What Is Substance Use Disorder?

Dr. Gilbert Varela earned a degree in medicine from the University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine. As a member of the California Society of Addiction Medicine, Dr. Gilbert Varela is dedicated to treating people with substance use disorders (SUDs).

Many individuals self-medicate their depression, anxiety, or other mental health issues with substance use or alcohol use. Substance use, for whatever reason, becomes less of a choice with time. Long-term exposure causes brain functions to shift, and the user loses control. SUD affects the regions of the brain involved in learning, memory, and behavior control.

Treatment for SUD is administered in two primary settings: inpatient and outpatient. Inpatient care is for intensive treatment; outpatient care is for non-intensive treatment. The main objective is to get the persons with SUD started in the most effective but least restrictive setting and then move them along a continuum of care as their requirements change.

What Are Co-Occurring Disorders?

Dr. Gilbert Varela has business, psychology, and medical degrees from various educational institutions. As the CEO of Sadler Healthcare, Inc., Dr. Gilbert Varela attends to the patients' co-occurring disorders.

Co-occurring disorders, also known as dual disorders or dual diagnosis, are disorders in which a person has both a drug use condition and a mental health disorder. Alcohol or drug dependence is a serious condition than alcohol or drug abuse. People with addiction have struggled in their efforts to abstain from or regulate their drug consumption, in addition to facing increasingly harmful effects. Increased tolerance and withdrawal in some cases are indications of physiological dependency.

Meanwhile, mood and anxiety disorders are two of the most prevalent mental health disorders observed in chemically dependent people. People with severe mental illness are most likely to have co-occurring alcohol use problems. If not treated in time, alcohol problems may lead to serious physical health conditions such as alcohol-induced liver disease.