Schizophrenia And Substance Abuse Treatment
The combination of schizophrenia and substance abuse are conditions that are a cause and effect of one another. A person with a mental disorder is at risk for developing addiction and a person with substance abuse can be susceptible to mental illness.
That’s why you need a medical professional in your corner to help you manage your mental health symptoms and prevent substance-induced mental problems. Schizophrenia and substance abuse requires specialized treatment for co-occurring disorders.
Thankfully, there are numerous treatment options at your disposal at The Freedom Center in Gaithersburg, Maryland to help manage your schizophrenia and substance abuse struggles.
The most important first step, however, is coming to terms with the need for professional help. There’s no shame in admitting you need professional assistance. Everybody needs help, whether it’s with difficult life circumstances, mental health, or substance abuse struggles. Accepting that there is a problem is often the main hurdle people face on the road to recovery.
Take that first step of recovery by learning all the following life-changing information about schizophrenia and substance abuse treatment.
What Is Schizophrenia?
Contrary to popular belief, schizophrenia is not simply split personalities, though that may be an acquired attribute of the mental disorder. It is, in fact, a mental disease that renders the sufferer incapable of differentiating between reality and fantasy. In many cases, one who suffers from schizophrenia will infuse both reality and fantasy into their thought processes.
This potentially creates additional problems that can cause them to inadvertently harm themselves or others around them. Treatment from a caring medical expert can help you maintain control of your symptoms and faculties to make the distinction between what’s real and make-believe.
What Are The Signs And Symptoms Of Schizophrenia?
Schizophrenia symptoms fall into two common categories in the medical world, positive and negative. Positive symptoms are defined as behavioral or environmental alterations that can include hallucinations. Negative symptoms are characterized by social deficiencies and an utter lack of desire or care for the people or circumstances around them. Most of these symptoms manifest themselves in numerous ways that are often easy to spot in social settings. Subsequently, here are some of the most common indicators of a person struggling with schizophrenia disorder.
Disjointed Thought Processes And Speech
An individual with schizophrenia will exhibit this negative symptom in the way they speak or think. That is to say, anybody suffering from the disorder will struggle to put their thoughts into words. Or, if they do, their expressed thoughts will often be out of order or not make sense. This often trickles down into their emotions by being either unable or confused about which emotion to express. You don’t have to be confused any longer. Let our recovery team at Bay View Recovery help you sort out your thoughts and emotions through scientifically-tried therapy.
Hallucinations
Hallucinations are a negative symptom classification that can be both visual and auditory. This means an individual may see or hear things that aren’t there. Falsified visuals of people, objects, or even entire surroundings can appear real or distorted. This is among the primary reasons why people with schizophrenia struggle to discern between what’s real and what’s not. Thankfully, science has discovered various doctor-approved medications that can assist with limiting or completely erasing this difficult symptom.
Extreme Paranoia or Anxiety
Paranoia or Anxiety is medically classified as a positive symptom due to its behavioral alteration impacts. The paranoid anxiety associated with schizophrenia comes on suddenly and without warning. These are commonly referred to as paranoid episodes. You can learn to manage these episodes with proper medical training and even escape them when they come on unbeknownst.
Drastic Mood Swings
If you or a loved one exhibits extreme mood swings without cause, it may be an underlying symptom of schizophrenia. For example, one may become easily irritable in response to minor or nonexistent issues or suddenly become sad without explanation.
You can have peaceful reassurance knowing you don’t have to let your mood swings run your life. Thanks to The Freedom Center you can finally have freedom from the symptoms and mood swings that have hindered you for so long.
What Are The Most Common Causes Of Schizophrenia?
The causes of schizophrenia disorder are still not yet fully understood. However, scientists have uncovered sure traits and actions that pose a high risk of developing the disorder. Below is the list of high-risk factors and causes of schizophrenia.
Hard Substance Abuse
The cold hard truth is schizophrenia and substance abuse can go hand-in-hand. That’s because of the harmful effects that hard drugs have on the brain’s neuronic frequencies and functions. So much so that these chemical imbalances brought on by drug addiction can result in permanent mental conditions like schizophrenia.
Even worse, schizophrenia and substance abuse can be co-occurring disorders. This means you struggle with both drug addiction and schizophrenia simultaneously. This dangerous combination has debilitating consequences on the mind and body, making reality and fantasy even more difficult to discern. If you struggle with both schizophrenia and substance abuse, immediate help is vital to prevent further damage to your mental and physical health.
Hereditary Factors
Most cases of schizophrenia are a direct result of your family’s genetic history. If your family has a history of mental disorders, you pose a higher risk of developing schizophrenia. Though the acquisition of hereditary disorders is beyond your control, the opportunity to manage your symptoms isn’t.
The Freedom Center lives true to its name by giving individuals who struggle with schizophrenia and substance abuse freedom from their strongholds. Let an understanding receptionist show you how you can be liberated from your struggles today.
Pre-Birth Exposure To Toxins And Chemicals
Fetal and embryonic exposure to external toxins and chemicals can stunt brain development in unborn children. This is how schizophrenia is acquired at birth. However, symptoms do not manifest themselves until adulthood or later-teen years.
If you or someone you love has been exposed to unknown toxins or chemicals, contact a mental health assessment specialist today. Accurately assessing the underlying condition allows medical experts to assign the medications and treatment options that will change your life.
Traumatic Life Events
Severely traumatic experiences can affect your mind so much that it triggers substance abuse or even cause schizophrenia in some cases. This can stem from childhood or even adulthood. Don’t push off your traumatic experiences as if they don’t matter. The fact is they have an impact on all of us and could be the source of struggles you never knew you had. You’ll learn so much about yourself, your battles, and how to combat them simply by reaching out to our empathetic staff at The Freedom Center.
Treatment Options For Substance Abuse And Schizophrenia
There are a wide array of treatment options available for people with diverse struggles. Conveniently, that includes crossover or co-occurring conditions including most drug and mental health conditions. You’ll have the opportunity to choose from the following medically-approved treatment options for schizophrenia and substance abuse.
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
Medication
Individual Therapy
Sometimes the greatest approach is individual sessions with a compassionate therapist. Having an understanding physician as your support can be the anchor you need to reinforce your confidence. Most importantly, you’ll be taught the helpful tools you need to keep your symptoms and substance abuse at bay. Speak to a personal therapist now to find your confidence and solution.
What Is The Connection Between Substance Abuse And Schizophrenia?
The strong relationship between drug problems and schizophrenia is an unbeknownst fact to many. Medical studies have established a pre-existing drug addiction can impact your brain so severely to cause mental issues like schizophrenia. Contrarily, the symptoms of pre-existing schizophrenia can be so unbearable that sufferers turn to drug abuse as a coping mechanism. Having both only puts your life at risk while deepening mental health struggles and drug addiction.
We Can Help You Manage Your Mental Health Symptoms And Substance Abuse Struggles
One conversation with one of our understanding receptionists will give you peace of mind that you’re in good hands. Through unique individualized treatment, we get to the root of your struggles by listening to your story. We base each step of your recovery meticulously on the details you share regarding your background, struggles, and personal symptoms. Contact The Freedom Center now to get top-notch training and therapy to overcome your schizophrenia and substance abuse struggles.
