Drug users and mental illness

[Regenesis2]

I've been known to fall into a depression or too. Maybe I'd like to call it prolonged sadness.
Weed was good for it though until I fucked around with benzos. I kind of think that natural drugs are a better treatment for most rather than psych meds unless you really have a mental health problem. Some try to say that all drug users have some underlying mental problem but that's not necessarily true. People have methods of coping and weed was one of mine and worked wonders for me the fact that it was illegal didn't help though. Even if you are in a major depression might not indicate a brain malfunction that can be treated with meds. Life can really suck.

 

[Sweet P]

Well, I'm diagnosed with major depressive disorder and borderline personality disorder.

I find it easier to say that I'm just fucked in the head.

 

[Heroin Girl]

I'm addicted to opiates- currently on mdone and doing well, though.

I voted for -
anxiety
depression
OCD
panic disorder

 

[Faceplate]

Been bi-polar since I was about 15-16. 36 years old now. I've been experiencing ultra-rapid cycling for about 10 years...I average about 4-5 hardcore mood swings a week, even with meds. Nothing has really ever helped me except blazing...in all honesty. It helps to slow the ridiculous amount of racing thoughts that scream through my head every minute of every day. Trying to go to sleep is just pure agony...I can't shut my goddamn brain off. It's one the reasons I listen to abrasive, scathing heavy metal when I lay down to try to sleep, to overpower the all the noise in my head.

 

[Faceplate]

I used to drink a shitload of kava root. Kinda like a mild benzo. Makes ur
mouth numb.

I drink it too. I prepare it the traditional way using the root. Definitely does make the mouth numb. Tastes like shit too if you don't sweeten it with honey or sugar. It also will make you constipated in high doses. It's not a bad way to chill tho, especially if you can find some good root.

 

[Tunnelfission]

ADHD, i'm very glad I was only just diagnosed and never "treated" for it with ritalin or speed...erp I mean dexadrine

did some weird things to a friend of mine growing up on speed...erp...dexadrine.

 

[TheLostBoys]

Have a friend that is 31 & has bi-polar. He doesnt take his meds alot of times but he takes alot of drugs to party on. He gets highly paranoid. One day he was doing cocaine & was telling everyone to get away from the windows, that someone is outside the house looking for him which of course no one was.

About 2 years ago, he was really paranoid while driving & he stopped his car in the middle of the street, got out with an ax & started to wale on the cars windshield that was behind his car. It was a teenager driving the car behind him & my friend thought he was following him. My friends dad explained to the police that his son is bi-polar & he only had to pay a fine & the police said they would give him a break that time but next time he was going to jail.

My friend is really cool & fun to hang out with when he takes his meds as instructed but when he doesnt & he starts the coke binging &/or other drugs mixed in, he gets crazy & paranoid.

 

[TheLostBoys]

Well, I'm diagnosed with major depressive disorder and borderline personality disorder.

I find it easier to say that I'm just fucked in the head.

I know what major depression is because I use to see a girl at college that was diagnosed with it. How do drugs effect your borderline personality disorder? I mean, when on certain drugs, do you become someone else?

 

[Sweet P]

^ Borderline personality disorder doesn't mean you have a split personality or "become someone else". Sounds like you're mistaking it for dissociative identity disorder (also known as multiple personality disorder). Here's the definition of BPD according to the DSM-IV:

A pervasive pattern of instability of interpersonal relationships, self-image and affects, as well as marked impulsivity, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of the following:

1. Frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment. Note: Do not include suicidal or self-injuring behavior covered in Criterion 5.

2. A pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships characterized by alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation.

3. Identity disturbance: markedly and persistently unstable self-image or sense of self.

4. Impulsivity in at least two areas that are potentially self-damaging (e.g., promiscuous sex, eating disorders, binge eating, substance abuse, reckless driving). Note: Do not include suicidal or self-injuring behavior covered in Criterion 5.

5. Recurrent suicidal behavior, gestures, threats or self-injuring behavior such as cutting, interfering with the healing of scars (excoriation) or picking at oneself.

6. Affective instability due to a marked reactivity of mood (e.g., intense episodic dysphoria, irritability or anxiety usually lasting a few hours and only rarely more than a few days).

7. Chronic feelings of emptiness.

8. Inappropriate anger or difficulty controlling anger (e.g., frequent displays of temper, constant anger, recurrent physical fights).

9. Transient, stress-related paranoid ideation, delusions or severe dissociative symptoms.

My drug of choice, methamphetamine, does tend to worsen these symptoms when I use larger quantities than I usually do.

