Substance dependence and mental health: A case study

Pages: 1276-1280
Shyamlata Juyal (Department of Psychology, Gurukul Kangri University, Haridwar, Uttarakhand)
Rashi Bhatnagar (Department of Psychology, Gurukul Kangri University, Haridwar & Psychologist, Latika Roy Foundation, Dehradun, Uttarakhand)

Dealing with substance abuse, alcoholism, or drug dependence has never been easy, and it’s even more difficult when there is co-occurrence of mental health problems. Both, the mental health issue and the drug or alcohol dependence have their own unique symptoms that may get in the way of the ability to function, handling life’s difficulties, and relating to others. To make the situation more complicated, the co-occurring disorders also affect each other and interact. When a mental health problem goes untreated, the substance abuse problem usually gets worse as well. And when alcohol or drug abuse increases, mental health problems usually increase too. The present case-study brings forward a clear picture of both, substance abuse and mental health issues, by ways of discussing chief complaints, signs and symptoms, investigation from different point of views, diagnosis, and management. The follow up revealed remarkable recovery as the result of integrated interventions after a period of one year. Implications of this study have been discussed from the perspective of importance of early diagnosis and intervention.