Dual Diagnosis and You

A dual diagnosis is when an individual discovers they have both a substance use and mental health disorder. This phenomenon is common, and generally occurs when individuals use drugs, alcohol, or pornography to treat their trauma, anxiety, or depression.

These individuals sometimes grow up in abusive households, have parents or guardians addicted to drugs, and/or have a genetic predisposition to develop an addiction to a particular substance.

Individuals who rely on drugs, alcohol, pornography, or any other addictive substances to cope with the daily stresses of life, are "self-medicating". This is a problem because it prevents the individual's ability to develop healthily.

Self-medicating is a maladaptive coping mechanism; it often causes far more issues than it resolves.

For instance, the abuse of drugs and alcohol in particular can lead to reckless behavior, which can lead to incidents involving law enforcement. When an indiviual receives professional treatment for their addiction and mental health disorders, they are on a path to improved health.

Unfortunately for many, our society still shines a negative light on mental health issues. This incorrect perception of individuals who struggle with their mental health and/or addictions can cause feelings of shame, and prevent those individuals from reaching out to receive the help they need.

When individuals receive a dual diagnosis, they sometimes believe that if they only receive treatment for their mental health disorder, or only for their substance abuse, the treatment will resolve both problems. This is not the case. The human body and mind require time away from the substance and consistent effort by the individual to establish healthy coping mechanisms; ignoring this truth causes struggling individuals to relapse.

Treatment for dual diagnosis includes the following approaches:

Medication-assisted treatment (MAT): During detox or withdrawal, this approach can greatly help with preventing relapses and keeping the agitated individual calm.

Individual therapy: Modalties like CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) or DBT (dialectical behavioral therapy) might be used in this approach. Another possible, specialized modality is EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing), which helps with trauma disorders.

Group therapy: A community, large or small, where individuals can practice their coping skills under the moderation of a trained counselor. This environment allows for greater opportunities to learn and to establish healthy practices.

Family therapy: Addiction and mental health can affect the entire family. This approach provides a way for a family to reconnect and heal.

Holistic: Viewing the individual as a whole, this approach teaches alternative practices such as breathwork, meditation, and exercise. Generally recommended as an enhancement to treatment plans, rather than as a main approach.

Whatever one decides to do, know that there are professionals waiting to help. Dealing with a dual diagnosis can be difficult. It's important to remember that the greatest journey ever taken, started with a single step.

5 Signs of Enabling an Addiction

When a loved one struggles with an addiction, it can be difficult to see them suffer. Family and friends want to support and attempt to rescue the person they care about, but it can be very easy to enable them in their addiction instead. Often, people don’t realize that what they are doing is considered enabling, which makes it important to be aware of some of the signs.

1.     Lying About Someone’s Addictive Behaviors: A loved one may feel sympathetic towards someone who battles with an addiction. This can lead to them feeling like they need to offer protection from consequences. This could include lying that their loved one has an addiction in the first place or downplaying any negative affects that stem from the addiction.

2.     Placing Blame Where It Does Not Belong: A hallmark of someone with an addiction is blaming others for their addictive behaviors. A person who reinforces their blame is enabling an addiction. The reality is that everyone makes choices about how to behave. Letting someone learn how to deal with the consequences of their actions and make better choices holds more value then playing the blame game.

3.     Engaging in Codependent Behaviors: One of the main characteristics of being independent is placing someone else’s needs or wants ahead of one’s own. When a person puts their life on hold or places the importance on their loved one’s life at the detriment to their own, they are enabling an addiction. It’s natural to want to help the ones you care about, but there is a line that shouldn’t be crossed. Not putting your life on hold when your loved one’s addiction is causing problems in their own life provides a good example of living responsibly.

4.     Ignoring Negative and Damaging Behavior: A person whose life has spun out of control due to addiction does not suffer alone. Aggressive behavior impacts family members and friends, particularly children who have no options to leave the environment. Ignoring this behavior reinforces the idea that a person can get away with verbal, emotional, or physical abuse because family members are afraid to confront them. When loved ones band together to let a loved one know that their behavior and abuse will not be tolerated, they offer protection to themselves and motivation for the addict to change.

5.     Not Enforcing a Cut-off Point: Addicts often become used to depending on the sympathies of friends and family in order to delay getting help. As hard as it is to watch someone suffer, people must set cut-off points and stick to them. They can tell their loved one that they will pay a bill or provide some other resource of support, but it will be for the last time. When they are forced to experience things like not having money or a place to go, it will force them to recognize how low their addiction has brought them.

While not every situation is the same, it is still important to be aware of these and any other signs that you or others are enabling your loved one while they are on the road to recovery.

Tips for Managing Boredom in Recovery

Boredom in recovery is common, but it can be very dangerous. While in recovery, many people suddenly find themselves with extra time on their hands as they are no longer engaging in their vices and are distancing themselves from friends and family who still do. Furthermore, because many addictions stimulate the brains dopamine centers, the things that are normally interesting may feel dull and uninteresting to people in recovery. Things won’t be like this forever, but it’s important to figure out how to cope with boredom in early recovery.

If you’re new to sobriety, boredom is a powerful trigger that can send you right back to your addiction. By understanding this emotional state, you can protect the work you’ve put into recovery. Here are some of the reasons why boredom is common during early recovery:

·       Extra time on your hands. Addictions take up a lot of time, so when you’re newly sober, you naturally have a lot of extra free time on your hands. It’s important to find healthy, productive ways to fill this time.

·       Everything seems dull.  Many addictions overwork your dopamine system. As a result, things that should normally be rewarding feel underwhelming. There is no quick fix to this. Your brain needs time to restore its balance.

·       Distance from social circle. Chances are, you spent time with people who shared similar addictions. Now that you are in recovery, you have most likely distanced yourself from these people. Not being able to spend time with your social group regularly can also leave you feeling bored, lonely, and isolated.

·       No longer sure what you enjoy. Addiction has a way of robbing people of their identities. It is possible that you don’t even know what you enjoy anymore. It will take time to rediscover your hobbies and passions. Until then, you might find yourself feeling bored and unsure how to spend your time.

Having too much time on your hands can be a problem for most people, but it can be especially dangerous to those in recovery. When you feel bored for too long, it can cause you to feel resentful and look elsewhere for entertainment and excitement. In order to become less bored, you must rediscover your passions, talents, and interests. It takes time, but you will get there.

Here are some of the best ways you can overcome boredom in recovery:

·       Join a support group. It’s important to spend time with people during recovery, but you have to choose the right people. One of the best places to find good people is in a support group; you can choose any support group that feels comfortable to you. Participating in these meetings allows you to form connections with people who understand what you are going through.

·       Try new activities. Keep an open mind in recovery—this is a period of self-discovery. Try some of the old activities you used to enjoy before your addiction and see if they offer you any enjoyment. If they don’t, try something new. Don’t feel discouraged; there’s a good chance you have different interests now, and that’s okay. The key is to find new types of enjoyment.

·       Do some chores. If you’re still rediscovering your passions, you might not have any activities to fall back on yet. Pass the time by doing chores or offering to help others with their tasks. Chores are boring by nature, but they are a necessity. Instead of sitting there feeling bored, you can do the dishes or fold the laundry and feel bored. Before you know it, you will have passed the time and accomplished something.

Being bored is a part of everyday life, but it’s important to find ways to combat that boredom, especially when you’re in recovery. Find new ways to fill the time, and don’t give up on trying new things.

Family and Addiction

One thing about addiction that holds true for everyone is that it does not happen in a vacuum; addictions affect family members and loved ones of the one suffering. When someone enters recovery, it unfortunately does not signal an end to the relationship problems brought on by addiction. Instead, it signals a shift in how everyone deals with each other.

When it comes to recovering from an addiction, those in recovery and their family need to learn new ways to communicate. One area that often needs work involves people having a fear of broaching certain topics with each other. Family members who grew accustomed to seeing certain topics of conversation as potential landmines will need help learning how to communicate with their loved one who is in recovery. The person in recovery will also need to learn what healthy communication sounds like. Using “I” statements can help people feel less defensive. For example, instead of saying, “You always do this and I hate it,” a person can try saying, “When you do this, I feel…” and then tell them what their reaction feels like.

In addressing addiction and family, focusing on the present can help with recovery. It can be tempting to focus on things that have happened and dwell on the “what if”. While it is important for those in recovery and their loved ones to take responsibility for past words and deeds, it is equally important to live in the here and now. The person in recovery may feel the temptation to view themselves negatively; they may recall things they did or said in the past but dwelling on the negative will only serve to distract them from the progress and changes they are making. Family members might also find it hard to transition from how their loved one used to behave to the changes exhibited in recovery. Communicating openly can help with this transition. Make a point to acknowledge past transitions but also include everyone’s thoughts on how to leave those in the past. How a person acts and reacts now provides the building blocks for healthy, new relationships post recovery.