Dual Diagnosis

[Anonymous]

Looking for resources to help in dealing with my brother who has dual diagnosis.

The Al-Anon and other support groups that i've been going to have been helpful but not totally because they teach you how to deal with the addiction but not the mental illness.

Part of me wants to just wants to let him sink and pull himself back up but with a mental illness, he can't really pull himself back up.

We're in between hanging him out to dry and helping him but not sure if the help we are giving is enabling him all over again.

[Anonymous]

Therapy.

[Anonymous]

Call adult protective services and see if they can direct you to someone who can help.

[Anonymous]

Do you have an EAP (employee assistance program) through your employer benefits? They can be a great resource for finding care options, alternative kinds of support recommendations, etc...

[Anonymous]

Is he an alcoholic? My brother-in-law is an alcoholic and bipolar and his tough-assed, old-school AA sponsor is the only one who ever got through to him. He's doing so much better now, goes to meetings every day, but will never be "normal" or completely functioning. At least he's sober and feels pride in himself for that. And as long as he's sober, DH and I will pay his rent.

[Anonymous]

For you the family member, you may want to contact the closest NAMI support group and look on their web site. It stands for the National Association of Mentally Ill, but it is not for the person with the mental illness, but family members and other loved ones concerned about the individual. However, if your brother is functionally aware and not a direct danger to himself or to others, there may be little you can do if he does not get control of the alcohol AND learn to deal with his mental health issues. It is sad, but you can't always heal an adult.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Looking for resources to help in dealing with my brother who has dual diagnosis.

The Al-Anon and other support groups that i've been going to have been helpful but not totally because they teach you how to deal with the addiction but not the mental illness.

Part of me wants to just wants to let him sink and pull himself back up but with a mental illness, he can't really pull himself back up.

We're in between hanging him out to dry and helping him but not sure if the help we are giving is enabling him all over again.

I went to a couple of Al Anon meetings, and numerous people told me "you just have to let them hit bottom." This is not official Al Anon, but it's what many members will say. I find this view point objectionable and unhelpful for people like Op and myself who have alcoholics/addicts with special circumstances like mental illness. Also, rehab experts who are current are quick to say it is a myth--recovery is possible before things get really desperate.

In these groups you are supposed to be setting boundaries for your yourself (not for your qualifies)--what is it you will just not accept from your brother?

There is a Dual Recovery Anonymous that might be helpful for your brother. DC meeting:
http://www.draonline.org/meetings_dra/usa/district_of_columbia.html

There is no associated family group. NAMI may be your best bet, but I have heard that people have trouble communicating with them. I guess you could just show up to a scheduled meeting and see what happens. You might also search out a therapist that does dual diagnosis and see what s/he may have to offer.

[Anonymous]

OP,

Is he willing to see a psychiatrist? I've seen people turn their lives around b/c conditions were properly medicated.

[Anonymous]

A word of warning if you are researching rehab programs for your brother. Many will say they are dual diagnosis, but what most of them actually believe is that the mental health problems are a result of using alcohol/drugs so if the addiction problem is taken care of, the mental health problems will go away.

But it is pretty obvious that for a certain population group alcohol/drug use is an attempt by the user to self-medicate pre-existing mental/physical health problems and this is not a chicken or the egg situation. There are very few programs that will acknowledge this and you may be better off going the route of a psych program that accepts those with addiction problems rather than a rehab route.

Have had a DC kicked out from two rehabs. One was for mental health issues the rehab couldn't handle despite their heavily promoted reputation for dual diagnosis. DC told me after that the rehab routinely took kids precipitously off their psych meds like SSRIs. Yikes! They asked us to bring all DC's meds, but when I picked DC up they told me they threw them all out, including the brand new bottle of Allegra I thoughtfully provided.

The second local rehab was for a medical condition they quickly decided they didn't want to accommodate.