Someone with a dual diagnosis is afflicted with both a drug or alcohol problem and an emotional or psychiatric disorder. Gatehouse Academy understands the complex rehabilitation procedures that are associated with dual diagnosis center, and we have treated many of our residents for this problem. Unfortunately, many substance abusers who are treated at other drug rehabs might be misdiagnosed as simply having a drug problem.

If the emotional aspect of recovery is not addressed, substance abuse has a much higher chance of reappearing after detoxification. Dual diagnosis is actually less rare than many people realize. In fact, 53 percent of drug abusers and 37 percent of alcoholics have emotional problems which intensify the abuse. On the other side of the coin, 29 percent of people who have diagnosed emotional problems also abuse drugs or alcohol. These conditions cross-reference each other, and it is easy to see why.

Emotional problems rarely have easy answers, yet substance abuse quickly takes away the pain. In many cases, drugs act as a quick solution to what is otherwise a complex psychological problem. Common mental conditions that are associated with dual diagnosis include depression, anxiety, and even schizophrenia. A dual diagnosis can manifest itself in the abuse of drugs and an eating disorder.

Alcohol abuse treatment has to be holistic in scope. Alcoholism, after all, is both a physical and a psychological disease, and meaningful alcohol recovery has to entail both physical and psychological healing. Unfortunately, some alcohol abuse treatment facilities in Los Angeles make the mistake of emphasizing one aspect of the treatment process at the expense of the other. That’s a recipe for failure. The best alcohol abuse treatment program is that which helps alcoholics get better in body as well as in mind, in substance as well as in spirit. Given the stakes, you can’t afford to settle for anything less than that.

As should perhaps go without saying, alcohol abuse treatment is an exceptionally delicate art form. It can only succeed if it’s administered the right way, with a proper focus on comprehensive recovery. If you’re going to get sober, it’s going to be because you find an alcohol abuse treatment center that can give you all the support you need on the road to recovery. Don’t wait another day to finally begin the search.

Substance abuse isn’t your fault. Addiction is a disease, and like any disease it exists beyond the volitional scope of its victims. No one ever decides to be a drug addict or an alcoholic. By the same token, no one can ever simply decide to get sober. If you’re going to beat substance abuse, it’s going to be because you muster the courage to seek professional help, from a substance abuse treatment center that can give you all the support you need to get better. Given the stakes, you can’t afford to settle for any other course of action.

The fact that you’re here, reading this, proves that you don’t need a lecture on the perils of substance abuse. You know that to succumb to addiction is to be stripped of one’s dignity, and one’s capacity for hope. Now you know what you can do to solve the problem. The day you check into a private substance abuse treatment facility will quite literally be the first day of the rest of your life. It’s hard to imagine how anyone could ever need any more persuading than that.

Dual diagnosis is that process by which addiction is addressed in conjunction with other psychological disorders and conditions. Remember, substance abuse is both a physical and a psychological disease. Successful substance abuse recovery must entail both physical and psychological healing. Those rehab patients who get proper dual diagnosis treatment stand the best chance of getting better, because proper dual diagnosis treatment is holistic in scope. There are no partial victories in a rehab center. To win the fight, you’re going to need all the support you can get.

There are plenty of “exclusive” drug and alcohol treatment facilities in Los Angeles. Some of them live up to their promises. Some of them don’t. The difference, for you and the people you care about, is more important than any in the world. As you choose a rehabilitation program, it’s vital that you be mindful of the central role of dual diagnosis in the healing process. You can’t better without it. It’s hard to imagine how any lesson could ever be more worth learning than that one.