Too many of us do not understand the connection between mental illness and addiction. I was at one time offended by the fact that CAMH connected addiction with mental illness. But an experience I had with the onset of one of my recurring episodes helped me to understand.
Many years ago i required morphine for pain. I still need it when I am admitted to hospital in great pain, but usually, one dose is enough. The pain subsides and I have no desire for more. I am also a social drinker. I will have a glass or two in a week. I enjoy it with dinner every once in a while. But, I felt a depression coming on and for some reason, I just didn`t feel that I could bear another episode. I began to think about wine and morphine-how lovely they would be. They would dull the pain of depression. I never crave wine or morphine. And that was the moment I understood the connection between mental illness and addiction and why they are treated at the same place,
Addiction and mental illness together are referred to as concurrent disorders. I talk about that in Episode 4 of my series, The Many Voices of Mental Illness. Doctors need to discover which comes first-the mental illness or the addiction in order to provide proper treatment. There is help out there. CAMH and your local CMHA. Call.
