According to the National Institute of Mental Health, depression is the most typical diagnosis among adults in the United States today. It is estimated that one out of 3 depressed people suffer from some form of addiction or substance abuse problem. In addition to the above, there seems to be a typical tendency among those suffering from depression to abuse drugs or alcohol as a indicates of coping with their symptoms. Many of these people finish up with an addiction to those substances.Dual diagnosis can produce a very complex situation for each the professional, as nicely as, the individual. One of the obstacles they face is while the individual may really feel depressed, there are many drugs, such as alcohol that produce symptoms similar in nature to depression. The “million dollar” query is, which came first, the depressive disorder or the addiction/alcoholism causing it?Although there appears to be a clear link in between depression and addiction or drug/alcohol use, it is not clear that one necessarily precedes the other. Many occasions although, the depressive disorder appears first and the individual begins to use drugs or alcohol as a indicates to better cope with the symptoms. This type of self-medication generally leads to addiction or alcoholism with the individual in require of drug rehab or alcoholism treatment. Regardless of which problem develops first, they must be treated co-currently in rehab for the person to fully recover.The most important thing is to work with a doctor who fully understands drug addiction, alcoholism and is related with an accredited addiction treatment center.