It can sometimes happen that an individual need schizophrenia and addiction treatment. The fact that these two conditions are present can make it harder for the individual to enter treatment; it may be difficult for them to develop the insight needed to get past the denial associated with addiction. If they do enter treatment there is a good chance they can go on to live a productive and happy life.
When an individual has an addiction as well as another mental illness it is referred to as a dual diagnosis. This not only means that the person has two problems that need dealing with, but it also means that each of these problems can exacerbate the other. This can send the individual into a deadly downward spiral unless schizophrenia and addiction treatment is commenced.
It can often happen that a person with a dual diagnosis fails to be identified by the medical profession. The reason why this occurs is that symptoms similar to other forms of mental illness can be seen exhibited in the alcohol or drug abuser. People with an addiction can suffer hallucinations, paranoia, anxiety, and many other symptoms. This makes discovering the dual diagnosis a more difficult task. If the medical professional is not considering a second condition it is easy to dismiss all the symptoms as being created by the substance abuse. This is a problem because unless the individual has schizophrenia and addiction treatment there will be little chance of them escaping their problems.
Those who have a mental health issue are far more likely to develop a substance addiction than the rest of the population; it is claimed that up to fifty percent of those with mental health problems also have a substance abuse problem.This is understandable because for many of those suffering with a condition like schizophrenia it is tempting to turn to alcohol and drugs for comfort. In the beginning they are likely to even have some success with this form of self-medication, but over time it will turn out to be very counter-productive. Whatever small bit of relief that may be obtained from drug or alcohol abuse in the beginning is never worth the amount of misery that comes later when not only is there another problem to be dealt with, but also the schizophrenia symptoms are being made worse by the continued abuse. This is why schizophrenia and addiction treatment are both needed; only treating the schizophrenia will have less impact while the person continue to abuse drugs.
It is not always appropriate for the person with schizophrenia to enter a traditional form of treatment facility for addiction. This is due to the fact that these places often base their approach on confrontation and cognitive strategies that just might not be appropriate for somebody with schizophrenia. Having two different treatment services provided at the same time is also not the best solution because this causes the ‘ping-pong effect’ that can overwhelm the individual. This is why the best solution is schizophrenia and addiction treatment that can be provided under the one roof; this is far more likely to have good results.
