Is alcoholism a mental illness? Florida Mental Health Services

Studies show that these conditions are incredibly dangerous when they co-occur, as alcohol can exacerbate symptoms of bipolar disorder. McHugo GJ, Drake RE, Burton HL, Ackerson TM. A scale for assessing the stage of substance abuse treatment in persons with severe mental illness. Jerrell J, Ridgely MS. Comparative effectiveness of three approaches to serving people with severe mental illness and substance abuse disorders. Much of our current knowledge of homeless adults with dual disorders comes from National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism initiatives funded by the Stewart B. McKinney Act (Huebner et al. 1993).

To help you spot the signs of a substance abuse problem, answering the following questions may help. The more “yes” answers you provide, the more likely your drinking or drug use has become a problem. SAMHSA’s mission is to lead public health and service delivery efforts that promote mental health, prevent substance misuse, and provide treatments and supports is alcoholism a mental illness to foster recovery while ensuring equitable access and better outcomes. Warnings signs, such as extreme mood changes, confused thinking or problems concentrating, avoiding friends and social activities and thoughts of suicide, may be reasons to seek help. Anxiety disorders share a similar profile, with alcohol being used to relieve panic and anxiety attacks.

Obsessive Alcohol Abuse

The following sections discuss one approach to diagnosing these challenging patients . Alcohol withdrawal can be extremely uncomfortable and sometimes unsafe to go through at home.

The co-occurring mental health issues can lead to a cycle in which the user is drinking to alleviate symptoms of a disorder . At the same time, excessive alcohol use and abuse are likely making the symptoms of depression worse for the alcoholic. While substance abuse problems and mental health issues don’t get better when they’re ignored—in fact, they are likely to get much worse—it’s important to know that you don’t have to feel this way. There are things you can do to conquer your demons, repair your relationships, and get on the road to recovery. With the right support, self-help, and treatment, you can overcome a co-occurring disorder, reclaim your sense of self, and get your life back on track. When the more common mood disturbances that are experienced by those with alcohol dependence are accounted for, the number of individuals with a dual diagnosis of depression and alcohol use disorder is closer to 30 to 40 percent. In addition to the signs formally listed in the DSM criteria, people who struggle with alcoholism, or alcohol use disorder, may also experience a number of physical, mental, and psychological symptoms as a result of their heavy drinking.

Addiction and Mental Health Resources

Alcohol-use disorders (AUD’s) commonly occur in people with other severe mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, and can exacerbate their psychiatric, medical, and family problems. Therefore, to improve detection of alcohol-related problems, establish correct AUD diagnoses, and develop appropriate treatment plans, it is important to thoroughly assess severely mentally ill patients for alcohol and other drug abuse. Several recent studies have indicated that integrated treatment approaches that combine AUD and mental health interventions in comprehensive, long-term, and stagewise programs may be most effective for these clients. In this context the clinician should focus on the age at which the patient first met the criteria for alcohol abuse or dependence rather than on the age when the patient first imbibed or became intoxicated. This strategy provides more specific information about the onset of problematic drinking that typically presages the onset of alcoholism (Schuckit et al. 1995). Probing for such problems typically includes four areas— legal, occupational, and medical problems as well as social relationships. The age–at–onset of alcoholism then is estimated by establishing the first time that alcohol actually interfered in two or more of these major domains or the first time an individual received treatment for alcoholism.

Medicine recognizes the compulsive use of drugs and alcohol to be a mental health disorder. They point to symptoms such as the loss of control, the cravings, and behavioral details. Bipolarity has the second strongest link to alcohol dependence.About percent of manic patientsabuse alcohol and other drugs at some point. Separating the illness from drinking habits can be especially difficult. Because most of the data is self-reported, it’s vulnerable to limitations such as underreporting and complex mood changes, which may be affected by other drugs and medical conditions. Alcohol abuse carries many well-known dangers to brain function, but ample evidence suggests mental health conditions can also affect alcohol dependency. Some fear the stigma of having a mental illness, or they may not even know they’re ill.

Common Mental Health Disorders That Occur With Alcohol Abuse

AOD-abuse treatment should be provided in stages over the long term by dual-diagnosis experts. Current research suggests that for patients with dual diagnoses, treatment approaches that integrate mental health and AOD treatment are particularly effective. Multiple tools are available that detect the majority of mentally ill people who abuse alcohol. These tools include brief screening tests, such as the CAGE and the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test . Other standard detection approaches include assessment using more than one type of information (e.g., patient self-reports combined with laboratory tests) and information from multiple sources (e.g., family members or friends) (Drake et al. 1993a). In addition, Rosenberg and colleagues recently developed a screening instrument, the Dartmouth Assessment of Lifestyle Instrument, that detects AOD-use disorders in psychiatric patients with greater accuracy than other instruments.

• Given these observations, it is especially important in female patients to perform a thorough psychiatric review that probes for major mood disorders (i.e., major depression and bipolar disorder) and anxiety disorders (e.g., social phobia).
• Not surprisingly, alcoholic women are also more prone than alcoholic men to having independent mood or anxiety disorders (Kessler et al. 1997).
• Bipolar disorder, also known as mania or manic-depressive illness, is a mental condition causing mood swings between extreme high — mania or hypomania — and low episodes.
• Alcohol addiction, alcoholism, like all other forms of addiction, is a disease.
• A review of the patient’s medical records is another potentially rich source of information.
• Many people turn to alcohol or drugs to cover up painful memories and emotions such as loneliness, depression, or anxiety.

A comprehensive approach to integrated treatment can also be delivered by a multidisciplinary team of clinicians and professionals working together on an individual’s treatment plan. The limited evidence on treatment approaches to co-occurring alcohol dependence and mood disorders support the role of integrated treatment. Learn all you can about your loved one’s mental health problem, as well as substance abuse treatment and recovery. The more you understand what your loved one is going through, the better able you’ll be to support recovery. While it’s often best to join a group that addresses both substance abuse and your mental health disorder, twelve-step groups for substance abuse can also be helpful—plus they’re more common, so you’re likely to find one in your area.

Tip 3: Make healthy lifestyle changes

For example, results from the Epidemiologic Catchment Area survey indicated that among patients who met the lifetime diagnosis of alcohol abuse or dependence, 19.4 percent also carried a lifetime diagnosis of any anxiety disorder. This corresponds to only about 1.5 times the rate for anxiety disorders in the general population (Regier et al. 1990; Kranzler 1996). Specific anxiety disorders, such as panic disorder, social phobia, and PTSD, however, appear to have an increased co–occurrence with alcoholism (Schuckit et al. 1997b; Kranzler 1996; Brady et al. 1995). As we mentioned, health insurance plans are legally required to cover substance abuse and mental health disorders, so there’s a good chance your policy includes alcohol rehab. Northbound Treatment is in-network for most major insurance carriers, and we can help you determine the types of care covered under your plan. As for any remaining out-of-pocket costs for treatment, we offer flexible payment options.

• For individuals struggling to pin their illness on a single cause, exploring adual diagnosiscould be the key to moving forward.
• First, the patient had stated that his depression started about 1 week before admission, after his wife and family members confronted him about his drinking.
• A comprehensive approach to integrated treatment can also be delivered by a multidisciplinary team of clinicians and professionals working together on an individual’s treatment plan.
• As a result, both the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders officially recognize alcoholism, alcohol abuse, and alcohol addiction as mental health conditions.
• Alcohol use disorder is the clinical term to describe excessive alcohol use and may be used interchangeably with the term ‘alcoholism’ in non-medical settings.