A Dual Diagnosis - Page 2

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Jul 1, 2005

Nausea or chills

Difficulty breathing

Tingling or numbness

Feelings of unreality

Fear of losing control or doing something embarrassing

As with other forms of mental illness, it is very important that people with panic disorder seek treatment. Panic disorders can become very disabling. People with a panic disorder can develop some type of phobia. For example, a person who is riding in an elevator one day and experiences an episode of panic, they may develop a fear of elevators. They associate the feelings of panic with elevators and soon they will avoid elevators altogether.

Other forms of anxiety

There are other forms of anxiety that can accompany depression. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a form of anxiety that forms when people develop obsessive and compulsive behaviors. Post-traumatic stress disorder is one other form of anxiety in which events from a person's past cause physical and emotional stress and anxiety. Some examples would be rape or a natural disaster. With PTSD, symptoms may not appear for years after the event occurred.

People who have a dual diagnosis experience symptoms that are more severe than that of those who have just been diagnosed with either depression or anxiety. With a dual diagnosis, the symptoms of depression take longer to resolve, which makes the illness more chronic and more resistant to treatment. A dual diagnosis of depression and anxiety has higher rates of suicide than depression alone.

Dual Diagnosis: Who is At Risk

A dual diagnosis of depression and anxiety tend to occur in people who have a family history of the disorders. If there are family members who have been diagnosed with either depression or anxiety, there is an increased risk for that person to develop both. Also the nature of the anxiety disorder determines whether a person will develop both disorders. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, panic disorder and social phobia are particularly linked to depression. Other factors that play a role in diagnoses of both depression and anxiety are:

Age
Avoidant coping style

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