by Lisa Frederiksen
This was the headline of an article in The New York Times December 2, which summarized the findings of a 12-month study of more than 5,000 19-25 year-olds funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health. I was struck by a statement in the study’s synopsis, “psychiatric disorders, particularly alcohol use disorders, are common in the college-aged population. Although treatment rates varied across disorders, overall fewer than 25% of individuals with a mental disorder sought treatment in the year prior to the survey.”
Which brings me to what I learned while doing research for my book… according to the HBO.com/Addiction (a collaborative program produced by HBO, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, NIDA and NIAAA), “many, if not most people who are addicted to alcohol or other drugs suffer from another mental health disorder at some point” [a condition, when diagnosed, known as a dual diagnosis]. It generally occurs as follows: 1) a person with an untreated minor or major mental illness (e.g., ADHD, bipolar disorder, conduct disorder, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia) starts drinking to self-medicate; or 2) a person’s alcohol (or other drug) addiction precedes or worsens an existing mental health illness.
All of this, in my opinion, underscores the need for parents to trust their instincts and intervene early if their child presents signs of a substance abuse problem and/or a mental illness. The findings in study after study are solidly behind early intervention as key to helping young adults avoid a lifetime struggle with substance abuse / mental illness or a dual diagnosis.
