Comorbidity Addiction

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Comorbidity Addiction and other Mental Illnesses

Comorbid is the description used when a person is diagnosed with 2 or more disorders or illnesses simultaneously or sequentially. Comorbidity also implies interactions that occur between the illnesses that affect the course and prognosis of both ("Comorbidity," 2010).
To understand comorbidity we must understand that addiction is a disease because of the physical changes that occurs in the brain when a person is becoming addicted. This change of the brain disrupts the normal way a person prioritizes their wants and needs. This change over rides the channels in the brain to control impulses by creating new pathways bypassing normal pathways resulting in the inability to control …show more content…
2). Data from surveys has shown that people with mood or anxiety disorders are twice as likely to suffer also from a drug use disorder (abuse or dependence) compare with other respondents in general("Comorbidity," 2010, p. 2).
A research update by the National Institute on Drug Abuse states that as many as 6 out of 10 people who have an illicit drug disorder also suffer from mental illnesses. Mental illness and drug abuse commonly co-occur because of several factors, beginning with overlapping genetic factors, overlapping environmental factors, involvement of similar brain regions and drug abuse and mental illness are both developmental disorders.("Comorbid Drug Abuse," 2007, p. 1)
Drug abuse and addiction came be present at any time in a person’s life typically starting in the adolescence years. It is during this same period that the first signs of mental illnesses commonly appear. With this being said it is not surprising that comorbidity is often seen among the youth population. Major brain changes occur during adolescence, which may enhance the risk for drug use and the beginnings of addiction and mental disorders ("Comorbid Drug Abuse," 2007, p. 1) ("Comorbidity," 2010, p.
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