Examining the links between mental illness and drug addiction in Vancouver, British Columbia by Options Okanagan Treatment Center in Kelowna, British Columbia treating drug addiction and recovery.
The best way to think about drug addition and mental ill health is to consider one a subset of the other – just like cancer is a subset of physical illness. However, not everyone shares this view. In the minds of a lot of people, alcoholism and drug addiction are things that fall outside of the category of mental illness. Addiction, is something that many people associate with poor morality, and it is viewed as a choice, rather than an affliction.
This viewpoint is rather shortsighted, and does not explain why addiction is so common. The National Institute on Drug Abuse notes that drug addiction changes the chemical makeup of a person’s brain in a fundamental way, and alters their hierarchy of needs. The addict’s priorities chance as they become fixated on whatever it is they are addicted to.
Compulsive behaviours can take over in people who are addicted to things. The DSM – a manual of classifications for mental disorders, classifies drug use disorders in two main types – drug dependence, and drug abuse.
Addiction to drugs is considered to be a mental illness as far as the APA is concerned, but there are more complications to the issue. The National Alliance on Mental Illness notes that almost one third of people with a mental illness have substance abuse issues. If the mental illness is severe – such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder – then this figure increases to 50 percent. There is a strong co-morbidity between alcoholism or drug addiction and mental illnesses – with between one third and one half of patients exhibiting signs of both.
Diagnosing these conditions is difficult. Many people begin experimenting with substances because it is fun. The dependency occurs only because they repeatedly expose themselves to an addictive substance. In others, however, the dependency is a result of the fact that they are trying to self medicate a condition, and when they stop taking the addictive substance the symptoms of the original condition return. This makes it difficult for health care providers to tell whether someone is using substances because of a mental illness, or whether the two conditions are separate to each other.
The relationship between mental illness and drug addiction is unclear and it is very complicated. As medical professionals earn more about those things they will be in a better position to provide people with the support that they need.
Options Okanagan Drug and Alcohol Treatment Centers in Kelowna, Salmon Arm and Vancouver, British Columbia – Men and Women are recovering and healing from Alcohol and Drug Abuse at our treatment center here in the Okanagan right now.
Our unique and distinctive Drug and Alcohol treatment program allows men and women to come in from Vancouver, Calgary as well as Edmonton as we offer airport pickup.
Numerous clients come to us from Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton and other locations in Alberta and British Columbia for Opiate addiction treatment, meth drug treatment, many other drug and alcohol addictions for rehabilitation because of the uniqueness of our treatment center.
Our Treatment Location:
Options Okanagan Drug Treatment Center
551 Sherrydale Crescent, Kelowna, British Columbia, V1V 2E6
Toll Free Phone Number : 1-855-335-0331