When we speak of dual pathology we refer to the coexistence of two psychopathologists, on the one hand, the abuse or dependence on some substance and on the other a mental disorder.
- A mental disorder occurs more frequently in patients who are users of an addictive substance.
- People with some mental disorder start using some addictive substance in order to improve their symptoms.
Addictions refer to the consumption of substances from tobacco, alcohol and substances prescribed by doctors to prohibited substances such as marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamines, opioid derivatives and LSD, among others, as well as pathological gambling and eating disorders.
As for mental disorders, from Anxiety Disorders, Mood Disorders (Depression, Bipolarity), Disorders of the Schizophrenia and Psychosis Spectrum, Attention Deficit Disorder and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and Personality Disorders.
Causes of dual disorders
Among the most common causes for a person to have a dual disorder, is the genetic factor and the environmental environment. The first suggests that people with certain genetics are more likely to suffer from some addiction or mental problem. Likewise, having a family history of depression and addiction increases the chances of the person suffering from these conditions.
The environmental environment is another determining factor for the detonation of some disorders. By environmental environment, we refer to the place where the person was raised and developed during childhood and adolescence. A child who has grown up in a family with a history of drug or alcohol addiction by their parents is more likely to suffer from a disorder in adulthood. Mental illnesses, exposure to certain drugs or chemicals, accidents, or abuse in childhood are also important factors in the development of disorders.
Risk factor’s:
- Historial family of abuse and addictions.
- Mental diseases.
- Prenatal exposure to drugs and viruses.
- Low self-esteem
Dual Pathology is mainly characterized by:
- Chaos in family life in the patient’s life.
- Difficulty to comply with medical treatments.
- Legal situations, hospitalizations for poisonings or accidents, are frequently presented.
- Impulsiveness: aggression or violence.
- I do not respect the rules of coexistence or agreements.
- False interpretation and distortions of reality.
- And the symptoms derived from the substance of consumption.
The two clinical situations in Dual Disorder (mental disorder and substance abuse disorder) must be considered with great attention and their therapeutic approach requires:
Be treated simultaneously, in an integral way, with the active participation of the family during the recovery process, even living together and socializing with inmates who do not have a Dual Disorder
