Health - Concerned a friend has Mental Health problems related to LSD: Please Help!

[mivmivkoo]

Ok, so a friend of mine recently started using within the past two months. He seemed ok up until this weekend. I now believe though he is in serious danger. The first warning sign started when he called me last Sunday telling me that he snorted aderol and had an acid flashback inwhich he was able to become one with God. He then proceeded to tell me henew the meaning of life which was somewhat coherent and understandable butodd. I just sort of passed it off and went back to my school work for theweek. Then upon visiting his house yesterday I found him sitting on thebumper of a car wearing glasses. Upon asking why he had them on he said"so he can see the good" he then proceeded to tell me I was "bad fortripping on acid last night very bad, for I was the archangel Michael".Not knowing what he was talking about I eventually got the story he tookextascy friday and had needed to be taken to the hospital. As the dayprogressed he seemed extremely distant talking about "truths" he haddiscovered. I thought by the time I left at 4:30 he was snapping out of ithowever upon taking him to a movie I became much more concerned. Hebegan seeing in every event, thing, and man, ie an escalator not workingas a sign from God. Very agressively relating everything to good and evil.In the movie when I laughed at a scene he louded shouted "hardy har har,so funny" when I asked what his problem was he got very agressive saying "he would censor every fucking movie I ever fucking saw again". When I thengot up to use the rest room he came and went into a stall. When I asked ifhe was peeing he said "No I am testing you". The night eventually endedand I left him at his house, myself very shaken. I then thought it had worn offwhen he called me at 12:00 am to say he knows what he sounded like.However he then called me today asking "can you hang out?" I told him "no, I cant". He then paused and said "can (my first name) (last name) hangout". Itold him "no again and that I had to go." I then returned home last night tofind a message on my computer stating;

His Sn: thanks bro

His sn: thanks brother

His sn: u told me the secret to the universe was mush i should have
said but the secrets of the world are not yours to shair

Ok, so will he ever snap out of it? It's been two days now. The
odd thing is he took Ex on friday, not acid, but I was researching
online and this type of thing only seems to happen with acid. So
maybe the Ex snapped something in his head? Anybody who has heard
of this or seen this before please let me know. Thanks!

Reputation Comments on this post:

important once in a while to give users a real life example of the potential dangers

[Abrad]

It is possible that he had a pre-existing psycholgical problem which has been brought to the surface. Any psychedelic can do this, not just LSD. You should try to get him to go see a doctor ASAP.

[Herbal Remedy]

When SWiHR meets individuals showing similar characteristics to what youve desrcibed about your friend, its hard for SWiHR to not say, "that kids done too much acid". Its not uncommon for people to become more "philosophical" or "exestential" after trying psychadelics, but what youve described seems far beyond the two. Your friend sounds like he may still be in some kind of altered state of consciousness, which isnt unheard of, even days later. SWiHR knows it will be hard, and may cause some tension between you two, but you really need to urge your friend to take a good amount of time off of any of these drugs. What you describe does sound scary, and borderline to some kind of psychological or medical problem.

While SWiHR does not like the whole topic of "acid making people go crazy" it is not something to dismiss. If your friend is going through something, it is possible that he may go too far, not be able to get back to "normal", become dangerous to himself, his family, or to you. Hopefully its just a really strong "afterglow" that has taken its time to loosen its grip, but SWiHR suggests your friend visits a doctor, especially if the next day or 2 doesnt show significant signs of improvement.

Also, from how youve described your friend, He sounds like he may have a drug abuse issue... While Acid is not an addicting substance like cocaine n such, it still should not be abused, overused, or misused. It should be taken just as seriously, as well as the possible consequences. And considering your friend had to go to the Hospital for the E, it sounds like all the proof you need (as a friend) is already out there...

SWiHR shares in your concerns, and remember to be strong... while your friend may not act like it, its his life at stake and you might be the only one clear minded enough to realize that. peace...

[Nature Boy]

Maybe he didn't take LSD or XTC. You say he took ecstasy on Friday, do you know this for sure? There could have been anything in that pill, research chemicals possibly in much too high a dose.

[Micklemouse]

It really doesn't matter what he took. What matters is that the boy would appear to be psychotic, needs to get some help, and his friend is understandably freaking the fuck out. Having said that, the first signs were after taking adderal, right? Do you know if this is a regular thing or a one off? Either way amphetamines are the one substance known to directly cause a true psychosis, and could certainly bring any underlying issues that your friend has to the fore - whether as you say, something just snapped, or whether he has been living with these obscure thoughts for some time and been able to cope with them and get on with his life.

Mivmivkoo - what you need to be now is a good friend to this guy, and try to be honest with him about your concerns. Tell him that you were freaked out by his behaviour and are honestly worried about him. He may deny that anything is wrong, but it sounds like he has some insight at the moment - always a good thing in these situations, at least as far as getting help and sorting things out goes. Has anyone else noticed him behaving oddly? Talk to mutual friends and get some sort of idea of how they feel about him - it may be that they've noticed things were amiss, but not connected it to anything. You need to get some sort of picture of what's been going outside of your immediate friendship. People also need to know not to be offering drugs to, or taking drugs around this guy. The last thing he or anyone wants is a major psychotic episode in the middle of a session!

