Psychosis is a severe mental disorder that impairs thinking, emotions, and the ability to recognize reality, and one of its causes is substance abuse. Additionally, you can learn how helping someone with drug-induced psychosis can heal them.
Special attention will be paid to this blog to the types of drugs that cause psychotic disorders, the symptoms of drug-induced psychosis, is drug-induced psychosis is permanent or not, does drug-induced psychosis goes away or not, and how to treat drug-induced psychosis with effective treatment approaches.
Types Of Drugs That Can Cause Psychosis
- Stimulants: For example, substances such as cocaine, amphetamines, and methamphetamine may be capable of causing psychosis in instances where they are used over the permitted limit. They cause the build-up of dopamine in the brain.
- Dissociative Drugs: Substances like ketamine, PCP, and nitrous oxide can lead to a dissociative category of anesthesia that involves feelings of unreality and even hallucination.
- Hallucinogens: These include substances like LSD, psilocin contained in mushrooms, and ayahuasca in their natural form, which can result in hallucinations, delusional perception, and changes in perception.
- Anticholinergic Drugs: It identified several anticholinergic medications prescribed for conditions such as Parkinson’s disease or excessive urination as some of those that can lead to psychosis.
- Prescription Medications: Psychosis can also be caused by some prescription drugs, drugs that are sometimes used carelessly or improperly, like antidepressants or antipsychotics.
Read More: Spilling The Facts About OCD and Psychosis
Signs Of Drug-Induced Psychosis
- Hallucinations: These can be olfactory (hearing voices or sounds), visual (seeing glimpses or things that are imaginary), or kinesthetic (a feeling of touch that is real).
- Delusions: Topics that are held to be true even in the existence of facts proving that they are untrue. These can be persecutory, as in feeling followed or persecuted; grandiose, which involves having special powers or abilities; or referential, which involves feeling that others are talking about you.
- Disorganized Speech and Thought: Trouble with planning and executing activities, difficulty with speaking and understanding language.
- Disorganized Behavior: Abnormal or increased motor activity, speaking softly, uttering sounds inconsistently, or collecting things.
- Catatonia: Reduced awareness of the surroundings in which the patient may be unresponsive, possibly with motor and verbal apraxia.
Factors Contributing To Drug-Induced Psychosis
- Drug Dosage and Frequency: Increased dosage and more frequent use can lead to psychosis.
- Individual Vulnerability: People have different vulnerabilities wherein they can be more vulnerable to developing drug-induced psychosis because of their genes, other illnesses, or previous drug experience.
- Polydrug Use: When taken together, there are chances of exacerbating the psychotic effect; other effects may combine to produce a more severe outcome.
- Environmental Factors: The person might not have had a good night’s sleep, is stressed, and eats unhealthy, which may lead to drug-induced psychosis.
Read More: The Most Common Stages Of Psychosis
Role Of Dopamine:
It is now known that the majority of the drugs that cause psychosis increase dopamine levels in the brain. This is one of the neurotransmitters in the brain commonly referred to as pleasure or reward chemicals. However, when dopamine concentrations rise high this affects the normal functioning of the brain since it causes hallucination, delusional thoughts and other psychosis signs.
Vulnerability Factors:
While anyone can experience psychosis from drug use, certain factors may increase an individual’s susceptibility:
- Family History: In addition, the presence of psychotropic-induced psychosis, which increases the likelihood of developing drug-induced psychosis, is associated with positive family history for schizophrenia.
- Underlying Mental Health Conditions: This is because people with conditions such as depression or anxiety shall be more susceptible to the drugs.
- Stress and Trauma: Psychosis is likely to develop when sufferers undergo stress or trauma, especially together with substance abuse.
Read More: What Is Psychosis?
The Impact of Long-Term Drug Use:
For persistent drug consumers, they develop personalities that make them suffer from psychosis even when they stop taking the substance. These changes can take years, or even decades to occur. Moreover, the impact of these drugs is so severe that it leads to impaired daily functioning.
Importance of Early Intervention:
The recommended time of diagnosing drug-induced psychosis and methods of its treatment is the initial stage. When a patient starts to exhibit the signs of mental illness, it should be focused there and then. As mentioned before, the symptoms of the disease need to be treated immediately to avoid its aggravation and serious outcomes.
Prevention And Treatment
- Harm Reduction: The psychosis connected with substance abuse can be prevented by acquainting a person with these dangers and urging him to use in a safe environment and avoid excess.
- Early Intervention: It is very important to identify early markers of psychosis and treat them with the attention to avoid further complications.
- Medical Treatment: Antipsychotic drugs can be used to treat drug-induced psychosis.
- Therapy: Cognitive behavioral therapy may also be useful when dealing with the psychological part of psychosis and learning how to avoid reactions to it.
- Substance Abuse Treatment: To prevent a further episode of psychosis, clients must also be treated for their substance abuse problems when these exist.
Recovery From Drug-Induced Psychosis
Psychotic disorders triggered by drugs and substances can indeed be effectively treated. Nevertheless, the process is sometimes complex and reoccurring. One must keep this in mind that mental health professionals conducting detailed treatment processes are capable of rehabilitation and overcoming drug-induced psychosis with the necessary support.
Concluding Remarks!
Psychosis which involves an altered thought process is known to be caused by use of particular drugs. Knowledge of the kind of drugs that can induce psychosis, manifestations and necessary preventive and therapeutic actions is paramount in managing psychosis conditions. Drug induced psychosis requires medical intervention, early intervention as well as encouragement of therapeutic conversations. Are you or someone you know experiencing psychosis symptoms due to drug use? Contact Solid Foundation Psychiatry for help.