Comorbidity

People dealing with depression often also have an anxiety disorder and vice versa. Both disorders often come from a negative self-image and damaged trust in others.

Addictions rarely occur alone. Of people with severe mental disorders, 41% also have an addiction or have dealt with addiction in the past. Among people without other severe mental disorders, this number is 19%. Schizophrenia, bipolar disorder (extreme mood swings), ADHD, and depression are also often combined with addictions. For example, biological factors can cause smaller amounts of alcohol or drugs to have greater consequences than for others. This leads to a faster dependence on the substance.

Comorbid PTSD is quite common. When you’ve experienced one or more very traumatic situations this can lead to mood disorders, anxiety disorders, and addictions. It can also develop into personality disorders, psychoses, and dissociative disorders. This is often because a trauma disrupts your ability to ‘manage yourself’ and causes a negative self-image. As a result, people with PTSD have an 80% greater chance of having one or more other mental disorders at the same time.

Autism often occurs combined with ADHD, depression, or an anxiety disorder. This is because autism and ADHD are partly caused by the same brain functions. This can cause you, for example, to be unable to assess certain situations well, making you feel anxious more quickly. And that can lead to depression overtime.

ADHD has a high comorbidity rate. Someone with comorbid ADHD, for example, may have depression, addiction, anxiety disorder, and/or bipolar disorder (extreme mood swings) at the same time. How does this happen? If you are easily distracted and impulsive, chances are your surroundings often respond negatively to this behaviour. This can cause you to think negatively about yourself and may turn into a depression in the long run. Alcohol or drugs can reduce restlessness or negative feelings in the short term. And the physical cause of ADHD and bipolar disorder is partially the same, which increase chances of suffering from this mental disorder when you have ADHD.

Age can also play a role in a comorbid disorder. More than half of people over 55 years old with a long-term mental illness have mental comorbidities. For those over 50 with an anxiety disorder or depression, more than half deal with two or more mental health issues.
This may be due to increasing physical discomfort or a decreasing social network.

At U-center we treat many psychological disorders. In particular, we specialize in the treatment of co-occurring disorders (comorbidity). However, our programme is not always suited to everyone’s needs. Read more about our criteria for treatment on our terms & conditions page.

Being there for someone who suffers from various psychological problems is sometimes enough. Often the person feels isolated with their thoughts, so talking about it can already help. If your partner, child or friend is dealing with psychological comorbidity, consider seeking professional help together.

At U-center you can quickly go for a treatment. Within 1 day we can process your registration and take the first telephone intake. Your spot is usually available within 4 weeks.

In most cases this is the case. However, the exact coverage varies depending on which country you are living in and the terms of your health insurance. For more information please consult our cost and insurance page.

Our international treatment centre is equipped with all the necessary facilities and also provides some extras. For more information please consult our clinic facilities page.