I am sure you have heard or read the recent Harvard study between marijuana use and sz (if you haven’t, search Harvard study and schizophrenia). In a nutshell, the findings of the study report that marijuana does not cause sz. Personally, the news provided relief for me. I have always felt a great deal of guilt and shame that my action (pot smoking) caused or created the illness I now have. The self loathing has lifted quite a bit and I now feel more accepting of my illness. It is interesting how a bit of information can change how you look at life.
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I was crumbling back when I was 5. It started long before I was able to even smoke pot. But pot did shoot my paranoia through the roof. So the findings to this specific study don’t effect me personally.
But I have some family at high risk and I do not want them thinking that they are free and clear for smoking pot.
If you feel medical marijuana is helping you manage your symptoms, then more power to you.
well i did research too, and marijuana can trigger a psychosis in people who have a predispostion to psychosis, weed increases the risk of developing mental predictuments, is the risk worth it?
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I got immediately worse after smoking weed. I won’t be doing it again no matter what a study says.
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I never had the peer group pressure to try things like cannabis due to not being part of a circle of friends.
My brother on the other hand used cannabis and other things besides. Although he’s not dxed with a mental illness over the years there was a definite increase in paranoia. Since he’s cut down the paranoia has lessened.
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Drugs don’t cause schizophrenia, but they may trigger the symptoms to come out fully. In my case it was an hallucinogenic - first year of college, decades ago. I showed signs of MI as a child, but it became full blown after the drug use. Bottom line - you are playing Russian roulette when it comes to certain drugs.
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drugs dont cause schizophrenia (or every stoner or lsd user would be on this forum, lol), but they can and do often trigger it in people with a genetic predisposition for it. I am studying psychology and I’ve actually written a couple of my term papers on this, and that’s the verdict in the psychiatric community so far- it doesnt cause, it triggers.
I learned of my family history of schizophrenia AFTER I had been psychotic for over a year. At a family gathering, my mom talked to relatives from out of town who knew the family tree pretty well, and there were a few mentally ill family members who just got hushed away. I actually have a second cousin or something, a distant relative who is schizophrenic and living on her own right now. I also had some great aunts who were mentally ill, but the family didnt bother to let anyone know, they just acted like they were normal and kept them out of sight. Pretty messed up if you ask me. But that was before the atypical antipsychotics, so i guess having them live at home all day was the best thing for them.
Speaking from personal experience, using weed in my first year of university definitely triggered my first psychotic episode.
Other members of my family smoke copious amounts of cannabis without ill effect. Unfortunately, it brings out the worst in me, and I wouldn’t go near the stuff again.
I used to think that i did it to myself as well, i tried a small amount of drugs when younger, but i was hearing voices all the way in third grade.
My study reveals that one can only be a schizophrenic on drugs and not a schizophrenic caused by drugs.
Weed makes me paranoia, and exacerbates my racing thought, i will never use it anymore, if i want to feel good i will just drink couple of shots.
Whether marijuana causes sz I’ll leave for another post. I just found the study results to be uplifting. It is as if someone told me ‘it’s not your fault.’ I have self-loathed for the better part of ten years and have never fully accepted sz. The findings were freeing.
I doubt that weed causes schizophrenia almost 80 percent of the time. It can make someone experience worsened symptoms, but it can’t cause it. Substance abuse can lead to psychosis, however, (like withdrawal from hard drugs) weed is not something that’s as addictive as other things. I’ve never craved weed or “needed it.” People with depression and or who self-medicate with other drugs can make themselves worse that way. Typically those who have a serious marijuana problem are on other drugs, or have underlying issues that marijuana didn’t cause.
I know for a fact that marijuana did not cause my illness because I’d never drank, smoked ciggs, or anything before I noticed my symptoms.
It’s all Bill and Ben’s fault.
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It didn’t. I have never used drugs to change how I feel unless you count alcohol or cigarettes.
Weed exacerbated the symptoms in me. I would be very careful if you choose substances.
dark sith lights up the biggest joint the world has ever seen , making up for all the years he missed out !
take care
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weed exacerbated my symptoms too.
i gotta try stay away from weed. cuz of that.
weed ALSO i believe dissociation in me. or brought it out fully.
i get dissociation feelings practically every second of my life now ever since i took my 1st hit of weed at 15.
theres a movie called Numb with matthew perry in it and ever since he smoked weed he had permanent dissociation. where things dont seem real and you feel numb.
It was because of my Dx and all those Rx’s that did not work (in 3 years of trying) that I found better relief in self medication.
No history of drug use before in my life.