Drug induced psychosis

Hi @Baboo

I have been trying to figure out how to word my response to your post, "Its odd to me some times that people want to keep trying a drug of their choice even though they know how bad it will end up."

I have such a long term history of substance abuse, close to 20 years actually...... (makes me sad realising that)

This is going to come across all wrong and i know it

For me getting high has been a better place for me, then not.

It would blur my reality to make it seem more bearable

I never got into stealing or thieving or selling my own property to pay for them.

But for one night i could party all night drink with my friends, laugh and be carefree, no stress, no worry, no anxiety, no guilt, no awkwardness in groups, to me it felt like i was normal.

The bad times or effects were few and far between and the good times outweighed the risk.

It is the feeling of belonging that was why i persisted with substance abuse

I have been clean since late september..... xmas, boxing day and new years were a big trial, as it has always been my time to get up to mischief. but i managed too.... i probably drank a bit too much at new years, but no usage.....

every dr i see, when they learn of my past ask me the same question, when did you use last, and will you use again.....

That second one is the million dollar question

i am very honest when i answer it, for some reason instinctively i say "no" but then i have to follow that with "well i don't know"

when as damaging as it is, but it makes you feel like you belong it is a tricky situation.

i know i will use again

i don't necessarily want to right now, but if my past is anything to go by, i will inevitably, resort to something at some stage.

even knowing what that path is, still i have that acknowledgment, it is a truth, i am hoping that by being vigilant for as long as possible will equate to me hopefully not, i can't lie to myself or others about it.

i certainly hope to learn how to manage without, and hope that i can learn enough to keep it at bay.

i hope this shed's some light on it, from my perspective

thank you

Hi All,

I think for some people, at times using drugs isn't a problem, but for others it can be a huge problem. There's no clear cut answer where one size fits all.

Defining what is a 'problem' is a pretty ambiguous thing. We've all heard of someone who doesn't think they have 'a problem' where others think they do. In the end, only you can really know if you have a problem or not, which in turn, will ultimately influence your decisions about using.

Drug use can become particularly problematic when it starts negatively impacting on others areas of a your life. So weighing up the impacts is important to consider:

- How does it impact on your relationships?

- How is it effecting employment/schooling/day-to-day responsibilities?

- Are you having legal issues because of it?

- Is it harmful to your health (physically, emotional and mental)?

- Has a health professional warned that drug use is contributing to health issues due to sustained use?

Drugs can be both enjoyable and harmful to people, so it's important to weigh up the risks before using. If you do decide to use, look into ways to minimise harms. With drugs being unregulated, always remember that it can take just one pill, one hit, or 'just one more time' to cause serious damage to a person.

If you got any concerns about drug use, you can try contacting Counselling Online, a free service national online service where you can speak with a professional drug and alcohol counsellor 24/7.

CB

@CherryBomb

hey CB, i was in no way trying to imply that they are good or anything, i was just trying to add an insight into the question posed, drug use/substance abuse is always going to be harmful short term/long term, and even knowing the effects i was just trying to explain, the very difficult situation that occurs when one is addicted.

Once of usuage, may be ok for some..... not many in reality, as there are multiple issues involved with even the smallest amounts induced.

i was using my own history as a perspective, the outlook is really not very good, and i have been fortunate enough to not cause too many legal issues for myself, but health and mentality wise it has been quite affective,

in the last 2 years, i managed to lose contact with majority of friends, managed to lose a job that i am really good at, the demise of my marriage and the issues bought about in regards to my mental health.

i wrote that posting to be as honest about what transpires in myself in regards to using....

i admit i have been sort of lucky.... but i have had some issues throughout the years

The hardest part of all was admitting that i have a drug issue

and in reality i am/was an addict

and have been for 20 years, i am only 32 so two thirds of my life i have been an addict in some way or another......

which as i said makes me quite sad, this is the first time i have admitted the seriousness of what i have been through with that side of things.

but i have now been nearly 4 months clean 🙂

like i said tho the road is tricky

but hopefully it is not too slippery

thank you

@kato

Hi Kato

I have always read with interest your posts and I believe that they are always even handed.

