Comorbidity Factors in Treatment

Substance abuse and dependency in America is a tremendous tragedy dating back to the beginning of the earlier settlers in the “New World,” costing millions of dollars in recovery and rehabilitation today. Mental health itself in America seems to be increasing more and more in dealing with a global pandemic, high gas prices, a fragile economy, anxiety, and so much uncertainty. Now, combine both substance abuse and mental illness together, and what we have in our nation is chaos.

We are living in a world today like none other, and as time goes on, it may only get worse. For those who are struggling with substance use and mental illness, there appear to be some common characteristics with this population, such as loneliness, anxiety, boredom, and isolation. “Unfortunately, with mental illness and substance abuse, dual diagnosis disorders that these men and women display are bipolar disorders, generalized anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorders, major depression, personality disorders, and pathological gambling” (Van Wormer, K. et al., 2018).

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 So, what can mental health professionals, counselors, pastors, and community leaders do to decrease comorbidity/dual diagnosis in people with an addiction? It appears America has been fighting the war on drugs for decades now, and it seems like the drugs are winning. Laws are passed to deter the behavior, yet more private prisons appear to be being built. However, the rules are being broken, and the prison system seems to be overflowing with those who have an addiction. “More than half of all prison and jail inmates were found to have a mental health problem, and over 70% of these individuals have a co-occurring substance use disorder” (Van Wormer et al., 2018).

What are the obstacles involved in the treatment and recovery process of clients with dual diagnoses, and who can we blame? Healthcare insurance companies or lack of healthcare protection for people with an addiction, available resources in the community for those who have no transportation, and the amount of “red tape” from city, county, and state governments and politicians who appear to be on board to help with recovery yet let so many slip through the cracks.

References:

Jackson, Chris. “Drug Addiction-to-Recovery Trajectories in British Sociocultural and Political Contexts: A

Synthetic Discursive Exploration.” https://core.ac.uk/download/327948675.pdf.

Van Wormer, K., and Davis, D.R. (2018) Addiction Treatment. New York