 

[TheLostBoys]

it seems to me many drugs mimic mental illness in the user..
sometimes exacerbating possible mental problems in them..
some of us live for that. i love acid because i'm so manic..
it makes me microanalyze the universe, myself, the wall..weed makes me
skitzo n i like it..my highs are very psychedelic with a hint of delusion..colors
change, objects morph, music feels visible, designs crawl, ears ring..good shit.
only pharms have given me bad trips and some noticeable damage..
all those benzos, anti-depressants, and anti-psychotics i've tried
fuck me up hella bad..took prozac for 2 days, still felt paranoid i'd
lost my sanity..stayed up many days and didn't sleep well for a few
weeks..brain zaps suck..tripped out badly on zyprexa..i still get these weird hot flashes..
like my heart will start going and going and it kinda hurts..scares
me sometimes..anyway i might try meds again soon but i'm afraid to.
i've yet to see any lasting positive results from the shit. all is
good in insanity..no rules and no worries.

I'm bipolar II with schizotypal personality disorder, anxiety (sometimes to the point i can't talk), and dyslexia (learning disorder). I have a job (music teacher) but it's easy as hell...i pretty much
rely on music to support myself..genius level iq but when it comes to the
world and responsibilities my iq is out the window. financially not doing too
well and staying with my dad (splitting cost on things, but it still sucks)..well
he buys me weed and we party with strippers..not so bad for now..but it's
hard to bring chicks over sometimes and i can't feel good about myself..i go
through periods of being independent and semi-independent..life is one
crazy rollercoaster eh. i thought about trying for disability but i'm not
optimistic about waiting that long.

yes i'm insanity's king. i'm actually sober too. i drank a lot last night n feelin majorly manic today. i feel awesome.

SSRI's are made to mask your depression & pretty much make you into a zombie. They destroy many lives but they do help others, so were told.

 

[Sweet P]

SSRI's are made to mask your depression & pretty much make you into a zombie. They destroy many lives but they do help others, so were told.

I don't know about that. SSRI's don't just mask depression. They work by making more serotonin (a chemical that affects our mood, among other things) available in the brain. It's never made me a zombie, and I haven't heard anyone else on SSRI's complain of that either. And how do they destroy lives? Just a suggestion... try verifying a claim first (even just on Wikipedia) before posting it.

 

[Captain.Heroin]

ADHD, and what is probably post traumatic stress.

I don't know about that. SSRI's don't just mask depression. They work by making more serotonin (a chemical that affects our mood, among other things) available in the brain. It's never made me a zombie, and I haven't heard anyone else on SSRI's complain of that either. And how do they destroy lives? Just a suggestion... try verifying a claim first (even just on Wikipedia) before posting it.

SSRI's increase suicidal ideation for many people. I had a friend who lost his best friend from high school due to suicide, and he was on an SSRI at the time. It's a lot more common than pharmaceutical companies care to admit.

There is also a very unpleasant SSRI discontinuation syndrome.

However I am sure you aware of both of these things, so I just felt like pointing it out.

 

[Sweet P]

^ Yup, I know about those side-effects... I've experienced the joys of discontinuation syndrome myself! I was just questioning what TheLostBoys said about SSRI's turning people into zombies and destroying lives (although yeah, suicidal ideation definitely has the potential for that!)

 

[erock83]

It's been VERY well established that high doses of SSRI can cause some degree of lethargy which can definitely make you feel like a zombie. I know that feeling all too well and I've tried just about every SSRI/NI out there. The efficacy and side effects are different for every person. I've also cold turkey-ed a 120mg a day cymbalta dosage. Luckily I had enough 2mg klonipins to dull the electrical zaps. Discontinuation basically feels like a benzo w/d but you know that you won't seize which provides some peace of mind.

Anyhow, the main action of an SSRI is not to MAKE serotonin, it prevents the serotonin receptors in your brain from releasing and absorbing too much of the chemical. They basically just level the chems out. Just think of it as the opposite of MDMA or something similar which just releases a torrent of serotonin and dopamine for a short time but causing that horrendous crash 12 hours after use. UGH!

Oh yeah, been diagnosed with ADHD, dysthymia, GAD, panic disorder and insomnia. All the good ones!

 

[SideOrderOfOpiates]

Like many of you, I am also dual diagnosed. I have "severe" post-traumatic stress disorder, panic disorder, and "moderate" major depressive disorder. I have found a massive correlation between my mental struggles and my drug use.

 

[wooger]

I was very tempted to leave the panic disorder out, as I haven't had a panic attack in some time (they used to be nearly every couple of days) but the seem to have disappiated.

Whether or not this has much to do with me abusing benzos or not, but it prolly does, to some degree at least.

Though my anxiety/depression was improving quite well after being put on mirtazapine but I just couldnt handle the constant sugar cravings it gave me so I stopped taking it around a week and a bit ago, but I still use it as a sleep aid on occassion and it seems to be fairly effected for that.

