If you are struggling with your diagnosis of bipolar disorder, you are not alone. There are still plenty of misperceptions surrounding mental health conditions, especially bipolar disorder. The suggested treatment can feel very isolating if you are uncomfortable sharing your feelings and concerns with anyone. Sometimes, people turn to drugs to self-medicate the symptoms of their mental health condition. Or they have been prescribed a stimulant drug to manage a co-occurring condition. Whatever the case, the combination of stimulants and bipolar disorder can be a dangerous one. If more than one disorder exists and needs to be addressed, dual diagnosis treatment should be considered and pursued. The professionals at The Arbor Behavioral Healthcare in Austin, Texas, can help. Call today to learn how.
The link between stimulants and bipolar disorder
The biggest problem with taking any drug if you have bipolar disorder is that the drug can influence the symptoms of the disorder. With stimulant drugs, manic episodes can become even more manic, and alternatively, they can make a state of depression even deeper. In addition, many people start taking drugs to numb the symptoms of the disorder. This type of self-medicating is unfortunately an even more dangerous road and can lead to a co-occurring substance use disorder.
For people without bipolar disorder, taking a stimulant creates a bit of a manic state. So you can imagine—as a person already dealing with manic symptoms of a bipolar disorder—how that is not in your best interest. Those with an existing mental health condition have symptoms they are already dealing with, so taking drugs or alcohol on top of a bipolar disorder can easily lead to a dependence on a substance that will be hard to stop on one’s own.
This is why professional dual diagnosis treatment is recommended to treat co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders simultaneously. This approach has proven to be more effective than treating each condition alone.
Find dual diagnosis treatment in Austin, TX
When you enroll in dual diagnosis treatment at The Arbor, our team of skilled therapists will develop a customized treatment plan based upon your individual diagnosis. Evidence-based therapies and holistic approaches target the root cause of both mental health and substance use disorders.
When people turn to drugs and alcohol seeking to mask symptoms of bipolar disorder, they make both disorders worse. The mental health condition leads to substance use, and the substance use makes the mental health condition worse.
Therapies that can be used in dual diagnosis treatment include:
- Group and individual therapy
- Family Therapy
- Behavioral therapies like cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)
- Experiential therapies like yoga, art, and music therapy
The Arbor offers a variety of ways to receive treatment as well. Treatment options include:
Everyone’s needs differ, so what may work for some may not work for all. People with more severe addictions and disorders may require 24/7 residential care and monitoring as they start the treatment process. Others, with work, school, or family obligations, require a more flexible outpatient treatment option. No matter your needs, there is an effective treatment option for you.
Get the help you need with dual diagnosis treatment at The Arbor
At The Arbor, our goal in treating any disorder is to provide clients with a customized treatment experience that is unique to the person and their needs. Co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders are not uncommon, and you should not be ashamed to ask for and get the help that you need.
Through a combination of therapies tailored to your needs and goals, the treatment team will work with you to develop healthy coping techniques that you can use in everyday life to avoid triggers that make the co-occurring conditions harder to manage. Call the treatment team today at 844.413.2690 or complete the online inquiry form to learn more about your treatment options.