My son was diagnosed as having schizo-affective disorder. He had been abusing cocaine and marijuana. He suffered a pyschotic break. Is it possible this was a result of the drug abuse and not mental illness?
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Written by Adelaide V about 1 year ago.
It could be that the drug abuse is a result of the mental illness. I read somewhere that people who have mental illness can many times turn to drugs and never be diagnosed for having that mental illness.
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Written by Lance about 1 year ago.
Absolutely!
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Written by m33how about 1 year ago.
Drugs increase the the chances of mental problems. Maybe he was going to have them anyway, at this point it’s impossible to tell.
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Written by hippyray69 about 1 year ago.
well psychosis is very possible from cocaine but mental illness is mental illness and addiction 65% of the time stems from exactly that (mental illness)
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Written by Ryan O about 1 year ago.
It is possible, depending on the frequency and amount of cocaine your son abused, to become extremely lost to the point of a schizophrenic paranoia. I knew a man who boarded up his windows, continuously attacked hallucinations with a shot gun, and ultimately lost his wife and children to the disease of addiction. The good news is, if he stops and seriously works at overcoming his addiction, he should rapidly return to a “normal” state of mind and being (hallucinations, paranoia, etc. will cease) , and he’ll eventually mentally and socially grow into his true age (drug and alcohol abuse stunts ones social and mental growth so they remain perpetually at the maturity level at which they started abusing, until they become sober)
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Written by skysongsfire about 1 year ago.
That’s one of those classic chicken or the egg problems:
Can drugs cause mental illness, or does drug abuse worsen symptoms of already existing conditions?There are several hypotheses, but not enough is known about these dual diagnoses to really know, and the symptoms themselves mask which is the cause of the other.
The self-medication hypothesis:
Some people may begin using drugs of abuse as a form of self-medication. Drugs of abuse may temporarily relieve some of the symptoms associated with mental illness, such as stress, anxiety, social inhibitions or depressionMarijuana use has been linked to Schizophrenia
A recent study reported that individuals with a particular variant of the COMT (catechol-o-methyltransferase) gene may be more likely to develop schizophrenia if they smoke marijuana regularly. As many as 1 in 4 people may have this variant.Some effects of drugs mirror, or are identical to, symptoms of certain mental ilnesses, so it can be difficult to identify which is the cause. For example, increased dopamine activity is characteristic of both schizophrenia and cocaine, and both result in a dysfunctional reward pathway due to the increased dopamine activity.
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Written by LIz about 1 year ago.
it could be
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Written by Sub Zero about 1 year ago.
It sounds more like Self Medication, where those with mental illness tend to abuse drugs to resolve issues that they are unable to control without the help of a professional.
I used to work at a facility and the people who were commited actually had mental illnesses and would self medicate in order to stop “the voices” or “impluses”.
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Written by urbangenie about 1 year ago.
Yes. If psychosis or psychiatric symptoms are likely a result of substance use, a mental health professional should probably be hesitant to apply a diagnosis such as schizo-affective disorder or otherwise until observing the patient when he/she is clean.
1) Drugs can cause psychotic symptoms, even in absence of a disorder.
2) Drugs can induce psychotic breaks, leading to psychiatric illness/disorder.
3) Drugs can represent self-medication of pre-existing symptoms or disorder.It’s a self-repeating cycle and even if drug use induced or caused a psychotic break in your child, it’s a possibility he is now chronically ill (has the disorder) and needs medication maintenance. However, substance use will interfere with his doctor’s treatment and will make it impossible to determine his real diagnosis and illness phase. I wouldn’t be too quick to dismiss your son’s diagnosis but I would make 100% sure the doc knew he was abusing substances for the sake of his treatment.
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Written by gmonte33 about 1 year ago.
Yes. Drug dependence, intoxications and withdrawals can cause symptoms that can be indistinguishable from schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder and bipolar disorder. They usually always do a drug screen to rule out the possibility that drugs/alcohol are causing the symptoms. Also, since patients are not always completely honest about their history of drug use they may interview family members and others close to the patient. The correct diagnosis usually becomes clear when the person is off drugs. After a significant time of abstinence (at least one month) if the person is still experiencing symptoms then it’s likely they’re suffering from a non-substance-induced psychosis.
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