On its own, drug or alcohol addiction is debilitating and can often lead to devastating results. For some, it’s even more daunting when dealing with a dual diagnosis.

Dual diagnosis occurs when an addict is also afflicted with a mental disorder, such as depression, anxiety, bi-polar disorder, schizophrenia and other personality disorders. In some cases, the mental disorder causes the addiction, leading people to use drugs or alcohol as a means of medication to feel better. Other times, the addiction itself leads a person to experience mental disorders.

Two Different Diseases, Similar Symptoms

Once again, after “Jerry” came down off his high, he was left feeling sad and depressed. He often felt lower than before he got his fix. This has been going on since college, maybe even high school. Every time it was the same thing. He’d be feeling down and then have a drink and pop some pills to feel better. This was his cycle, although each time after he came down, he’d feel worse and worse. Everything had been going well in his life; family, career, church, friends, people counted on him.

But lately, his concentration has been lacking and he’s been showing up late or not at all. The promises he’d made to his kids were often broken. His wife would often be angry and until she finally stopped talking to him. His co-workers were often left baffled by his behavior. Jerry had become unreliable and despondent. His boss finally confronted him about his behavior and attitude. “What’s the matter? Do you need help, he asked?”

Does this sound like you? You suffer from unbearable anxiety, or crushing depression, but you were too embarrassed or ashamed to seek professional help, so you turned to alcohol or drugs to escape the mental pain and seek relief…

…or perhaps you’ve been diagnosed as bi-polar, but the meds you’ve been prescribed numbed you up too much, made you feel dead inside, so you decided to use alcohol or drugs to ‘even out’ your emotions.