Dual Diagnosis
Chemical Dependency and Co-Occurring Disorders

Cirque Lodge, located in the majestic mountains of Sundance Utah, is a leading alcohol and drug rehab center. We help individuals with many types of addictions, including multiple addictions. These multiple addictions or multiple disorders are called co-occurring disorders. When a person is diagnosed as having dual or more than one disorder it is also referred to as dual diagnosis. We have trained professionals here at Cirque Lodge that can help individuals that have co-occurring disorders. One example of a dual diagnosis includes a chemical dependency accompanied by an eating disorder or mood disorder.

Mood Disorders and Addiction

The most effective drug rehab program and addiction treatment comes from properly determining and diagnosing any co-occurring disorders. Mood disorders such as depression, bi polar disorder, anxiety, manic depression, and other types of mood disorders can be a driving factor behind addiction. These imbalances in the brain can lead to the practice of self-medication, addiction and alcoholism. Cirque Lodge offers residents with a mood disorder the proper treatment that they are in need of for their addiction and mood disorders.

For those who have been diagnosed with a mood disorder, it may be difficult to find proper treatment and support groups when you have an addiction. Consider Cirque Lodge, our addiction treatment staff specializes in treating individuals with pre-existing mood conditions. Effective addiction treatment comes from effective mood treatment. Proper treatment of a mood disorder can lead to far more effective addiction treatment. The therapy programs in place at Cirque Lodge are geared to help both mood disorders and addiction.

Chemical Dependency and Eating Disorders

At Cirque Lodge, we specialize in the treatment of chemical dependency with an added emphasis on eating disorders. Our treatment team specializes in treating women with co-occurring disorders. We offer daily support groups - eating disorder groups built on the 12-steps and women's identity workshops. We have observed in these group body-image therapy sessions that even the most attractive women sometimes tearfully admit that she hated her own appearance. She simply couldn't bear to look into the mirror so she used alcohol and drugs to numb the pain of self-loathing. But our therapy addresses the fact that feeling negative about the way you look is never really about the way you look. At Cirque we address the deeper issues that plague women today.

Although ultimately a woman with an eating disorder must recognize her own problem and want to change in order to get help, the role of friends, relatives, teachers and physicians in confronting her and guiding her to treatment is vital.

Life Skills

Here is a sample of the some of the life-skills we recommend women try:

Talk to the mirror: tell yourself "I'm the size I was meant to be, and that's good."

Be forgiving about other people's bodies - not just your own. Find three attractive things about every woman you see -- you'll see attractiveness in a new way, and make more room for the way you look in your own mind.

Be as nice to yourself as you are to other people.

Go on a reality-check excursion: take a walk with a friend and have her point out bodies that are similar to yours. You'll more accurately see how you look through someone else's eyes rather than presuming to know what they think.

See your body as an instrument, not an object. Bodies have a function and must work properly - they aren't just to be looked at.

If a man is put on a special diet and he doesn't lose weight, he'll say, "What's wrong with this diet?" A woman is likely to say "What's wrong with me?" Learn to think critically about foods and dietary habits rather than internalizing failure and success.

When women sit in a room together and experience other smart, attractive women who think as negatively as they do about themselves, it can be as if the cloudy mirror becomes clear. It's possible to see that this is not about the body - it's about themselves and their own lives.

If you or a loved one has a dual diagnosis of a chemical dependency with an eating disorder, we urge you to call us today and get the professional help needed to overcome these debilitating diseases. Call us at 1-877-997-3422, for more information about our addiction treatment facility.

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Cirque Lodge offers a drug rehab program that is multi-faceted. The first step is an assessment by a counselor who has experience with eating disorders, followed by a complete physical examination to rule out other illnesses and determine the physical effects of chemical addiction and the eating disorder.

There are many different approaches to the treatment of eating disorders. No one philosophy works for everyone, and sometimes patients must try several types of treatment before finding one that is helpful. Diane Sawyer asked about "an industry that celebrates thinness that is really the equal of sickness." Eating disorders and alcoholism are diseases like any other sicknesses that require treatment.