What is the difference between severe and non-severe mental health disorders?
Co-occurring substance use disorders occur in people with severe and non-severe mental health disorders. Severe disorders include schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, schizoaffective disorder, and major depressive disorders. Non-severe mental health disorders include mood disorders, anxiety disorders, adjustment disorders, and personality disorders. Of course, severity can vary substantially within any given diagnostic condition. For example, depression can be mild, moderate, or severe. PTSD can likewise be well-managed or debilitating. Severity, therefore, is more complex than any specific disorder. In general, a disorder is diagnosed as “severe” when the patient has many more symptoms than the minimum criteria specify, or some symptoms are especially, severe, or functioning in society or at work is especially compromised.
