Not everyone can understand what it feels like to have a painful mental illness like bipolar disorder.   Imagine having dramatic mood swings that you cannot control and can occur unpredictably at any time as you try to go through your daily life.  It is not easy to experience the extreme ups and downs of deep depression or uncontrollable mania, so it is no surprise then that many people with this illness end up getting involved in drugs.  If this is the case then bipolar disorder treatment alone may not be enough to improve the symptoms of the illness in the event of a drug addiction.  Someone who is bipolar might end up getting involved in the use of cocaine because it gives them energy and confidence in times of depression.  When they feel low and lethargic they could find themselves developing a serious cocaine addiction as they try to improve their mood.  They will need a chance to receive cocaine addiction treatment, otherwise they might fall into their old habits and symptoms of their mental illness can be worsened over time.

The only way for someone to get adequate treatment when they suffer from both a mental illness like bipolar disorder and a drug addiction is to find dual diagnosis treatment that will provide help for the particular problems that they have.  Most dual diagnosis programs offer services based on the type of addiction you suffer from combined with the mental illness that you have been diagnosed with in the past.  Because it can be so common for people to use drugs in relation to their mood disorder, these type of programs are well-trained and experienced in dual disorder treatment.