How Can a Physician Tell Whether the Persons Primary Problem is Substance Abuse or an Emotional Disorder?
At the initial examination, it may be difficult to tell. Since many symptoms of severe substance abuse mimic other psychiatric conditions, the person must go through a withdrawal from alcohol and/or drugs before the physician can accurately assess whether there’s an underlying psychiatric problem also. If a Person Does Have Both an Alcohol/Drug Problem and an Emotional Problem, Which Should Be Treated First? Ideally, both problems should be treated simultaneously. For any substance abuser, however, the first step in treatment must be detoxification – a period of time during which the body is allowed to cleanse itself of alcohol or drugs. Ideally, detoxification should take place under medical supervision. It can take a few days to a week or more, depending on what substances the person abused and for how long. Until recently, alcoholics and drug addicts dreaded detoxification because it meant a painful and sometimes life-threatening “cold turkey” withdrawal. Now, doctors are able to gi
