Drugs or mental illness?!
Question: This person has admitted to using speed & mdma.
Symptoms are : speaking very fast, anxious, false past memory, lots of swearing, claims to have had a breakdown, change in personality, telling lies, claims memory loss, cut off from family, stopped study & working etc aged btw 24-26 female.
Not sure how to help this person or even if I should try to, but I want to help. Any suggestions or experience greatly appreciated.
Answers: This person has admitted to using speed & mdma.
Symptoms are : speaking very fast, anxious, false past memory, lots of swearing, claims to have had a breakdown, change in personality, telling lies, claims memory loss, cut off from family, stopped study & working etc aged btw 24-26 female.
Not sure how to help this person or even if I should try to, but I want to help. Any suggestions or experience greatly appreciated.
Having worked in the mental health/drug rehabilitation field for a few years, I firmly believe that mental illness is often a direct result of drug use. I suffer from depression but had no history of it until I started using drugs. I experienced all of the symptoms you mentioned, with the exception of false past memory and a breakdown. I also firmly believe that you will not be able to help this person until she decides to help herself. I got away from it, and now lead a clean and productive life, but not everyone can do that. I wouldn't have been able to do this without the support of my family and what few straight friends I had. Try to be there for her and DON'T BE JUDGMENTAL. Good luck.
A lot of ppl with mental illnesses self-medicate. Since you mentioned lies, I'm thinking maybe drugs and personality disorder. It's a swag. Convince her to see a doc or therapist if you really want to help.
Get this person off the drugs and you will see a completely different person. Expect mood swings and extreme agitation the first few weeks.
This person needs to be hospitalized right away. She needs Mental Health Care. If she won't go, I'm not sure where you live, but here, you can get an order from the police and have them placed under arrest and taken to the nearest locked unit for supervision and care.
I think psa1002 has hit the nail on the head. She needs intervention and from a professional in an institution. They have to break the cycle by taking her away from the drugs and working with her to re-establish a new baseline.