ON MENTAL ILLNESS: Addiction
When someone has substance abuse problems on top of a distinct (yet probably interweaved) psychiatric disorder, the term used to describe this is "dual diagnosis." Addiction to a substance is not uncommon for people with psychiatric problems. Also, when mental health practitioners or other authorities are initially trying to discern someone's problem, it can be hard for them to know whether the individual's symptoms come from narcotics versus having a psychiatric disorder. After an individual has more of a history with treatment professionals, those professionals have more data to work with. -more-