Georgia Partial Hospitalization Program and Mental Disorders Share Cause and Effect Bond

Diagnosing and treating an addiction can be a daunting task, especially when an additional mental health disorder accompanies an existing addiction. Such coexisting conditions feed on each other by mimicking each other's symptoms, making the problem persistent.

Coexisting disorders can be wide-ranging, from an individual falling prey to mild depression because of excessive alcohol consumption to someone exhibiting extreme manifestations of bipolar disorder leading to repeated heroin abuse and Georgia Partial Hospitalization Program. Nevertheless, the high rate of prevalence of coexisting disorders is a popular area of research among healthcare experts.

According to various studies, either of the two can develop first. Self-medication in the form of alcohol, drugs or any other intoxicant may appear as a remedy for someone experiencing a mental health-related problem, whereas a full-blown drug abuser may end up with a mental disorder.

According to The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), 50 percent of general psychiatric patients also have a substance use disorder. Unfortunately, only 7.4 percent of individuals of these receive treatment for both the conditions.

Are coexisting disorders a common occurrence and Georgia Partial Hospitalization Program?

Studies have shown that a high proportion of people with prior substance use disorders are also prone to suffer from mental health disorders. Around 37 percent of alcoholics and 53 percent of drug abusers face a high risk of developing a mental illness at any given point.

Men are more vulnerable to develop a coexisting disorder than women. Other people who face a significantly high risk include individuals from lower social and economic groups, veterans from the armed forces and those with other general medical illnesses.

It has been observed that genes and other hereditary factors may put individuals at a high risk of addiction and mental health-related problems. Further, there is a great possibility that some of these genetic factors may overlap. Nevertheless, overlapping susceptibilities might indicate that these people are more prone to developing multiple disorders than others.

Additionally, people with impaired brain functions are also more susceptible to dual disorders due to a serious defect in their reward and stress functions. It has been proved that those suffering from schizophrenia and those who are addicted to drugs have impaired reward pathways with intensified dopamine activity. The pleasures surrounding daily activities in life are far less impacting as compared to the addictive reward of drugs.

Finally, a combination of an individual's environmental and developmental factors, such as trauma, other stress-causing elements, history of drug use or any mental health issue, also play a vital role in heightening the risk of developing coexisting disorders.

Road to recovery

While there is no one way to treat coexisting disorders, considering the individualized nature of such challenges, treatments can be successful only if they follow an integrated approach to address both the conditions at the same time. It is essential to treat both the conditions simultaneously, as addressing only one paves the way for the untreated condition to relapse. Thus, an integrated treatment that can cater to both the disorders is always the answer.