I was diagnosed with schizophrenia 3 years ago at age 30. I’ve been a binge drinker since I was 15 and couldn’t get through social events without being drunk. I’ve since been on medication for schizophrenia and depression. I found that once I got my drinking under control through Alcoholics anonomous (5 months sober!) my symptoms of schizophrenia and paranoid thinking lessened. Is there anyone else in this forum in AA? Also, if you have schizophrenia and are currently drinking/using substances I highly recommend giving AA a try. I think you will be happy with the results. The program is amazing and the people you meet are even better!
Thanks! I didnt know if a forum like this existed so I decided to google it. Turns out it does. I hope to gain some insight about my mental health on here. Knowledge is power!
I’m an addict with 30 years clean. I got clean in AA until I found some CA meetings later on. Even after having some time clean I still attended AA groups. I’ve also been to many NA meetings.
What does the research say?.. alcohol/drug use can cause schizophrenia or schizophrenia is determined from birth? I read a book called surviving schizophrenia, the author didnt want to definitely say it was one or the other. What are your thoughts?
The jury is still out. I believe that people tend towards alcoholism if they are already struggling with mental illness symptoms, and then the alcohol magnifies existing problems. I don’t think perfectly healthy neurotypical people fall into addictions. Addictions are a coping behavior, and usually arise because of underlying conditions or negative experiences.
Well, My humble opinion is that alcoholism and schizophrenia are separate issues. One doesn’t cause the other.
Most people in AA meetings are surprisingly “normal” and have no mental illness. Most. So most alchoholics don’t need a mental illness to fall foul of alcohol.
Also alcohol doesn’t cause schizophrenia either. Nobody knows what causes it.
Does being schizophrenic make you more likely to hit the bottle? I don’t know. Good question.
Hey. I used glucinogenes and opiates and alcohol with amphetas and canabinol. I was in the AA program. This is a cool program. I’m 7 years sober. The disease was diagnosed 4 years ago. I am sure that my lifestyle greatly influenced the disease.
