Pathway's of Life

Pathway's of Life
There is always more than one and neither is ever clear.

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Little Things



The little things in life are what seem to make worth the effort.

My husband is often hard pressed to relax and to smile, so when the opportunity comes that I can bask in his glorious smile and hear the music of his laughter, I am grateful. This doesn't usually happen over big things, but it's the littlest of things that can make him light up and make my day.

Today one of those little things happened. We were invited to join my brother in law on his little boat. It was a beautiful day filled with the sweet smells of spring and abundant sunshine, the the temperature was a little on the cool side. We gathered up our sweatshirts and hit the water. After being out on the boat for about an hour, I began to see my husbands shoulders relax and the muscles in his face and forehead soften and I began to relax. The kids laughed and sang and enjoyed the spray of water hitting their faces and we all began to have fun. On the way back to the docks, my brother in law turned the wheel of the boat over to my husband. As we arrived at the docks, we were met by three of the most unusual ducks I had ever seen and they were also quite determined to keep our boat in the water. We veered left, they veered left, we veered right, they veered right, it became a game and soon every single one of us were laughing absurdly. This went on for a little while, until our two year old discovered the magic to moving the ducks out of the way, Peanut Butter and Chocolate crackers! Though that lasted only long enough to get the boat to the dock. We still had to struggle with the ducks to get the boat out of the water, but the crackers did help there too! After we got the boat out of the water, we continued to feed the ducks the remainder of the crackers and laugh at the pure silliness of the situation.

As we told the story today, my husbands shoulders relaxed and he smiled and laughed like a child, something so small, yet so important.
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What is dual diagnosis?

Dual Diagnosis is a medical term used to categorize a person that suffers from both a mental disorder or illness and a dependency such as alcohol or drug abuse.

It is common to find that a person who suffers from a mental disorder such as bipolar, also has a problem with drinking or drugs or vice-versa. Both disorders can lead to emotional, financial and relationship problems on their own, combing the two can be twice as difficult.

Most people who suffer from a dual diagnosis are often diagnosed with either the mental illness or a substance abuse problem first and the other is discovered later.

In the case of bipolar disorder and alcoholism, these two can often go hand in hand, complicating the lives and success of recovery by nature of the diseases. Not only do the two feed off of each other, they can impair the stability of an individual.

For example, alcohol abuse can make if very difficult to medically treat the symptoms of bipolar disorder. The alcohol is a self-medication that allows the individual to feel temporary relief from effects of bipolar disorder. This fix is only temporary and because of that, the individual needs the constant medication that alcohol offers, which leads to abuse. It is in this way that someone diagnosed with bipolar disorder, who has no prior history of a drinking problem can develop one.

Though a dual diagnosis can feel like a life sentence for the individual diagnosed and the ones who live with and love them, it doesn’t have to be. There is help available for both individuals and families. It is important though to seek treatment that can address both the issues. Treating just the bipolar disorder or just the alcohol may help temporarily, but won’t be sustaining long-term unless both or treated together.