I am supposed to have a consultantion with my 'case manager guy' in a few days but I doubt I will go, the treatment ive got so far seems to be prettty crappy and I doubt I have many other options. I might just email him and say thanks for the efford youve made for me but it really isnt working and just leave it at that.

Tho I do seem to be going through a really bad alcohol relapse right now (does 'alcoholism' count as a mental illness - I fucking hate the tern alcoholism! *scary face*

 

[Gormur]

After years of therapy+diagnostic-testing -- early (aged 5-eight) therapy for dyspraxia w/dyslexia. later years (approx aged 22-26): written+mental exercises; AD(H)D testing, DSM & 4 other tests i don't recall by name without looking at my paperwork (ink blot, visual/spatial test, color tests et al)

Diagnosed with...

a) ADD+LD (learning-disability)
b) Social Anxiety Disorder
c) Clinical depression
d) Bipolar I
e) Borderline Personality Disorder
f) Schizotypal Personality Disorder

Now i'm pretty sure some of these overlap in the DSM and i wasn't diagnosed Bipolar I under the DSM, altho i am prone to mania - not only drug-induced but even from refined sugar, caffeine and gluten (which i don't consume anymore, as i'm celiac)

No mystery about the learning problems.. I used to walk into walls, write backwards, day-dream, mishearing words/sentences (auditory processing problem), still can't follow oral instructions -> write it down sequentially tho, then i get it. i just need step-by-step My dad and his brother have dyslexia w/out dyspraxia. Apparently there's a genetic component to it

- As for the ADD, it's hard to say whether it's merely an extension of the LD or a comorbidity.. AD(H)D isn't well-defined yet tho, so no need to speculate.. I just find all these proposed connections really interesting; especially regarding autism-aspergers and LDs..

As a kid (& now), spending most of my childhood by myself, collecting stamps, cleaning the house spotless, organizing my room (for fun), teaching myself piano and drums... i have a one-track mind. To realize that there's a name for this behavior now (Aspergers) is fascinating to me.. And altho it's little more than a label atm, the ongoing research seems promising - I guess my ultimate hope is that we'll start seeing more similarities (rather than disparities) between these conditions, leading us to better understanding/treatment-options... as long as independent research continues, eh

 

[paranoid android]

SSRI's are made to mask your depression & pretty much make you into a zombie. They destroy many lives but they do help others, so were told.

Some people find certain SSRI's to work great for them and be lifesavers. I don't get the whole masking depression bit because many people get depressed for no reason in the first place which points to a chemical imbalance which can maybe he helped with medications. They can cause suicidal thoughts and idealations but they also help some people as well. They are overprescribed in my opinion but they do help certain people.

I can't really touch any serotonic anti-depressants because they tend to make me really manic. Ive taken effexor which is a SNRI but i havent taken any SSRI's at all and probably never will now. The effexor made me complely crazy but i was not yet diagnosed bipolar so the doc didnt think it would trigger manic behaviour. Thankfully bupropion which is a dopamine norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor works the best as a anti-depressant for me. It's the only one that actually brightens my mood when im suffering from a major depressive episode. It does not trigger mania at all in me either which is a big plus.

 

[Gormur]

Though my anxiety/depression was improving quite well after being put on mirtazapine but I just couldnt handle the constant sugar cravings it gave me so I stopped taking it around a week and a bit ago, but I still use it as a sleep aid on occassion and it seems to be fairly effected for that.

I'm convinced of a connection between insulin release and mood. Before i knew i was celiac, i craved sugar 24-7.. It was to the point that i would eat, eat, eat.. never feel full but always starving. I was diagnosed with chronic fatigue & fibromyalgia (constant back pain, weakness, stiff muscles) and was put on cymbalta, which only made me worse.. Eventually i figured out (doing my own research) i had candida overgrowth and did everything to get rid of it... including balancing out my electrolytes

Tho I do seem to be going through a really bad alcohol relapse right now (does 'alcoholism' count as a mental illness - I fucking hate the tern alcoholism! *scary face*

Again, i used to crave alcohol, grains and sugar.. I became dizzy and faint if i didn't get my fix for the day. I'm not saying this is the case for everyone who craves alcohol, but it seems strange to me that so many people seem to crave grains and sugar.. so many people have blood pressure, weight, and mood disorders

Now that i've cut out refined sugar, grains, alcohol and started to drink lots of water everyday.. most of those issues i once had have disappeared, which to me, is more than a coincidence

Even assuming most people can tolerate gluten or refined sugar, looking at their everyday diet, it's a wonder how they could feel good/healthy at all

*End of rant*

 

[silvercrimson]

b
f
g- schizophrenia undifferentiated