Previous: Depression Caused by Drug or Alcohol Abuse
Dual Disorder Patients
Back to the document's frontpagePatients with clinical depression, borderline personality disorder or bi polar disorder are at an increasing risk of substance use and abuse and addiction.
Stabilizing psychiatric symptoms
Mental health patients may use drugs or alcohol to self medicate mental symptoms, but invariably the use of illicit drugs or alcohol exacerbates the underlying condition, and usually results in a declining spiral of increasing drug or alcohol use in response to worsening mental health symptoms.
Mental health patients abusing drugs or alcohol may not take medications as directed, and even if they do maintain pharmaceutical compliance, the concurrent use of drugs or alcohol can render prescribed medications less effective.
Pharmacological intervention for dual disorder patients is crucial for optimal symptoms minimization and the best probability of relapse avoidance. The use of anti depressants in drug treatment can stabilize psychiatric symptoms and allow for a better participation in drug treatments and a lessened craving back to use and abuse.
