Faith Based Dual Diagnosis Treatment Helps Mentally Ill Addicts

Faith based dual diagnosis treatment centers have seen a steady increase in the amount of Christian addiction treatment patients who have co-occurring psychiatric conditions and substance abuse issues. Doctors at these centers stress the fact that even people of faith have mental illnesses and addiction problems.

The most common mental illnesses for patients who enter faith based dual diagnosis treatment are depressive disorders (such as clinical depression and bipolar disorder), anxiety disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, and phobias. Sometimes, faith based dual diagnosis treatment centers encounter patients with schizophrenia and personality disorders, but these cases are rare. .

Many Christian addiction treatment patients wonder if the substance abuse or mental illness occurred first. Faith based dual diagnosis treatment doctors tell their patients that it depends on the individual. Sometimes, a psychiatric problem develops first for the Christian addiction treatment patient. In an attempt to feel calm, peppy, or happier around others, many patients "self-medicate" their psychiatric problem. This self medication can lead to dependency, which may have been the cause of the patient entering a Christian addiction treatment program, or a faith based dual diagnosis treatment program. There are some patients, however, who used so many drugs or drank so much during the course of their developmental stages and into adulthood that their abuse caused a serious mental illness.

Regardless of the cause or the symptoms, there is hope for sufferers who have been diagnosed with a mental illness and a substance abuse dependency problem. Many faith based dual diagnosis treatment centers exist, as do many non-faith based dual diagnosis treatment centers. The most important thing for any person suffering from a dual diagnosis is that they receive the help they need so that they do not harm themselves as a result of their condition.