Dual Diagnosis
Dual Diagnosis Treatment Center in New Jersey
Dual diagnosis treatment is a specialized approach designed for individuals who are living with both a substance use disorder and a mental health condition. As these challenges are deeply connected, effective recovery requires addressing them at the same time rather than separately. Dual diagnosis treatment programs combine evidence-based therapies, mental healthcare, and addiction treatment to help clients understand the link between their mental health and substance use. This integrated care model provides the tools and support needed to manage symptoms, build healthy coping skills, and achieve long-term recovery.
Fort Lee Recovery Center in Fort Lee, New Jersey, offers specialized dual diagnosis treatment for individuals struggling with both substance use and mental health disorders. Our comprehensive programs are designed to treat co-occurring conditions simultaneously, addressing the underlying causes of addiction while providing the mental health support clients need to heal. With evidence-based therapies, personalized treatment plans, and compassionate care, our dual diagnosis treatment center in New Jersey helps clients build a strong foundation for lasting recovery and improved overall well-being.
What is Dual Diagnosis Treatment?
Dual diagnosis treatment is a specialized program that helps individuals recover and manage multiple co-occurring disorders simultaneously. This means the sufferer has more than one officially diagnosed mental health or substance use disorder. These sessions are centered around finding the underlying cause of your disorders and helping you deal with your battles at the source. This is achieved by getting to know you, the patient, on the most personal level. This enables you and your therapist to develop open-ended trust that encourages you to share the full extent of your struggles.
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Types of Co-Occurring Disorders
Most, if not all, mental health or addiction battles can coincide. However, the following are the most prevalent co-occurring disorders in the country.
Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar disorder is characterized by drastic mood swings, severe emotional shifts, and paranoia. Hence, many bouts of bipolar disorder can disguise themselves or be misdiagnosed as anxiety, mood swings, or other mental conditions. Furthermore, this personality disorder is a common cause of many substance use disorders. Once a substance habit is formed, it exacerbates bipolar symptoms and severity, and vice versa. Without treatment, these coexisting conditions rebound off one another in a perpetual downward spiral that leads to fatal consequences.
Substance Use Disorder
As mentioned, mental health conditions are a very common cause of acquiring several substance use habits. However, the same can be said of substance use disorders afflicting mental health trauma. That is to say, substance dependency causes severe neurobiological irregularities. As a result, these irregularities progress into chemical deficiencies that ultimately lead to the acquisition of mental health conditions.
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia, better known as multiple personality disorder, is defined as irregular thoughts or expressions deriving from numerous severe mental deficiencies. These mental deficiencies can include auditory or visual hallucinations, emotional detachment, disconnected speech or thought, paranoid delusions, or other delusional behavior. In severe cases of schizophrenia, an individual may even believe they are one of many different people. These alterations in personality are often dependent on their ever-shifting mood.
Anxiety Disorders
Whether generalized or severe, anxiety disorders commonly co-occur with other addiction or mental health problems. Like other conditions on this list, anxiety disorders worsen in conjunction with addiction or other mental health disorders. These stress-related conditions can cause rash decision-making or even inflict other mental health problems without the appropriate mental care. Fortunately, we can help you manage your anxiety with our life-changing mental health management techniques.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
PTSD is a lifelong mental health disorder that requires long-term symptom management techniques to deal with. These disorders usually stem from childhood abuse, neglect, or other traumatic experiences throughout adulthood. It is also commonly associated with military veterans who have endured hardships during their time in service to our country. Hence, PTSD is frequently the source of many associated drug or alcohol addiction cases.
Depression
Many routes of addiction and mental health battles ultimately lead to depression. That’s what makes depression one of the most common co-occurring disorders in this group. Once you’ve reached a state of despair that feels inescapable, depression is inevitable and must be dealt with swiftly. If you believe you or a loved one is suffering from depression for any reason, reach out to a specialist now.
How Common Is Dual Diagnosis?
The increasing prevalence of dual-diagnosis cases is precisely why dual-diagnosis treatment center admissions are on the rise. According to reports, over 20 million Americans suffer from co-occurring disorders. Sadly, only a fraction of those individuals are aware they have coexisting conditions, and even fewer get the help they need. It’s important to stress the shared regularity of dual diagnosis to show you’re not alone in your battles. We’ll reassure you that there’s no shame in having these multiple diagnoses. Most importantly, we’ll provide proactive solutions that create a better quality of life.
Why Do Dual-Diagnosis Disorders Often Go Untreated?
Sadly, many co-occurring disorders go untreated due to several professional and individual deficiencies. This is why dual diagnosis treatment centers exist: to provide the most in-depth diagnosis to ensure accurate assessment. Bearing that in mind, here are just a few of the many reasons dual-diagnosis disorders often go untreated.
