Amphetamine psychosis: what it is, symptoms, causes and treatment

Amphetamine Psychosis Arouses Equal Interest and Concern. It is a possible side effect derived from the consumption of certain illegal drugs or certain drugs, which can completely alter the life and functioning of the person who suffers from it.

Several important unknowns unfold around it to understand its nature. How does it manifest? How long do its effects last? Is it similar to other types of psychosis? Do you have treatment? In this article we explain it to you.

• Related article: "The 8 types of Psychotic Disorders"

What is amphetamine psychosis?

Psychosis is the name given to a type of mental dysfunction that causes a break with reality in the mind of the affected person. That is, the person is not able to distinguish what only happens in his head from what happens in the real world. The awareness of illness or insight is usually absent, so that people who suffer from it also tend to suffer deep states of anguish because they do not know what is happening.

Psychosis is typical of serious mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, and the most characteristic and common symptoms are delusions and hallucinations. Nevertheless,

when we speak of amphetamine psychosis, we refer to that which appears in an apparently healthy person, after the consumption of amphetamines.

Some studies place the prevalence figures of amphetamine psychosis between 15 and 23% when associated with use recreational use, and 60% when we talk about dependent people who have been consuming amphetamines for long periods of weather.

• You may be interested in: "Amphetamines: the effects and mechanisms of action of this drug"

Risk factor's

Although the cause of the aforementioned individual differences is unknown, yes some risk factors for developing amphetamine psychosis have been identified:

• Consumption of high doses of amphetamines
• Frequent consumption
• Combined use with other drugs
• Family history of psychosis
• Schizoid or Schizotypal Personality Traits
• Presence of genes predisposing to this type of disorder

The most plausible hypothesis so far is based on the vulnerability-stress paradigm, noting that certain people would be more vulnerable to suffering psychosis and drug use (stressor) would trigger its appearance.

• Related article: "Types of stress and their triggers"

Symptoms

The delusions are confused thoughts of a paranoid, persecutory or self-referential type (the person believes that certain stimuli or impersonal messages refer to it, for example a message launched in a television commercial), among others. These thoughts are very difficult to modify, and although they are confronted with evidence that what they think is not real, they do not usually disappear.

Hallucinations are perceptual disturbances in which the person see, hear, smell, or feel stimuli that are not really present. The most common are auditory or visual, but they can also be tactile, olfactory or kinesthetic (related to bodily sensations).

Duration of its effects

The evidence to date suggests that the symptoms of amphetamine psychosis can evolve in different ways depending on the person affected, although the reasons for the differences are unknown. From people who, despite consuming large doses, never get to suffer it, through people who suffer an episode psychotic and recover later, to people who never manage to recover and coexist with psychotic episodes in a chronicle.

Treatment

Treatment for amphetamine psychosis, as for other psychoses, is based on drugs antipsychotics.

It is a treatment aimed at reducing symptomsTherefore, at the moment, there is no definitive cure for chronic cases.

Differences and similarities between amphetamine psychosis and primary psychosis

Are a primary psychosis (one that does not derive from another condition) and an amphetamine psychosis completely the same? The truth is that they seem to manifest themselves somewhat differently.

In primary psychoses, for example that suffered by a person with schizophrenia, positive symptoms and negative symptoms may occur.

We call positive symptoms to all those alterations that the person suffers and that should not be present (delusions or hallucinations are positive symptoms). On the other hand, negative symptoms are those functions that the person should be able to develop normally but not able to perform or has difficulty performing (lack of speech, lack of movement, dullness affective…).

Amphetamine psychosis seems to present mainly with positive symptoms, the most common being:

• Visual and auditory hallucinations
• Persecutory delusions
• Ideas and feelings of influence
• Thought transmission (belief that others can read your mind)

In these cases the negative symptoms are much less frequent. Further, patients with amphetamine psychosis tend to recover more quickly than those with primary psychosis.

• You may be interested in: "What is psychosis? Causes, symptoms and treatment "

Cause of amphetamine psychosis: amphetamines

Amphetamines are a type of chemical that has stimulating effects in the body and that it has been used, both legally and illegally, since the 1920s. Some of its most common effects are:

• Decreased tiredness
• Euphoria
• Sense of well-being
• Sensory disturbances
• Loquacity
• Incrise of cardiac frecuency
• Decreased fear

Being a substance that activates our Central Nervous System, all the effects derived from hyperactivation of the same are expected, both in a purely physiological way such as hypertension, as with subjective sensations derived from cognitive, perceptual and spirits.

