Mental Health and Substance Use Co-Occurring Disorders

These guidelines help evaluate a patient’s clinical needs and situation to match them with the right level of care, in the most appropriate available setting. For more information on evidence-based guidelines visit Addiction Medicine Primer. People with SUD often experience neurological (brain-related) changes that can affect their judgment, decision-making, learning capacity, memory, and self-control. As a result, you might have symptoms like strong cravings for substances, mood swings, unusual movements, and trouble completing daily activities. A healthcare professional may screen for psychiatric symptoms to rule out other disorders.

Why do substance use problems often occur along with other mental disorders?

For most people, the main goal of treatment is maintaining abstinence, as it is significantly linked to a positive long-term prognosis. Withdrawal symptoms can range from mild to severe; they can also sometimes be potentially dangerous. Talk to your doctor about how you can stop using a substance safely. The activation of the brain’s reward system is central to problems arising from drug use. The rewarding feeling people experience due to taking drugs may be so profound that they neglect other normal activities in favor of taking the drug. While some major groupings of psychoactive substances are specifically identified, the use of other or unknown substances can also form the basis of a substance-related or addictive disorder.

1. Other examples include ketamine and flunitrazepam or Rohypnol — a brand used outside the U.S. — also called roofie.
2. Healthcare professionals diagnose SUDs using criteria from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition, text revision (DSM-5-TR).
3. Many different types of medications are commonly prescribed to help treat substance use.
4. Seeking medical care as soon as you have signs of substance use disorder is essential.
5. What can make it even harder is when it seems your loved one doesn’t want help.
6. Substance use disorder (SUD) and addictions are complex and challenging conditions.

Treatment for substance use disorder can be inpatient or outpatient and is unique to each individual. Outpatient treatment is a less intensive program that usually involves fewer hours and days per week. This program serves as a follow-up treatment, designed to offer a longer-term structure to those who have completed inpatient or intensive outpatient programs.

Although there’s no cure for drug addiction, treatment options can help you overcome an addiction and stay drug-free. Your treatment depends on the drug used and any related medical or mental health disorders you may have. If your drug use is out of control or causing problems, get help. The sooner you seek help, the greater your chances for a long-term recovery. Talk with your health care provider or see a mental health provider, such as a doctor who specializes in addiction medicine or addiction psychiatry, or a licensed can police dogs smell nicotine alcohol and drug counselor. There are effective medications that treat opioid , alcohol , and nicotine addiction  and lessen the symptoms of many other mental disorders.

What is a Substance Use Disorder (SUD)?

Some of the most common substances include alcohol, opioids and marijuana. Research has found several behavioral therapies that have promise for treating individuals with co-occurring substance use and mental disorders. Health care providers may recommend behavioral therapies alone or in combination with medications. It is important to note that people can experience tolerance and withdrawal in the context of taking prescription drugs to treat a medical or mental health condition. This does not necessarily mean that they have a substance use disorder, however.

Of note, acute withdrawal from heavy alcohol use should be done under medical supervision to prevent a potentially deadly withdrawal syndrome known as delirium tremens. Drug addiction, also called substance use disorder, is a disease that affects a person’s brain and behavior and leads to an inability to control the use of a legal or illegal drug or medicine. Substances such as alcohol, marijuana and nicotine also are considered drugs. When you’re addicted, you may continue using the drug despite the harm it causes. The cost of rehab for substance use disorders can vary by the treatment center, the level of care needed, and whether your insurance may be able to cover the cost of rehab.

Recovery

Alcohol levels can also be assessed using a breathalyzer, which you blow into. If someone has symptoms of an SUD, they can talk with their healthcare professional. In the United States, about 17 million people had both an SUD and a mental health disorder in 2020. This article looks at what SUD involves and its symptoms and treatment options. Many find success through support groups (like Narcotics Anonymous) and ongoing therapy.

Additionally, the peer support received from 12-step programs has been shown to be very effective at preventing relapse. Researchers at NIMH and around the country conduct many studies with patients and healthy volunteers. We have new and better treatment options today because of what clinical trials uncovered years ago. Talk to your health care provider about clinical trials, their benefits and risks, and whether one is right for you.

Learn about NIMH priority areas for research and funding that have the potential to improve mental health care over the short, medium, and long term. NIMH offers expert-reviewed information on mental disorders and a range of topics. Though SUD and addiction are challenging, recovery is possible with the right treatment plan and a support network by your side. Still, even though they’re not recognized diagnoses in the DSM-5, these other behaviors — like sex, social media, and shopping — many cause problems when done in excess or compulsively.

Therapists often classify people with chemical dependencies as either interested or not interested in changing. Substance use disorder (SUD), formerly known as drug addiction, is a mental health condition where you experience a problematic pattern of substance use that affects your health and quality of life. Different types of substance use disorders can have a wide range of symptoms.