Alcohol Mental Disorders

It has already been established that excessive alcohol consumption is life threatening. Not only does it affect a persons’ health (and wealth even) but it also leads to the person being rejected by loved ones, rejected socially, and it affects a person adversely in terms of medication, legal issues, education and in his or her work life. Alcoholism is a progressive disease, which has four broad stages to it: the first is the craving for more and more alcohol, which once ingested, leads to a total loss of control. Once a person stops drinking he or she undergoes withdrawal symptoms, such as dizziness, nausea, etc which is evidence of physical dependence on alcohol. The fourth stage is tolerance of a certain amount of alcohol, which keeps increasing as a person requires more and more alcohol to achieve that high. When a person has a co- existing substance abuse problem and a mental health issue like depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety or even schizophrenia, it is called a co-occurring disorder, the treatment for which is dual diagnosis, where both the substance abuse as well as the underlying issues are handled and treated with care. There is a close relationship between alcohol problems and mental health. People with mental health problems face an increased risk of alcohol problems and vice versa, which basically means that mental health problems may be a cause of problem drinking while on the other hand, problem drinking may cause mental ill-health problems. Sometimes heavy drinkers may even start to misuse prescribed illegal drugs, causing harm to their mental health If not treated in time, alcohol abuse can actually worsen the problem. It is very important that both issues should be treated with the care they deserve for effective recovery of an alcoholic. Support from peers greatly helps in the recovery process. At Pacific Hills Treatment Center, we are fully equipped to deal with the many turmoils that an alcoholic faces, and can help him or her regain their life back through our dual diagnosis programs, each individualized to suit a patient.