Dual Diagnosis Of Substance Abuse And Depression

Seminar paper from the year 2016 in the subject Medicine - Public Health, grade: 1, Egerton University, language: English, abstract: Substance abuse and co-occurring disorders are seemingly becoming an enormous challenge to health care systems. Substance abuse has become popular, especially among the young people even though its prevalence appears to be a cross-sectional health issue with drug addiction occurring across all ages and gender. On the other hand, mental illnesses are increasing at an alarming rate among the global population; thus, unprecedented burden to healthcare systems and professionals. Ordinarily, the occurrence of a mental health issue such as depression and a substance abuse problem is what is commonly referred to as dual diagnosis or a co-occurring disorder. From a nursing perspective, dual diagnosis does not appear to be a simple task because it deals with handling two problems concurrently: the mental health problem and the substance abuse issue.

Having a drug addiction is hard enough. So is having a mental illness such as schizophrenia, depression, or an anxiety disorder. Imagine having them both. You'll find out what that's like in Dual Diagnosis: Drug Addiction and Mental Illness. Many people suffer from both an addiction to a drug and another mental illness, making everyday life almost impossible. Dual Diagnosis explores ways to deal with dangerous addictions on top of mental illness. The book covers what addictions and mental illnesses are, diagnosis, and multiple treatment options. You'll also read inspirational stories about people who have suffered with—and overcome-dual diagnosis.

Estimates indicate that as many as 1 in 4 Americans will experience a mental health problem or will misuse alcohol or drugs in their lifetimes. These disorders are among the most highly stigmatized health conditions in the United States, and they remain barriers to full participation in society in areas as basic as education, housing, and employment. Improving the lives of people with mental health and substance abuse disorders has been a priority in the United States for more than 50 years. The Community Mental Health Act of 1963 is considered a major turning point in America's efforts to improve behavioral healthcare. It ushered in an era of optimism and hope and laid the groundwork for the consumer movement and new models of recovery. The consumer movement gave voice to people with mental and substance use disorders and brought their perspectives and experience into national discussions about mental health. However over the same 50-year period, positive change in American public attitudes and beliefs about mental and substance use disorders has lagged behind these advances. Stigma is a complex social phenomenon based on a relationship between an attribute and a stereotype that assigns undesirable labels, qualities, and behaviors to a person with that attribute. Labeled individuals are then socially devalued, which leads to inequality and discrimination. This report contributes to national efforts to understand and change attitudes, beliefs and behaviors that can lead to stigma and discrimination. Changing stigma in a lasting way will require coordinated efforts, which are based on the best possible evidence, supported at the national level with multiyear funding, and planned and implemented by an effective coalition of representative stakeholders. Ending Discrimination Against People with Mental and Substance Use Disorders: The Evidence for Stigma Change explores stigma and discrimination faced by individuals with mental or substance use disorders and recommends effective strategies for reducing stigma and encouraging people to seek treatment and other supportive services. It offers a set of conclusions and recommendations about successful stigma change strategies and the research needed to inform and evaluate these efforts in the United States.

Patients who have both a psychiatric disorder and a substance abuse problem cause most clinicians to throw up their hands in despair. The clinical problems that these "dual diagnosis" patients present are enor mously complex. Diagnostically, how is one to tell if disorders of mood and thinking, for instance, are signs of a mental illness or consequences of substance abuse? How is one to obtain important historic information when the patient may be unable or unwilling to provide it and there are no readily available collateral sources of information? In any case, why bother? Treatments for dually diagnosed patients are ineffective; patients won't stay in treatment; recidivism occurs at a very high rate. To make matters even more difficult, traditional health care reim bursement mechanisms do not provide for the multimodality clinical programs and special services needed by the patient who is both mentally ill and a substance abuser. So the clinician needs an effective bureaucratic strategy as well as a treatment strategy. For the most part, clinicians have handled the problem by ignoring it.

When a forty-three-year-old medical doctor sought treatment for chronic alcoholism, author Dr. Michael Mullan determined that George J. also suffered from depression and would require an integrative treatment approach to ensure a successful outcome. In Integrative Dual Diagnosis Treatment Approach to an Individual with Alcoholism and Coexisting Endogenous Depression, Mullan: - Describes the details of the case - Reviews the literature related to the clinical problems of dealing with alcoholism and alcoholism with co-existing mental illness - Includes an overview of the dually diagnosed population - Presents the model of treatment for the dually disordered--Dual Diagnosis Model - Reviews the patient's treatment regimen - Provides a summary of the treatment and experience - Reports on the patient's results In this study, Mullan describes his Dual Diagnosis Model approach for the treatment of addiction with co-existing mental disorders. He contends that in order to be successful treating an individual's addiction that the underlying psychological disorders must also be addressed to ensure a positive outcome.

First Published in 2003. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

This book includes a compilation of papers published in 2020 and 2021 focused on dual disorders, which are found in significant and growing numbers in both substance addiction and mental health clinics. These contributions assume a broad perspective ranging from exposure to genetic and neurobiological elements to factors such as personality and quality of life. In all cases, these papers aimed to be transferred to and to benefit clinical practice.