Using drugs can have many implications on your physical and mental health, one of which is the risk of experiencing drug-induced psychosis.
While the signs of drug-induced psychosis are frightening to deal with or watch another person experience, it is completely treatable. However, if you’re concerned about yourself or a loved one with drug-induced psychosis, it’s best to seek treatment as soon as possible.
To help those who need it get care faster, we’ll explore what drug-induced psychosis is, the common symptoms to look out for, and how to treat it.
What Is Drug-Induced Psychosis?
Drug-induced psychosis is a psychotic disorder triggered by drug misuse or addiction.
Though not permanent, drug-induced psychosis can be extremely frightening. For those experiencing it, drug-induced psychosis can feel like a momentary loss of reality. Thoughts and emotions can feel convoluted, while their perception of what is real can become distorted.
They may feel they are seeing or hearing things that aren’t there, or experience a sudden detachment from reality, which can feel confusing or even trigger intense panic.
10 Symptoms of Drug-Induced Psychosis
Knowing the symptoms of drug-induced psychosis is crucial to getting urgent care as fast as possible – the faster the treatment, the higher the chance of recovery.
To help, we’ll explore 10 symptoms of drug-induced psychosis to be aware of. Should you notice any of these symptoms within yourself or a loved one, seek urgent medical care straight away.
1. Hallucinations (Auditory, Visual, Tactile)
Hallucinations are one of the main symptoms associated with drug-induced psychosis, says the NHS. This can include auditory, visual, and tactile hallucinations.
Auditory Hallucination: They may hear voices in their head telling them what to do, or commenting on what they’re doing.
Visual Hallucinations: These can range from seeing flashing lights or patterns to more complex visions such as people, animals, or even imaginary creatures.
Tactile hallucinations: A person may describe an internal feeling of ‘bugs moving under the skin’ or experience a sensation of hands touching the body.
2. Disorganised Thoughts
A common sign of drug-induced psychosis is disorganised thoughts. You may experience difficulty organising your own thoughts, as though your brain is jumping from topic to topic without any coherent connection between them.
This can manifest as difficulty focusing on one task or struggling to follow a conversation. You may notice your thoughts drift when someone is speaking to you, or small tasks, such as making a cup of tea, become difficult as you get distracted or forget what you were doing.
3. Difficulty Speaking
Finding it difficult to formulate a thought can impact a person’s speech. As such, you may notice difficulty speaking as a symptom of drug-induced psychosis.
A person may string words together in an order that doesn’t really seem to make sense, often referred to as ‘word salad’. They might also give a loose reply to your question, providing details that don’t address your point – this is known as tangentiality.
4. Fixation on False Beliefs
Another drug psychosis symptom is fixating on false beliefs. What the person fixates on varies from person to person, but there are a few common ones to be aware of.
A person might feel a strong belief and concern that someone is going to harm them, or they may believe there’s something wrong with their body. It’s also common to experience a strongly inflated ego, believing they played a key role in a major event or even describing themselves as a religious figure.
5. Social Withdrawal
Experiencing signs of drug-induced psychosis, alongside other symptoms of drug misuse, can often cause a person to withdraw from social events.
You may notice they don’t turn up to family get-togethers or drop out of plans at the last minute. Text messages or phone calls may become less common, and they might take longer to reply to your messages, or simply stop getting back to you altogether.
6. Increased Aggression
Symptoms of drug-induced psychosis can be extremely intense and daunting for the person. As such, it’s typical to notice increased aggression.
This could look like mild agitation at things they may not have been bothered by previously, or snapping at their loved ones during conversations.
7. Intense Panic
Just as the common signs of drug-induced psychosis can cause aggression, they can also cause intense panic.
This can manifest in the form of panic attacks, where the person experiences a sudden feeling of panic, as though something bad is about to happen to them. You may get an intense anxious feeling or experience signs of anxiety, such as sweating palms, a fast heart rate, or shortness of breath.
8. Manic Behaviour
Another common sign of drug-induced psychosis is experiencing outbursts of manic behaviour.
With this, it’s typical to notice incredibly high energy levels, which can make it difficult to function regularly. You may also lose interest in sleep, experience racing thoughts, or become overly focused on achieving goals.
9. Paranoia
Symptoms of paranoia are often described as non-stop irrational thoughts that someone is going to harm you.
