About a third of all people experiencing mental illnesses and about half of people living with severe mental illnesses
also experience substance use disorders.
“These statistics are mirrored in the populations of people living with substance use disorders.
where about a third of all alcohol abusers and more than half of all drug abusers report experiencing a mental illness,”
according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
That statistic, like all statistics, is about real people. Not numbers.
This episode’s guest, Donald, is one of those people.
And he shares his story of dual diagnosis- living with substance use disorder in addition to depression and anxiety.
NAMI re: dual diagnosis: Understanding Dual Diagnosis | NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness
Dual Diagnosis: Definition & Treatment (clevelandclinic.org)