There can be no successful addiction treatment program that does not confront and mitigate a patient’s social anxiety disorder. Social anxiety is that state in which victims are subject to acute emotional distress in social situations. Social phobia is strongly correlated to substance abuse, as many social phobics turn to drugs and alcohol as a means of coping with their condition. What that means, of course, is that no social phobic can expect to get sober for good without first getting healed on a psychological level. Anything less is a recipe for failure.

The good news is that successful dual diagnosis at addiction treatment centers really can change lives. The only catch is that patients have to give it a chance. If you’re an addict suffering from social anxiety disorder, healing can’t start until you let it. For your own sake, for the sake of the people you care about…let today be the day you make the right choice. You will never, ever, regret it.

Mood disturbance is frequently associated with addiction for a simple reason: Mood disturbances are unpleasant, and substance abuse can make them more tolerable. To be a victim of mood disorder is to be a victim of one’s own emotions. Mood disturbance patients are subject to volatile and unpredictable mood swings, and thus are predisposed to the sort of chemical succor offered by drug and alcohol abuse. The practical implication, of course, is that no addict can get sober so long as his or her mood disorder persists…and no drug and alcohol treatment program can be successful without addressing a patient’s underlying psychological health.

The rehabilitation center that’s right for you is the one that can help you get sober from the inside-out. And it has to start with dual diagnosis. Only by evaluating you as a whole person, on both physical and psychological terms, can a rehab center design an addiction treatment program that can meet your needs. Addiction recovery, in other words, can’t be divorced from mood disturbance and depression recovery. There’s simply no other way to get healed.

The dysthymic condition is no less dangerous for its subtlety. Dysthymia is a state of chronic mild depression, in which individuals are prone to states of sustained negative affect. What that means, in plain terms, is that dysthmics feel bad all the time, and thus are wont to turn to drug and alcohol addiction as a means of succor and relief. As should perhaps go without saying, a dysthymic addict cannot get sober without proper psychological care. The only catch is that the muted nature of dysthmyia itself can make that care hard to come by.

It is possible to be dysthymic without knowing it. The disease has none of the telltale hallmarks of clinical depression or bipolar disorder, and thus often goes overlooked by both victims and their doctors. This is especially troubling in the addiction treatment process, when proper dual diagnosis is vital to long-term recovery. The practical implication, then, is that you need to to find a rehab center that can evaluate you thoroughly and accurately. Healing has to start with an honest assessment of an addict’s psychological state. Short of that, you can’t ever expect to get sober for good.

The only successful addiction treatment is holistic addiction treatment. To that end, dual diagnosis is an essential part of any rehabilitation program. Dual diagnosis describes that process by which addiction is evaluated in the context of an addict’s general psychological health. It’s very often the case that addicts suffer from a range of psychiatric diseases, including depression, dysthymia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, anxiety disorder, or general mood disorders. Only by eradicating those conditions can a rehab center hope to promote meaningful healing. And the eradication has to start with successful dual diagnosis.

Remember, substance abuse treatment can only work if it’s done the right way. If you’re going to get better, it’s going to be because you get help from experts you can trust. Successful dual diagnosis will change your life. For your own sake, don’t wait another day to start learning that truth for yourself.

Historically, addiction treatment programs, drug rehabs, alcohol rehabs and psychiatric hospitals, have treated dual diagnosis separately. This has not proved to be an effective addiction treatment approach, and today most addiction treatment programs, drug rehabs, alcohol rehabs and psychiatric hospitals treat both disorders concurrently.

Ideally, drug addiction, alcoholism and psychiatric disorders should be treated simultaneously.

The first step in addiction treatment for drug or alcohol addiction must be detoxification – a period of time during which the body is allowed to cleanse itself of alcohol and/or drugs and manage all withdrawal symptoms.

Detox should be medically monitored in a dual diagnosis treatment program as medical challenges do occur. Time in detox varies, depending on what substances you are addicted to, the frequency of use and amount of usage.

Once stable in detox, a psychiatrist will assess you to determine the mental illness and how to best address it. Dual diagnosis treatment programs should take a gradual approach. Those with a dual diagnosis have to proceed at their own pace.

The goal of any quality dual diagnosis treatment program should be abstinence and medication compliance.

After completing drug addiction treatment or drug / alcohol rehab, you should be involved in psychiatric follow up and aftercare in the program you have completed in order to prevent relapse.

Not everyone is a candidate for inpatient dual diagnosis treatment programs. It all depends upon the severity of the problems and willingness of the patient. For people whose drug or alcohol addiction is not severe enough to warrant detox, an outpatient dual diagnosis treatment program might be the solution. It is important to note that while outpatient dual diagnosis treatment is certainly an option, it is for those who are extremely motivated. Denial is an inherent part of the problem with dual diagnosis. The person with dual diagnosis often does not have insight as to the seriousness and the scope of their problem. It can prove quite challenging to refrain from drug and alcohol use, while trying to manage psychiatric medications and a mental illness. For many, the structure of an inpatient dual diagnosis treatment program has made recovery from dual diagnosis that much easier.