As with other drugs, its addictive effects are due to the activation of dopamine, responsible for our sensations of pleasure. The consumption of the substance becomes a pleasant behavior that we are willing to repeat whenever it is available.

His historical tour

It is a drug with a quite controversial history, since At the beginning of its appearance in the pharmacological market, it began to be used without too many precautions for multiple therapeutic purposes and it only generated some concern when the side effects it could cause began to be seen, including amphetamine psychosis. In its therapeutic boom, amphetamines were used almost to treat anything: epilepsy, asthma, head injuries, sexual dysfunctions, depression, obesity, multiple sclerosis...

Even during World War II the armies were administered for various purposes. To the soldiers of the troops to feel more euphoric and less tired and fearful, to the workers of the war industry to make them more profitable and, finally, to the suicide pilots who crashed their planes into the ships of the enemy.

But why did amphetamines become the solution to everything? Mainly because of the type of effects it causes in the body, which can be very varied. It is a chemical substance whose structure is very similar to that of some of the neurotransmitters that our brain secretes, so it has the ability to activate various brain areas. Its mechanism of action involves dopamine, serotonin, adrenaline and norepinephrine, being extremely complex. So much so, that it is currently still being investigated to better understand its neurobiological effects.

Despite the secondary effects, which contributed to its unpopularization, today the Amphetamine continues to be used under different trade names to treat some diseases or syndromes. The pharmaceutical companies have turned their efforts to obtain substances that minimize the adverse effects and hallucinogens, increasing the beneficial ones. Even so, no substance has yet been found that does not have side effects, so its use continues to generate controversy. Currently its use is common in the treatment of attention deficit, obesity or narcolepsy (sleep disorder that causes sudden attacks of sleep and chronic fatigue).

Side effects

At the same time that amphetamines were becoming popular in medical offices, they also did so in more alternative parties. It quickly became one of the most popular drugs of abuse among young people and it drew the attention of the health authorities of several countries, who began to question its use even if it was legally and under medical prescription.

Some of the side effects that this class of psychoactive substances can cause are:

• Increased body temperature
• Tremors
• Bruxism (clenching the teeth and jaw)
• Insomnia
• Urinary retention
• Headaches
• Hormonal disturbances
• Feeling of distress or panic
• Irritability
• Disorientation
• Strange thoughts

In addition to these, among the most serious effects we would find cardiac arrhythmics, cardiovascular collapse, liver toxicity, kidney failure or amphetamine psychosis.

It has also been described that, after consumption, there are certain hangover-like effects that last a few days after. These effects can include:

• Fatigue
• Apathy
• Insomnia
• Memory loss
• Lack of sexual desire
• Depression
• Irritability
• Muscle pains

Recreational and illegal use of amphetamines

In recreational use, amphetamines can be found in different compositions and under various names.

Pure amphetamine is commonly known as speed. Dextroamphetamine (a medicine used to treat the symptoms of attention deficit disorder and used illegally) may be known by the name of dexies or kiddie-speed. Finally, methamphetamine when consumed in solid form is called crystal and, in its liquid form, speed red.

Other illegal uses that have been given to this drug, apart from the parties, has been doping sports and consumption by workers or students who want to improve their performance cognitive.

Different formats and their effects

Amphetamine can be found in several forms: pills, powder, crystals, or as a liquid. Depending on its format, it can be consumed swallowed, inhaled, injected, smoked or rubbed on mucous membranes such as the gums.

Depending on the consumption format, we will obtain effects of a certain intensity that will appear more or less quickly.. In this sense, the most intense and rapid effects are achieved injected or smoked, however they disappear shortly after consumption. When inhaled, the effects are less intense, lasting between 15 and 30 minutes. Finally, when taken orally, the effects take longer to appear but are the longest lasting.

Drug use and associated psychological problems

Other types of psychological problems have also been associated with the use of amphetamines, such as cognitive dysfunctions (memory and executive function problems) or anxiety-depressive symptoms. Likewise, other types of drugs, such as cannabis, have been associated with the appearance of similar symptoms, including psychosis.

As we can see, the consumption of these substances can have multiple effects on our body with consequences to short, medium and long term, so it is not advisable to trivialize its use, either for therapeutic or recreational.