Alcoholism and Mental Illness - Dual Diagnosis

Why is it that so many people with mental illness are also alcoholics or other substance abusers? Since "I R 1" myself, I noticed how prevalent this "dual diagnosis" situation is among other patients I associated with (in places that people needing treatment frequent). One-on-one, we'd compare notes and find out that we were both in AA and in treatment/counseling for mental problems, and the alcohol counselors confirmed that dual diagnosis occurs regularly in their practice.

"Dual diagnosis is defined by the presence of both mental health disorders and substance abuse disorders (alcohol and/or drug dependence or abuse). There are a variety of different mental health disorders that can be associated with substance use and labeled dual diagnosis. Some of these disorders include: schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, anti-social personality disorder, narcissistic personality, and depression." (www.dual-diagnosis.net)

Someone writing on www.mentalhealthamerica.net states, "More than half (52 percent) the people surveyed who had ever been diagnosed with alcohol abuse or dependence had also experienced a mental disorder at some time in their lives. An even larger proportion (59 percent) of people with a history of other drug abuse or dependence also had experienced a mental disorder".

Ok, but I still ask "WHY?" What makes us that way, to where we are so drawn to substance abuse if we have mental illnesses?

More from www.mentalhealthamerica.net.
"Mental health problems often predate substance abuse problems by 4-6 years; alcohol or other drugs may be used as a form of self-medication to alleviate the symptoms of the mental disorder. In some cases, substance abuse precedes the development of mental health problems. For instance, anxiety and depression may be brought on as a response to stressors from broken relationships, lost employment, and other situations directly related to a drug-using lifestyle."

Ok, so that says that mental health problems come first, and then later on the substance abuse starts, presumably because at that point the pain of the mental illness is so great that the sufferer wishes to escape the reality of it. Or, perhaps they are just too crazy (no offense) to control themselves. On the other hand, if someone's substance abuse is wrecking their lives, their brains might just go "boing! tilt!" and their mental illness starts (i.e., depression).

I guess I can understand that. In my case, I think that the bipolar disorder came first. My life was quite unmanageable, and so I sought to "escape" through numbing myself. After awhile, I regularly drank. I was still bipolar and had a difficult time of it, but the alcohol dependence doubled the chaos. Not a fun place to be in life!

30 years ago, doctors were just not that aware of bipolar disorder and so often prescribed valium or other benzodiazepines for relief. Finally for me, one day in 1988, I was crazy enough to check myself into a psych hospital which I thought at the time was a rehab for alcoholism. It was there that I was correctly diagnosed. Yeah, by the way, just getting a correct diagnosis can be a bitch!