison…
Wouldn’t it be convenient if all health matters arrived in neat little packages so that doctors and psychologists could focus on one thing at a time? Unfortunately in real life it doesn’t work that way. It’s possible for a patient to be diagnosed with more than one ailment at a time, and each one needs…