Dealing with Addiction and Depression? Understanding the Importance of Dual Diagnosis Care

Many people who are depressed turn to addictive substances to find relief. On the flip side of the coin, many addicts regularly struggle with depression. However, in many cases, only one issue is being treated at a time, leading to an almost certain relapse into addiction or a slump into deep depression.

At 2nd Chance Treatment Center, with practice locations in Phoenix and Litchfield Park, Arizona, our team of board-certified psychiatrists are able to identify and treat both addiction and depression with dual diagnosis care.

Why addiction and depression are so closely linked

A number of studies that look at people with a substance abuse disorder (SUD, or addiction) also struggle with mental health. People with depression are far more likely to struggle with an SUD than people without depression. 

It’s hard to say which comes first. Do people with depression self-medicate to avoid their own dark thoughts and feelings? Or does the act of substance abuse lead to those dark thoughts and feelings? It’s likely that both scenarios are true.

Patients who have both a substance abuse disorder and a comorbid mental disorder like depression can be helped most by a treatment plan that addresses both issues rather than just one or the other. A lack of treatment for one disorder can lead to relapse into the other.

How dual diagnosis care works

Our psychiatrists believe in treating the entire mind and, by extension, the body. Ignoring mental health issues while treating an addiction won’t do you or your loved one a lot of good if you’re still at the mercy of untreated depression. 

The reverse also applies. If you’re getting treatment for depression but your providers aren’t simultaneously addressing your substance abuse problem, you can relapse into addiction during the stress of mental health recovery.

A dual diagnosis makes it easier for our team to give you the help you really need, and keep one disorder from causing you to suffer even more from the other. By treating both conditions at the same time, we can help you move past reasons you may have to use or addiction that keeps you locked in worry and despair.

Getting started

Depending on your level of addiction, you may need in-patient treatment while you detox, and medication to blunt your withdrawal symptoms. Your dual diagnosis care team works to create a map of the state of your mental health and create a treatment plan that can include one or more of the following:

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)

Cognitive behavioral therapy teaches you how to recognize and alter your ineffective patterns of thinking, steering yourself away from self-harming and depressive thoughts and helping you take positive action instead.

Dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT)

Dialectical behavioral therapy (talk therapy) is designed to reduce unwanted behaviors such as drug or alcohol abuse, cutting or other acts of self harm, and suicidal thoughts or ideation, by talking through the problem and finding potential solutions.

By combining these treatments with the appropriate drug withdrawal therapy, your dual diagnosis care team can put you on the road to true recovery. 

If you or a loved one struggles with both mental health and substance abuse issues, please reach out to us. Call the location closest to you, or contact us online to make an appointment today.