I don't believe you need to worry about anyone thinking you might be promoting drug use.

I think @CherryBomb was just making an overarching point that drugs and alcohol are an individual choice. That choice is best made in consideration of how an individual interacts with their effects.

It is a good point.

If poking yourself in the eyes with a stick turns out to be a damaging experience it probably is best to avoid that.

If poking yourself in the eyes has no interactive issues then obviously a person has two glass eyes, so go for it.

Sorry to be flip. Can't help but see funny pictures sometimes.

But seriously, don't take on a negative feel from this.

Leave that to fruitloops such as my good self.

Hope you are riding smooth and easy atm dude

Rick

Hi @kato

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and perspective on this. I'm glad to hear that you've stayed clean for 4 months, that's quite an achievement!

I hope you don't feel like my last post was directed specifically towards you. As Rick said, it was more an overaching statement, where I was adding to the general discussion taking place. My intention was to add an additional perspective about how individuals' reasons to use or not use differ among people. I'm not one to say that drugs are either good or bad - it's different for everyone depending on the impacts they have on an individual's life, which is why I posed those questions. They were directed to anyone reading this thread.

Stay safe, and keep up the amazing work you're doing on yourself @kato

CB

hey everyone,

Maybe taken the wrong way sometimes i don't know how to inflect certain tones in what i write, i in no way took any offence to what was posted, i have no actual ssues with either viewpoints, i was just wanting to offer some understanding from a viewpoint i know fairly well.

I apologise as it seems to have come across that i have taken some form of offence at it.

I haven't, i thought i could help shine some insight into the question posed, but alas my inflection was lost in translation LOL

i have expierenced both sides of the ball with drugs, good and bad and very good and very bad, and for quite a long time of use.

I am pretty upfront with what i have done in the past and what possibilities might lie in my future in regards to it.

i can see from elski's post that like me, weed has and does cause more problems then good, where as "e" or mdma seems to not, i however was using alot more then a few times a year, and it did impact on everything.

i hope this makes sense, as i said just trying to explain my viewpoint from the perspective of myself being a heavy user of particular drugs.

All is well, not annoyed or upset or anything, i have learnt in 4 months how to be open about my use, as my g.p, psychologist and psychiatrist, there first question every session is have you taken drugs since i last saw you?

LOL my parents thankfully stopped asking me that question a couple of months ago when i explained to them that i have set a bundry to not use under there roof 🙂

so to wrap up

not annoyed

happy with the questions and comments

just sharing my expierence

Hey@kato

Thanks for sharing your insights into your experiences. It's a bit of an eye opener for me. I have never touched them, I don't even like taking prescription or over-the-counter drugs if I can help it (even paracetamol is kept to a minimum). I'm not really sure exactly why but from a very early age I seemed to know with great certainty that I just couldn't go there in terms of experimenting. I knew almost instinctively that I was a very addictive personality.

Watching my mum struggle with various addictions to both illicit & prescription drugs, alcohol, etc is part of it. I've deliberately never got drunk either - if I'm drinking I rarely have more than 1 glass now (and usually don't drink alcohol at all), but even at 16 I would only drink until tipsy then stop. Since those growing up days I have seen mj destroy the life of one of my high school friends, lost my brother to various drug & alcohol addictions when he was 21, and nearly lost my sister several times.

So I guess you can understand why I tell my kids as they reach late primary/early high school "This is something some people can do and not have a problem - but it's like playing Russian Roulette, you just don't know who will be affected. For people with a family history like ours it is more like playing Russian Roulette with a fully loaded gun. Don't go there."

Kind regards,

Kristin

Hi @Partner4life

as this is an old conversation as you mention, I have flagged @elski, @kristin, @kato & @Rick

to get their attention, and ask for their experience/knowledge of psychosis.

I hope this helps you understand how the forum works.

I also thought you might like to read Sane's fact sheet on psychosis here;

https://www.sane.org/mental-health-and-illness/facts-and-guides/psychosis

Apologies if this is already covering old ground for you...feel free to tell us more, we're listening