My friends have told me that my past drug addiction has caused my schizophrenia. I am a little confused by this as i have also been told that people with mental disorders often self medicate with either alcohol or street drugs. So I am not sure if the addiction was part of the disorder or the cause.
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Q: Is schizophrenia a result of past drug addiction?
Answers (3)
11/ 5/09 9:30pm
Hello ATOMIC SODA,
I understand you want to know for certain what caused the schizophrenia.
However you may never know what came first: it's the classic "chicken or egg" question.
I'm glad you're clean and sober and now that you are working on your recovery perhaps it will be easier to accept what happened.
We are all here at this website living with schizophrenia.
I would suggest you forgive yourself for whatever you did in the past.
You can have a good life and be well even if you have SZ.
Regards,
Christina
11/ 4/09 2:05pm
First off no one knows for sure what the cause of SZ is.
I have been told that its a chemical imbalance in the brain. That is probably true.
There are people that have SZ that never took drugs.
I believe that SZA in my life was caused by three factors... Genetics, physical abuse and street drugs.
It is common for a person to "self medicate" with street drugs and alcohol.
Just a side fact that the mentally ill consume almost half of the cigarettes consumed in the U.S.
Dave
11/ 5/09 11:03pm
I have found out in anatomy that Sometimes drugs are to blame for imbalances of the brain, however, they are not always the cause. for instance, thc can sometimes put someone into a paranoid state that they cannot shake.Then they have to take antipsycotics to shake it. Even if they have smoked tch several times before. Meth is worse than thc because it messes with the brain more intensly. IT IS NOT YOUR FAULT and stress and other factors sometimes cause schiz to start with its symptoms. Some people self medicate because they are embarrased to admit so they try to hide symptoms because of the stigma related to the diagnosis. Good luck and God Bless you
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Thank you Dave for the reply to my question. The factors you mention ring true for me I think too. I managed to kcik the street drugs and alcohol but I'm still best friends with coffee and cigs.
I hope you are well today.
Shelly