Most importantly however your freind is going to need some sort of psychiatric intervention I'm afraid. If it had only lasted a few days, maybe not, but it's been over a week now since his behaviour started becoming erratic, and although he may have days when everything seems ok, the longer he goes without help, the longer it's going to take to get your friend back, which believe me you will.

It's going to be a tough few months ahead, and will certainly test your friendship - he'll be realy pissed off if he has to go into hospital, and at whoever is instrumental in getting there. He will however get over it. It may take a while, but he will. Also, you and your circle need to do some reseach on psychosis - symptoms, treatment, prognosis - as well as maybe looking into support networks both for him and yourselves.

Best of luck mate - if there's anything I can do to help, ask here or pm me.

P.S. Without being too specific, where in the world are you?

Reputation Comments on this post:

Very good, logical, helpful post, that shows compassion! :D

[fatal]

swim has seen the same situation of adderall triggering an "acid flashback" and then strange behavior following. it should hopefully not last long if his experience serves. however consider that from what swim has seen this is a very extreme event and that your friend might not be all ok from it. like has been said already... watch and wait... if it becomes necessary get this individual the help they may need

[mivmivkoo]

ok, some good news I suppose. I called him tonight from an orioles game (I'm from Baltimore, MD in the USA whoever was wondering) and he answered very coherently. I asked how he was doing and he said "ok". I asked about what he was saying at the movie and he said " I don't really remember". When I told him he was like "nah man, no more" and then said " yea I still feel a bit out of it". I then asked if was still up for smoking pot and cigs as a test to which he said "no dude, I'm done". I said good and then said goodbye. He seems much better although a bit out of it. I couldnt really read his body language which as an acting major I know is very important to see but he sounded ok at least. Is it possible this is a good day or is he mosty likely snapping out of it?

[Abrad]

Sounds like he maybe took a long acting amphetamine based psychedelic such as DOI or DOB.

[Micklemouse]

Originally Posted by mivmivkoo

ok, some good news I suppose. I called him tonight from an orioles game (I'm from Baltimore, MD in the USA whoever was wondering) and he answered very coherently. I asked how he was doing and he said "ok". I asked about what he was saying at the movie and he said " I don't really remember". When I told him he was like "nah man, no more" and then said " yea I still feel a bit out of it". I then asked if was still up for smoking pot and cigs as a test to which he said "no dude, I'm done". I said good and then said goodbye. He seems much better although a bit out of it. I couldnt really read his body language which as an acting major I know is very important to see but he sounded ok at least. Is it possible this is a good day or is he mosty likely snapping out of it?

Could be either, but as you say good news, and something of a relief I'll wager! Now would be a good time to meet up with him face-to-face, talk about what happened, and maybe talk about where he wants to go next with this - be gentle with him though; he may well be a bit wobbly for a while yet!. It's certainly possible that with a prolonged period of abstinence your friend will pull through this. It's also possible that having happened once, it may happen again, with or without recreational use. A lot will depend on how long this has been actually going on for - if the incident after the adderal was the first time your friend has suffered from such thoughts and feelings, then the chances of it being a one off, treatable by abstinence, are higher. If this has actually been ticking away under the surface for a while, but up till now copable with and un-obtrusive, then the need to speak to a doctor becomes higher. Whichever, your friend'll need his mates at the moment, as he'll probably be in a bit of a state of shock - he'll need to know that you're concerned, but also that you're still his mate, & still up for hanging out with him. He'll also need to know that there are people around him that he can talk to.

Hope all turns out ok.

[mivmivkoo]

Ok so here's the latest: Apparently after talking to him monday and posting that he was a bit better he really wasn't. I just talked to his brother who said he went to Sheppard Pratt, a psychology hospital here in Maryland. He was admitted on tuesday and will be there for 3 more days - 2 weeks. His brother says he is doing ok and is being treated for extreme anxiety and paranoia that "someone" is out to get him. I'm really depressed at all this. I'm away a college except for weekends when I would usually see him, and I would always tell him to stop with the hard stuff. He obviously didn't listen but I still feel extreme guilt. I guess time will only tell what happens to him now, and I would just like to let this a be a warning. Do what you will, but know the risks are real. Thanks to all who posted.

[Nagognog2]

Could i ask the age of this person? It might help me get some better perspective of which rabbit-hole was fallen into. It does happen, you are right. And psychedelics are the wrong choice for some who have certain issues going on. But please do say the age. It might help another avoid this sort of short-term mess. And it will be short-term: The vast majority of psychotic reactions to psychedelics will disappear after a few weeks or a month or two. Often less.

[mivmivkoo]

The age of my friend 16.

[Nagognog2]

Thank you. I'll get back to you soon in a PM.