Am I predisposed?

[Ediblespread]

Hey everyone! This is my first post on Bluelight.

I have recently quit smoking weed for two reasons:

I need to put more time and focus into my music and practice for my university audition

I'm not enjoying the long term side effects such as anxiety and paranoia. While only mild, these side effects bother me enough to quit.

I have taken MDMA four times and ketamine once.

Recently I discovered that my long deceased uncle had suffered from schizophrenia and eventually committed suicide. According to my Mum the cause of the illness was extreme stress (he was studying engineering at university despite wanting to do something else, most likely in fear of displeasing his father) and smoking marijuana. Apparently he always thought people were after him and at one point locked himself in his room and starved himself until he was skeletal in appearance before eventually taking his own life.

As far as I know this is the only case of schizophrenia in my recent family. Obviously I am worried that any further drug use would be putting me at risk of triggering the same illness.

Despite this knowledge I would very much like to continue taking MDMA occasionally (two to four times a year) and I am interested in trying magic mushrooms and possibly DMT at some point. I wouldn't mind experimenting with acid either, although it scares me a little.

What I want to know is do I have anything to worry about if I use these drugs on occasion? I'm sensible when it comes to substances and don't have an addictive personality at all. Could taking psychedelics possibly tip me over the edge and bring hidden mental illness to the surface? In the past I have smoked a lot of very strong weed and experienced nothing too serious. At times I tend to worry so much about things (even worrying that I worry too much) that I end up in tears. This happens very rarely and I think that could just be me and not a side effect from smoking. Looking back on these times I realise how ridiculous I was being.

What do you think?

 

[Allein]

Hi Ediblespread and welcome to BL

It's not really possible to tell you if your predisposed to mental illness, I think we should all work on the basis that, as humans we are all predisposed to it. Mental illness is very common affecting as many as 1 in 4 people. There may well be a genetic component to some forms of mental illness just as there is for numerous other diseases, cancer for example.

As far as psychedelics triggering underlying mental conditions, I would have to say that is always a possibility and something that I have witnessed myself, it's far from limited to psychedelics though. From my experience stimulants are just as likely to aggravate mental illness and alcohol isn't that great either.

It's your call no one is going to be able to give you a cast iron guarantee that you won;t become ill at some point in your life, but try not to worry so much

 

[deficiT]

Yeah like he said most drugs can exacerbate mental illness or bring it to the surface. If I were you, I would keep sober off weed for awhile and see how you feel. Having a family history of it doesn't mean you're predisposed, but anything is possible. The big problem is you can't psyche yourself into thinking your crazy, you just gotta accept how you are and like atm23 said don't worry so much.

 

[effie]

Hi there, welcome to BL and I'm very sorry to hear about your uncle and the worry you are currently experiencing You're opening a pretty big can of worms with that question I have to say.. I'll dig out some studies when I have a bit more time, but current knowledge is far from complete and there aren't definitive answers to your questions I'm afraid.

It is clear that some drugs (such as cannabis or amphetamines) do seem to bring out psychiatric conditions (especially psychosis or schizophrenia-related illness) and the theory is that the individuals were more susceptible in the first place, and may not have developed the illness without the drug trigger - but this is currently being challenged from a few angles. It's not at all certain that psychosis is definitely on a continuum like depression and anxiety seem to be, with degrees of susceptibility, and it's not clear if these people would have developed psychosis without the drug or not. It may be the case, though, we just don't know..

There is also a question about the genetics of schizophrenia. While having a close relative does seem to predispose people and rates are higher in people with a schizophrenic sibling or parent, it's not as clear cut as that at all and it's really not certain if having a relative with the condition would mean that the individual is more at risk from environmental triggers or not. Studies have found that the risk decreases as the relative becomes more distant, and an uncle wouldn't be considered a strong predictor either.

I would agree that psychedelics could destabilise someone who is vulnerable - again not sure if they could trigger schizophrenia exactly, but they certainy could be harmful for someone with mental illness and the stress of a bad trip might not be good either. MDMA I have no idea about but overall again I would advise someone with mental illness or precarious mental state for whatever reason to stay away. It's really up to you if it's worth the risk or not. Would I say it is likely using those drugs could trigger schizophrenia? No. However, as I said, our current knowledge is very incomplete and I would worry about a bad trip putting you in a vulnerable state of mind which could be potentially harmful, especially given your propensity for worrying.. avoiding mind-altering substances, especially powerful hallucinogens, could be wise.

I'd also add that we're not a medical forum and aren't experts here at all, and if you are worried about schizophrenia then I would speak to your doctor.. but try not to worry about it too much

 

[Ediblespread]

Thanks so much for you help and insight everyone

 

[Disraeli_Beers]

I too have many schizophrenic relatives in my mothers side. 3 (of 7) uncles and a cousin. One committed suicide, one is not functional at all and one is functional while on meds. 2 of these unles were using marijuana and/or LSD in their early 20s when it kicked in.

I grew up with my mom saying if I did drugs I'd go crazy. I eventually went thru a marijuana and psychedelic stage (pretty heavy use) and noticed that I was probably more prone to 'bad vibes' whilst tripping, some of which led to borderline psychotic delusions and/or behavior.

I don't know if it was my predisposition, the fact that I was told I'd go nuts of psychedelics or what. I'm currently 21 finishing up college and generally doing pretty well. I've also cut down my drug consumption drastically.

From my research I've found there is definitely a generic link with schizophrenia, and its primary onset time is 18-25, also most common in makes.

The question I ask myself is; "do I want to play Russian roulette with my mind?"

Personally, no. But occassioanally I do anyways lol