Dual Diagnosis

"Some leading Psychiatrists have said that quite often the drug problem is a way for people to self medicate the mental problems they have"

Dual Diagnosis is when someone had a drug problem and a mental illness as well.

Just treating the drug problems alone is not enough and it can be a fundamental part of the process to treat the underlying mental problems at the same time.

Some leading Psychiatrists have said that quite often the drug problem is a way for people to self medicate the mental problems they have and rather than getting professional help they treat themselves.

Co-occuring disorders (COD) is another term to describe Dual Diagnosis.

When trying to diagnose some kind of mental illness in a person with a drug or alcohol problems there are substantial challenges caused by the drugs masking or creating symptoms that could lead to finding a treatment.

The fundamental problems with dual diagnosis are partly due to when people that have a drug problem finally get clean for a while they decide not to have aftercare.
Aftercare is vital to avoid or manage any kind of relapse so if a mental problem is not identified at the time of the drug rehabiliation, the actual cause of the problem remains just as strong.