Inaccurate Diagnosis or Assessment
It takes very specialized assessment and diagnosis tools to properly assess co-occurring disorder cases. Therefore, many treatment centers are not properly equipped to make multiple accurate assessments. While they may accurately diagnose one, they will often miss other vital underlying conditions. Rest assured, our dual-diagnosis treatment center assessment tools thrive where others fail. You’ll know you’re in the best hands possible the moment you reach out to our team.
Embarrassment
Many individuals hide their battles because they are embarrassed by their addiction or mental health struggles. Unfortunately, some of this stems from the false and unfair stigma some parts of society harbor toward addiction and mental wellness. We remove those stigmatic barriers and show you the truth and pride you can have in recovery. We give you the confidence to show pride in accepting the help you need. Soon, you’ll see rehab as a sure testament of your true strength and growth as an individual.
Discouragement
Discouragement is a common theme among people struggling with addiction, mental health battles, or both simultaneously. This disheartened state arises from a variety of factors, like relapse, mental condition-induced hopelessness, loneliness, or other similar influences. If left untreated, discouragement rapidly progresses into full-blown depression if it hasn’t already. Consult a therapeutic specialist immediately to fend off depression and turn your discouragement into a newfound hope.
Lack of Support
Many individuals with an addiction or mental health problems seclude themselves from others, including loved ones. As a result, they lack the necessary support they need from the people who care most about them. In turn, they have nobody to help or guide them to the appropriate outlets to receive necessary treatment. This is not only a lonely place to be. It is a dangerous place to be, which can lead to rash decisions in the pit of mental and physical feelings of hopelessness.
Personal Neglect, Denial, or Lack of Desire
A primary reason many dual-diagnosis disorders go untreated is that the individual has no desire to seek help. The reasons can range from personal neglect, denial of a problem, or simply having no desire to get professional help. Whatever the reason may be, this refusal to seek help is a dangerous state of mind. Most of which require careful intervention tactics from therapists and family members.
Dual-Diagnosis Signs and Symptoms
It’s important to know the symptoms of at least one disorder. But how do you spot the signs of multiple disorders coexisting simultaneously? The signs and symptoms below can help you identify and take the appropriate action toward an accurate diagnosis.
Severe and Frequent Mood Swings
Singular mental health disorders cause erratic mood swings by themselves. However, especially severe and frequent shifts in mood can indicate multiple coexisting disorders. It’s important to keep a close eye on the frequency and severity of these mood swings. If you notice extreme manifestations of this symptom, it can mean more than one condition is involved.
Uncharacteristic Reclusiveness
People are different, and some are more reserved than others. However, sudden reclusiveness, quietness, or socially secluding behavior is a serious red flag, especially if it is out of character. This can mean an individual is hiding something. Whether it be depressive thoughts or a substance use habit, it’s important to reach out to anyone exhibiting this behavior. Failure to do so can send one into a self-harming, addictive state or other rash decisions stemming from mental problems.
Paranoid Manifestations
Paranoid delusions, both auditory and visual, can manifest themselves as overly anxious, fidgety behavior. This can also lead one to speak or act irrationally as a result of their paranoia. For example, an individual may share the delusion that they are being followed or hunted, resulting in reckless and self-harming behavior. These paranoias are more than phobias; they are symptoms of potentially multiple serious underlying mental health disorders.
Addiction Withdrawal Manifestations
Anybody exhibiting substance dependency symptoms is at high risk for co-occurring disorders due to addiction’s impact on the human psyche. These withdrawal symptoms cover a wide range of behavioral and physical manifestations. These consist of, but are not limited to, body tremors, irritability, lethargy, insomnia, and bloodshot eyes, among other evident cues. Seek immediate therapeutic assistance if you notice any such withdrawal symptoms in a loved one.
Extreme Weight Changes
Significant weight gain or loss in a limited timespan is one of the biggest red flags of an underlying issue. This can be indicative of stress, anxiety, or personality disorders, as well as substance use disorders. Most disturbingly, it can be a combination of both addiction and mental health strains impacting these weight alterations. Consequently, these severe changes place added strains on vital organs, which are struggling to adjust to these rapid body changes.
Help is Available at Our Dual Diagnosis Treatment Center
Fort Lee Recovery Center is equally a dual diagnosis treatment center as it is an addiction and mental health facility. We have all the support, tools, training, and treatment tools you need to overcome all your co-occurring disorder symptoms. Relieve the burdens that have weighed so heavily on your body and mind for so long, and contact us today to start your healing journey.