ADDICTIONS
MENTAL HEALTH AND ADDICTION
By Synthia Esther
Research indicates half of all alcoholics and drug addicts are suffering from mental health problems, including depression, and are self-medicating to mask the symptoms. The problem of dual diagnosis is so acute that many doctors and hospitals are given official guidance to help them identify people abusing drugs or alcohol who are also mentally ill. Mental health problems are particularly common among homeless peoples and the prison population. Seventy-nine percent of men on remand who use drugs also suffer from mental health disorders. According to the Royal College of Psychiatrists, approximately half of those who use drug and alcohol services have some form of mental health problem, commonly depression or personality disorder (The Independent, Revealed: 50 percent of alcoholics and drug addicts are mentally ill, October 8, 2006, By Marie Woolf and Sophie Goodchild).
From the Department of Health and Human Service, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Office of Applied Studies: Serious Mental Illness and Its Co-Occurrence with Substance Use Disorders, 2002, Joan Epstein, Peggy Barker, Michael Vorburger, Christine Murtha: Adults with alcohol dependence or abuse were more likely to have serious mental illness than adults who had used alcohol but did not have dependence or abuse. Although this report focuses on the population with the most severe mental problems, there is also interest in the larger population with any mental disorder and the co-occurrence of substance use disorders among its members.
According to a U.S. General's Report, co-occurring disorder have been estimated to affect from 7 million to 10 million adult Americans in any year (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-DHHS, 1999, see also SAMSHA National Advisory Council, 1998). An estimated 41 to 65 percent of persons with a lifetime substance use disorder have a lifetime history of at least one mental disorder, and about 51 percent of those with one or more lifetime mental disorders also have a history of at least one substance use disorder (.U.S. DHHS, 1999). Studies in both clinical samples (Ross, Glaser, & Germanson, 1988; Rounsaville et al., 1991; Wolf et al., 1988) and general population studies (Boyd et al., 1984; Helzer & Pryzbeck, 1988, Kessler et al., 1994; Regier et al., 1990), show that co-morbidity is highly prevalent among individuals with mental disorders.
From Psychiatric News, May 5, 2006, Volume 41, Number 9, page 37, 2006-American Psychiatric Association; “Research Advances Aid Treatment Of Co-morbid Substance Disorders,” Psychiatrist frequently encounter alcohol and other substance use disorders in patients with serious mental illnesses. “All too often, heavy drinking interferes with a patient's response to treatment,” said Mark L. Willenbring, M.D., a psychiatrist and the director of treatment and recovery research at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). The good new, according to Willenbring, is that research has shown promising results with strategies to treat and manage alcohol use disorders that can be intragrated into a variety of clinical settings. From a report published by The Journal of the American Medical Association:
- Thirty-seven percent of alcohol abusers and fifty-three percent of drug abusers also have a least one serious mental illness.
- Of all people diagnosed as mentally ill, 29 percent abuse either alcohol or drugs.
- The following psychiatric problems are common to occur in dual diagnosis – i.e., in tandem with alcohol or drug dependency:
- Depressive disorders, such as depression and bi-polar disorder.
- Anxiety disorders, including generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and phobias.
- Other psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia and personality disorders.
QUESTIONS
WHICH DEVELPS FIRST – SUBANTANCE ABUSE OR THE EMOTIONAL PROBLEM?
From the research I have done, it depends. Often the psychiatric problem develops first. In an attempt to feel calmer, more energetic, peppy, or cheerful, a person with emotional symptoms may drink or use drugs; doctors often call this self-medication. Frequent self-medication may eventually lead to physical or psychological dependency on alcohol or drugs. If it does, the person suffers from not just one problem, but two.
WITH MENTAL ILLNESS SO PROVALENT AMONG THE ADDICTED, HOW CAN AA 12 STEP PROGRAMS HELP A MENTALLY ILL ADDICT, GUIDE AND MENTOR ANOTHER MENTALLY ILL ADDICT?
While the 12 step program offers kindred support, most medical experts agree it should not replace addicts attempts to receive personal and professional therapy, counseling, and medication for mental health issues. Mental illness is problematic requiring medical attention, care, support and most often medication proscribed by a doctor. As a born again believer in Jesus Christ, I am of the opinion that addiction problems need to be handled with the realization of the effects it has on the tripartite nature of man, body, soul and spirit. According to Biblical reference (Hebrews 4: 12-16), the word of God penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Therefore the word of God, which is living and active, is of primary importance to renewing an addicts disabling thought patterns (Hebrews 4:12-13).
