Treatment for addiction with ASPD can be a difficult process, but Northbound’s experienced clinical staff has a deep understanding of the interaction between addiction and personality disorders.
What Are Personality Disorders?
Every year, millions of people have been diagnosed with one or more personality disorders. The term “personality” refers to the way a person thinks, behaves, and feels. Everyone has a unique personality and it affects the way they live and interact with others. An individual’s personality is shaped by a number of things. The experiences a person has throughout his or her life in addition to the person’s surroundings can all impact and influence one’s personality. Still, it’s likely that an individual’s personality will remain mostly the same throughout his or her life.
Some individuals, however, suffer from personality disorders. When a person has one of these disorders, it means that he or she has a rigid and even unhealthy way of thinking or behaving. The way the individual functions and processes things affects the way the person interacts with and understands other people. It also impacts the way an individual understands the events and occurrences in his or her life. This can cause people who have personality disorders to struggle to understand and be understood by those around them.
Personality disorders can affect the way people think about themselves and others. It can also impact the way people respond to people and situations that might occur. Some of the symptoms of personality disorders can cause people to have difficulty relating and responding to the individuals who interact with them.
Some individuals develop personality disorders in their teenage years or during the beginning of adulthood. There are 10 main types of personality disorders, including antisocial personality disorder.
What is Antisocial Personality Disorder?
Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) is a mental disorder characterized by a dysfunctional way of thinking and relating to others. Those suffering from this personality disorder are often described as cruel, manipulative, or callous, as their disorder causes them to act with indifference to wishes, feelings, or rights of other people. In addition, victims of the disorder tend to disregard morality and have little sense of right and wrong. Not surprisingly, an antisocial personality disorder is often associated with legal problems, difficulties in school or work, a lack of functional relationships, and violent behavior.
Symptoms of Antisocial Personality Disorder
Those suffering from antisocial personality disorder will appear extremely egocentric, often manipulating others for their own pleasure or gain. They will freely lie to or intimidate others in pursuit of their ends, with no regard for their rights or feelings. ASPD is associated with a disregard for right and wrong, which may lead to criminality, legal problems, and irresponsible behavior at work or school. Individuals with ASPD are often aggressive, impulsive, or violent, and there is a definite connection between the disorder and child abuse/neglect. Personal and family relationships are dysfunctional or non-existent, and the sufferer routinely fails to learn anything from the negative consequences of his or her actions.
The first signs of antisocial personality disorder may surface in childhood through bullying, cruelty to animals, or angry and violent behavior. The disorder should be evident by the time the individual is in his or her twenties or thirties and is considered to be a lifelong disorder. ASPD often co-occurs with other mental disorders, especially alcoholism and substance abuse.
How ASPD Leads to Substance Abuse
Living with a personality of any type can be very difficult. Antisocial personality disorder can make individuals feel lonely and misunderstood. The effects of this disorder often create distance between people and their friends and family members. Individuals may become isolated because of the disorder they are dealing with. Unfortunately, the overwhelming effects of ASPD can cause people to seek comfort in substances that allow them to escape from or cope with the pain. Alcohol and drugs are commonly used by those who suffer from personality disorders.
After self-medicating with alcohol and drugs (illicit or legal) for a while, many people become physically and mentally dependent on these substances. Eventually, individuals may begin to abuse and misuse these drugs, developing an addiction problem.
Dual Diagnosis: Addiction and Antisocial Personality Disorder Treatment
One of the biggest difficulties in treating adults with ASPD is simply helping them to recognize the presence of the disorder and the need to treat it. The very nature of ASPD is such that victims are disinclined to acknowledge the illness or seek help for it. However, when co-occurring with substance abuse and addiction, ASPD can inhibit recovery if not accounted for in the treatment approach.
At Northbound Treatment Services, we specialize in providing services for those who have a dual diagnosis, such as antisocial personality disorder treatment and addiction. We recognize that every client who enters our facility has his or her own unique needs and history, and we create an individualized treatment plan that addresses those needs. In this way, we can provide the best possible opportunity for successful recovery, concurrently treating any co-occurring disorders (like ASPD) that would otherwise inhibit the therapeutic process.
Northbound’s use of counseling and psychotherapy for antisocial personality disorder treatment is helpful in reaching out to individuals with ASPD and helping him them come to grips with both the disorder and addiction. In cases such as this, family counseling is also extremely effective, and we work with friends and family members to help them understand the disease, develop coping strategies, and learn how to help their loved one in recovery.
Treatment of addiction with ASPD can be a difficult process, but Northbound’s experienced clinical staff has a deep understanding of the interaction between addiction and personality disorders. Contact Northbound today for more information or to take the first step toward a new, healthy, and sober life.
Get the Help You Need Today!
If you are suffering from a personality disorder as well as a substance use problem, the dual diagnosis treatment program here at Northbound Treatment Services can help you to find freedom from the negative effects of these issues. You deserve to live a life that is free from the struggles that addiction and personality disorders cause. Thankfully, there is hope for you! And, here at Northbound, we provide that hope through our in-depth, individualized treatment approach.
Specialists have found that psychotherapy can help individuals to recognize, identify, and work through the symptoms of their mental health disorders. Dialectical behavioral therapy is one of the many therapy approaches we use here at Northbound to help our patients who are suffering from co-occurring disorders.
You don’t have to continue living a life of substance abuse. Alcoholism and drug addiction can become a part of your past rather than elements of your present and future. To learn more about our services and begin your journey to recovery, just contact us today by calling (855) 858-6803 today. Let us help you to overcome addiction and work through the effects of other mental health disorders in your life.
