Mental Health Month, Facts, & Substance Abuse Statistics

Mental Health Month

Mental Health Month gives all of us a valuable opportunity to celebrate the tremendous strides this nation has made in promoting mental health and increasing the public’s knowledge that effective services and support are available.

Over the past 20 years, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and others within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and across the Federal Government, the public health community, and the general public have made efforts to increase the importance of understanding both prevention and treatment of mental health problems. These efforts have significantly improved the outlook for those affected by mental illnesses.

Successful efforts that have raised awareness about the importance of mental health and promoted acceptance, support, prevention, and recovery from these mental health conditions include:

• Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 eliminates the practice of unequal health treatment and improves access to much needed mental health and substance use disorder treatment services through more equitable insurance coverage.
• The Garrett Lee Smith State/Tribal Suicide Prevention Program facilitates:
  • Coordination across government agencies and the private sector in the development
  • Implementation, and evaluation of youth suicide prevention and early intervention plans among youth-serving institutions, such as schools, educational institutions, juvenile justice systems, substance abuse programs, primary care, mental health programs, foster care systems, and other organizations. [1]

When is Mental Health Awareness Month?

Mental Health & Dual Diagnosis Facts & Figures

Mental Health and Addictions

How Common Is a Dual Diagnosis?

A person with a dual diagnosis has both a mental disorder and an alcohol or drug problem. These conditions occur together frequently. About half of people who have a mental disorder will also have a substance use disorder at some point in their lives and vice versa.

Substance Abuse Disorders Often Result in Conditions that Are Characterized by Mental Illness, Including:

• Anxiety Disorders: A major threat to public safety is a significant rise in socially nervous disorders in the general population. Additionally, it has been determined that an increase in the use of marijuana is associated with interpersonal anxiety disorders. The co-occurring disorders is rather common in generalized anxiety disorders, social anxiety disorders, and severe panic disorders in people with the conditions above, and particularly generalized anxiety disorders, social anxiety disorders, and severe panic disorders.
• Mood Disorders: In general, around 20% of the general public with a SUD also have bipolar disorder or depression. While several mood disorders will be observed during this period, many SUDs are likely to be assigned to at least one mood disorder.
• Personality disorders : Over 35% of patients with an alcohol or drug addiction have a personality disorder. In comparison, 15-20% of people in the normal population have a personality disorder, while 15%-50% of people in the “normal population” have personality disorders. Most SUD sufferers are diagnosed with Co-occurring disorders such as paranoid personality disorder, dissociative identity disorder, borderline personality disorder, and obtrusive personality disorder.
• PostTraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published a study that found people with PTSD was four times more likely to be suffering from substance abuse disorders when compared to people who did not have PTSD.
• Hyperactivity Disorder: According to one study, there is an association between ADHD and substance abuse, which means people with ADHD are at higher risk of substance abuse at a younger age. According to Brook and coworkers, diagnostic scores of ADHD, which are generally first discovered in teenage girls, are associated with increased risks of substance use disorders in adults, a condition known as co-occurring disorders. A person’s likelihood of abusing substances is positively correlated with the number of symptoms he or she demonstrates with attentional deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). [3]

Dual Diagnosis Treatment Options

As the addiction treatment community begins to realize that addiction is itself a mental disorder, the relationship between substance abuse and mental disorders becomes more complicated. The greater treatment community largely lacks a proper understanding of dually diagnosed conditions, so these conditions are still treated separately, or worse–not treated or diagnosed at all. Dual diagnosis treatment centers in We Level Up Florida, California, Texas, New Jersey are some of the facilities that have professionals trained to help treat co-occurring disorders concurrently. This type of tandem treatment provides some of the best success rates. 

A good dual diagnosis drug treatment program and drug addiction therapy facility need to be able to treat both conditions without treating one as the sole cause of the other. Addiction is a complicated disease and no one thing is to blame for it. There are various options available to handle drug addiction therapy.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month

Someone with a dual diagnosis must treat both conditions. For the treatment to be effective, you need to stop using alcohol or drugs. Treatments may include behavioral therapies and medications. Also, support groups can give you emotional and social support. They are also a place where people can share tips about how to deal with day-to-day challenges.

During Mental Health Month, individuals learn risk factors and warning signs for mental health and addiction concerns. Education and information along with strategies on how to help someone in crisis and non-crisis situations, and where to turn for help are available. Learn more about dual diagnosis treatment for individuals struggling with substance abuse and mental health disorders. Call us today!