The signs and symptoms of co-occurring disorders vary depending upon the specific mental health disorder and drug of choice.
For example, if an individual is struggling with marijuana abuse and schizophrenia, the signs and symptoms of these disorders will be drastically different than those of an individual who is struggling with a cocaine addiction and bipolar disorder.
In general, individuals who are living with co-occurring disorders find functioning on a day-to-day basis to be significantly difficult, if not impossible. Many will struggle with the following:
Treatment for co-occurring disorders aims at treating both the mental health disorder and the substance abuse disorder with an integrative approach, including:
The following are psychotherapy approaches used to treat co-occurring disorders: