It often surprises me how many people get into trouble with the law and no one looks deeper into their lives to see if there may be an underlying cause that assists them with the trouble they may be frequently getting into.
Early in my relationship with and my husband before he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, though suspected of a drinking problem, he was frequently getting into minor scuffles with the law. Most were very minor, though inconvenient, with only one that could have been disastrous. During that time he was thought to be good for nothing and worthless. His parents had virtually given up on him and his relationship with is siblings and children was very strained to say the least. He drank a lot and came and went in a very selfish manner, seemingly to have no care in the world for anyone by himself.
What no one understood then and some still don't understand now, is that his drinking wasn't a selfish disrespect of other's feelings, but rather a selfish form of escape and a way to deal with a problem he didn't know existed and feelings he didn't know how to handle.
During the time he was most seriously in trouble with the law, we still didn't know of his diagnosis, but I was beginning to suspect something wasn't quite right. I had begun to do a lot of reading and research into my husband's symptoms and strange paranoia. It was the paranoia that got him into trouble with the law that night.
MDH had stopped at a local bar that evening to have a beer and a bite to eat, he was also met there by one of his ex-girlfriends, suspecting that I or her boyfriend would be jealous or cause trouble he left fairly quickly. Upon pulling out of the bar, he noticed he was being followed very closely by a car he couldn't identify. His paranoia led him to believe it was someone either myself or the other had sent to hunt him down for whatever reason. He began to speed up and eventually floored his car into a corner lot and ran from his persuer, what he didn't realize or failed to notice (though to this day he stays too his story of no lights) was that he was being followed by an officer of the law, who intentionally intended to pull him over and inform him he had a taillight out.
MDH was eventually found and charged with Fleeing and Alluding. Due to a miracle of God and some good Defense work, it was eventually drooped down to a traffic infraction and had no long lasting significant damage to him or our family. Though his parents and siblings were anything but supportive or understanding about the whole incident. They chalked it off as worthlessness again and continued to treat him as someone they must tolerate, rather than someone to whom they would wish to be around.
It was at this time that I began to suspect he may have bi-polar and began to pray alot. He didn't want to hear it, but did seek out a counselor to begin addressing his ADD. It was still a long time before he was diagnosed with Bi-Polar disorder, but we were on the right road.
His troubles with the law have never quite ended, he still gets speeding tickets (though thankfully those are getting fewer and further between, knock on wood) and has recently gotten into trouble resulting in Intensive Supervised Probabtion, but we know understand a little bit more of what makes him tick and why he is so prone to trouble and how to better help him.
Pathway's of Life
There is always more than one and neither is ever clear.
Monday, June 2, 2008
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.
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.