Personality Disorders and Substance Use Disorder Data shows that approximately 40 million people in the United States suffer from a personality disorder. A personality disorder is defined as, “a deeply ingrained and maladaptive pattern of behavior of a specific kind, typically manifested by the time one reaches adolescence and causing long-term difficulties in personal relationships...Read More

Co-occurring disorders are defined by the presence of a substance-use disorder and a mental health disorder.  Co-occurring disorders are what is referred to as “dual diagnosis.”  The term can also be applied to cognitive disorders and the presence of a mental health disorder.  Despite the use associated with other disorders, co-occurring disorders are typically used...Read More

Until recent years, co-occurring disorders were considered to be a rare case. Addiction and alcoholism, more formally referred to as alcohol use or substance use disorder, were treated as an isolated problem. Some might refer to the debate as the “chicken and the egg”. People assumed that the chicken and the egg were different- meaning...Read More

Seventeen and a half million American adults (over the age of eighteen) had a serious mental health disorder within the last year. Four million of those American adults with a serious mental health disorder also had a co-occurring problem with addiction or alcoholism, according to SAMHSA. Co-occurring disorders is another term for “dual diagnosis”. Both...Read More

Depression makes people uncomfortable because sadness is generally coddled and corrected. Many people have an urge to offer unwarranted advice and direction to people struggling with depression. Unfortunately, that advice often falls short and can be more upsetting than helpful. Here is what people struggling with clinical depression cannot do because you told them to....Read More

Winning is supposed to be a climatic event of closure. Winning is the ultimate experience, validating the need to win, compensating for other losses, and providing the hope as well as assurance that everyone can, indeed, be a winner. What happens when winning isn’t conclusive, but instead the revving of an engine, the catalyst which...Read More

There is a distinct difference between an obsessive collector and someone who hoards. Someone who collects takes care of their possessions, chooses them carefully, and keeps them tightly, cleanly organized. Obsessive collectors typically have a catalog of their belongings, take good care of them, and experience feelings of pride and joy from the activity of...Read More

Sex addiction can cause serious complications in mental as well as physical health. Erectile dysfunction, chemical dependency, heart attack, hormonal problems, and many other issues can be side effects of chronic sex addiction. There Isn’t Always A Single Point Of Origin Question: Where Does Sex Addiction Come From? Some people are lucky enough to find...Read More

Bipolar disorder is a highly co-occurring disorder with drug and alcohol addiction. Characterized by extreme swings of mood from depressive to manic, turning to drugs and alcohol to cope is common. While there is no answer as to what specifically causes bipolar disorder there is a general understanding that it can b related to numerous...Read More

Technology addiction in all of its forms has become a disruptive form of maladaptive behavior, causing deep complications in relationships, health, and the ability to fulfill life responsibilities. From smartphone addiction to social media addiction the compulsive need to interact with digital devices and the virtual worlds they create has started to form a new...Read More