Paranoia can make it hard to trust new people or even those you’ve known for a while, as you can become suspicious that they’re out to hurt you. As such, you may distance yourself from friends and family, or start leaving the house less.
10. Difficulties with Memory
Signs of drug-induced psychosis are incredibly taxing on both the brain and the body. As a result, it’s common for it to become increasingly difficult to retain and recall information.
You may find it difficult to create new memories, struggling to recall recent information at a slightly later date. Drug-induced psychosis caused by specific drugs, such as ketamine or PCP, can potentially lead to amnesia as well.
What Substances Are Linked to Drug-Induced Psychosis?
Not all drugs lead to drug-induced psychosis, but there are a few that come with the risk, especially when taken in large quantities for extended periods of time.
Drugs that have the potential to cause substance-induced psychosis include:
- Cocaine
- PCP
- Ketamine
- Ecstasy
- LSD
- Mushrooms
- Cannabis
- Methamphetamines
- Amphetamines
- Benzodiazapines
- Alcohol
While it’s best to avoid taking drugs, we know that sometimes people feel they are in an unavoidable, uncontrollable situation. Here at Stonebridge Communities, we offer compassionate, expert addiction treatment to help you regain control of your life, without judgment.
If you’re worried about yourself or a friend experiencing drug-induced psychosis as a result of using drugs, get in touch with a medical professional as soon as possible.
How Long Does Drug-Induced Psychosis Last?
Drug-induced psychosis can last anywhere from a couple of hours to several days, depending on several factors, according to medical studies.
The type of drug can impact how long drug-induced psychosis lasts. For example, stimulants, psychedelics, and dissociative drugs are all more likely to lead to drug-induced psychosis. This includes illicit substances such as cocaine or methamphetamine (stimulants), LSD (psychedelic), or PCP and ketamine (dissociatives).
How much of the drug you take plays a role in how long the symptoms of drug-induced psychosis last, as well – the more you take, the longer you can experience the signs.
External factors such as your overall health, pre-existing mental health conditions, or a family history of psychotic disorders can cause drug-induced psychosis to last longer, too.
Treatment for Drug-Induced Psychosis
Treating drug-induced psychosis involves a few steps: detox, support, and relapse prevention. We know this can feel daunting, but with the right support, recovery is entirely possible.
While immediate treatment may involve medical care such as anti-psychotic medications, the best way to treat it permanently is to treat the root cause of drug misuse or addiction. Rehabilitation treats the addiction, as well as provides expert aftercare to prevent relapse.
Our drug and alcohol rehabilitation involves a stay at a residential treatment centre, where we’ll focus entirely on treating you for the addiction safely. Our rehab involves three steps:
Step 1: Detox
First, we focus on removing the substance from your body to build a strong foundation for a safe recovery.
The perk of a residential treatment centre is that you separate yourself from the substance, leaving behind any association your home environment has to the drug. Once there, you’ll have the full support of our expert team to guide you through detox.
Step 2: Rehabilitation
With detox complete, we can move on to the rehabilitation part of recovery, where we focus on understanding your addiction.
Here, we’ll address any existing triggers or root causes to help you see a life without addiction. We’ll also create personalised coping mechanisms for you to rely on, ensuring long-lasting control of your life.
Step 3: Aftercare & Relapse Prevention
Last but not least, we ensure you have a dedicated aftercare package to prevent relapse once you’ve left our residential facility.
We provide therapy to give you an outlet to discuss any worries, struggles, or concerns with a professional who can offer guidance. Plus, you’ll have the coping mechanisms picked up during your stay at rehab to rely on in times of need.
Stonebridge Communities Provides Dedicated Addiction Recovery Support
We know dealing with addiction can feel daunting, especially if you’ve experienced signs of drug-induced psychosis as well. Our friendly, professional, dedicated rehab is here to help.
In rehab, you’ll have a dedicated care team focused entirely on ensuring the smoothest detox process for you. But the care doesn’t stop there, as we also make aftercare an essential part of our recovery package to help build long-lasting control of addiction.
Get in touch with us today to begin your journey. You can reach us via phone on 01934 311965 or send an email to info@stonebridge.rehab. Alternatively, you can request a callback via our website. Fill out the form, and a member of our team will call you back. To learn more about the impact of drugs, such as the long-term effects of cocaine or symptoms of alcohol dependence, head over to our blog.
