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Tag: psychosis

  • Pot And Psychosis Go Hand-In-Hand In Teenagers

    It’s believed that psychosis is oftentimes a side effect of marijuana use. It’s considered especially prevalent in teenagers who use the drug. A recent study, however, has found that some teenagers use the drug to treat preexisting mental health conditions that fall under the psychosis moniker.

    Reuters reports that a new Dutch study looked to map the relationship between pot use and psychosis in teenagers. The study’s lead author, Merel Griffith-Lendering, equated the question to asking which came first – the chicken or the egg? In other words, do teenagers developer psychosis from smoking pot or do teenagers smoke pot to treat psychosis? The interesting find is that both were happening at the same time.

    The study surveyed over 2,000 Dutch teenagers who were aged 14, 16 and 19. The teenagers were questioned about their pot use, and then took a psychosis vulnerability test. The results found that those who smoked pot at age 16 developed psychotic tendencies by age 19. The reverse held true as those who exhibited psychotic tendencies at age 16 had started smoking pot by age 19. As is the case in most studies like this, correlation does not imply causation. The study’s authors say that genetics may play a role in the use of pot in teenagers.

    So, what do the researchers have to say about their findings? Most agree that marijuana use is not harmless, especially in the developing brains of teenagers. Griffith-Lendering says that prevention programs should take this new found information into account when approaching marijuana use in teenagers. There are better ways to treat psychosis than drugs, and those who are already smoking pot should be made aware that they are at risk of developing psychotic tendencies, such as hallucinations and schizophrenia later in life.

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  • Andrea Yates Wants to Go to Church

    Andrea Yates Wants to Go to Church

    Andrea Yates is a woman who has historically evoked emotions of sympathy and rage within the American people. After suffering postpartum depression (PD) and psychosis, the tortured soul drowned her five children in their family home in Houston, TX. The children ranged in age from 6 months to 7 years old. Her husband, Rusty, stood by her side and felt that if she had been working with a competent physician the horrific event would have never happened.

    Yates had tried to kill herself on two separate occasions before she drowned her children — one time with pills, the other with a knife. After these attempts she was sent to a psychiatric hospital where she remained for three weeks and was diagnosed with PD.

    The woman’s thoughts would race about her children and she worried how they would turn out. But she started taking two anti-depressants, Wellbutrin and Effexor, and an anti-psychotic, Haldol. Her mood improved and the Yates’ decided to have another child despite written warnings from a physician that her depression would return.

    And it did — with a vengeance. Six months after the birth of their last child, Mary, she lost her mind and committed filicide. She believed that Satan was sending her messages and says she killed her kids so that they would go to heaven.

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    On July 26, 2006, the jury found that Yates was not guilty by reason of insanity.

    Now her doctors are asking that she be allowed to leave the mental hospital where she is currently receiving treatment to attend church for two hours a week.

    According to George Parnham, her attorney, “it is a recommendation of the doctors that she be permitted to attend, and of course she wants to. It would be both beneficial and mentally therapeutic for her. She has been accepted into a congregation. It is simply a baby step in the right direction toward acclimation into a community down the road of sorts.”

    According to the Chronicle, Parnham also believes that Yates has been ready to rejoin society for years, including getting a job and living on her own and thinks she is “ready for outpatient care.”

    We reported earlier that Casey Anthony wants to be baptized and find solace in religion. Apparently the last week has been a time for fallen mothers to find their religious roots.