Anxiety Disorders: A Case Study

Medication used to treat psychiatric conditions are abused by those who have been diagnosed with co-occurring disorders Why is this so common? Non-medical prescription use and prescription drug disorders are also associated with increased frequency of substance use, mood, and anxiety disorder. (Blanco et al., 2013) Several medications are available and effective in treating anxiety disorders. These include benzodiazepines; Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) and other serotonergic medications, such as buspirone. Benzodiazepines are extensively used for anxiety disorders, but some of their properties make their use debatable in patients with preexisting alcohol use disorders and anxiety disorders.
According to Drake & Wallach, (1989) patients who are dually diagnosed with substance abuse and mental illness differed; from those with mental illness alone. However, reports have indicated young and often males; are unable to manage their lives in the community, had insufficient finances, unstable housing, no regular activities, showed vast hostility, suicidal ideation, and speech ineffectiveness and had poorer medication compliance. (Drake & Wallach, 1989 p. 1041) They are also nearly twice as likely to have been; hospitalized during a one-year follow-up. Substance abuse appears to add to the problems of unruly, disinhibited, uncooperative behaviors many patients who suffer from chronic mental illness display. The use of benzodiazepines tends to intensify existing substance use disorders or become the abused substance. Prescriptions of benzodiazepines for patients with severe mental like illness schizophrenia or bipolar disorder and co-occurring substance use disorders remains a questionable practice.(Drake & Wallach, 1989 p.
Or to put it another way, physician prescriptions may create another abuse problem for this group of already highly vulnerable individuals, this is one of the reasons why it is common for those diagnosed with co-occurring disorders, to abuse the medication used for the treatment. For those who benzodiazepines are prescribed, high levels of disturbing symptoms were the only indication of the development of benzodiazepine abuse. Those diagnosed with co-occurring disorders abuse medications, used to treat psychiatric conditions and the significant risk of benzodiazepine abuse proposes other psychotherapeutic and pharmacologic approaches to managing anxiety, depression, and psychosis should be deliberated. (Brunette & Noordsy, Xie, Drake,