Smoking may have made my brother bi-polar!!

[GhostFace2K]

Ok, so this happened a while ago, but i'm starting to suspect this from a lot of people on this forum... about 2 years ago my brother went completely NUTS, and was doing all kinds of crazy shit. He was eventually arrested and institutionalized for a short time while they put him on lithium and some anti-psychotic. He literally thought he was Jesus and had these manic depressent phases (exact opposite of being depressed) and then he would slip into a depressed phase. He switched moods very often, and was pretty damn crazy (thought he was the Messiah, thought he could not be hurt etc..) so anyway... the psychologist (psychiatrist?) told him that there was a high probability that his heavy usage of marijuana may have caused his bipolar disorder. They said the prolonged use of marijuana effected a delicate balance of chemicals in his brain and eventually made him bi-polar due to the imbalance. My question is, how many of you are or know somebody that is bi-polar (or some kind of mental disorder) and smoked a lot of weed prior to this?

GhostFace2K Reviewed by GhostFace2K on 05-02-2006. Smoking may have made my brother bi-polar!! Ok, so this happened a while ago, but i'm starting to suspect this from a lot of people on this forum... about 2 years ago my brother went completely NUTS, and was doing all kinds of crazy shit. He was eventually arrested and institutionalized for a short time while they put him on lithium and some anti-psychotic. He literally thought he was Jesus and had these manic depressent phases (exact opposite of being depressed) and then he would slip into a depressed phase. He switched moods very Rating: 5

[LIP]

I havnt been sober for 3 years and im fine...

[friendowl]

im pretty sure i got that
never been to a doctor though

[Reefer Rogue]

Ok, so this happened a while ago, but i'm starting to suspect this from a lot of people on this forum... about 2 years ago my brother went completely NUTS, and was doing all kinds of crazy shit. He was eventually arrested and institutionalized for a short time while they put him on lithium and some anti-psychotic. He literally thought he was Jesus and had these manic depressent phases (exact opposite of being depressed) and then he would slip into a depressed phase. He switched moods very often, and was pretty damn crazy (thought he was the Messiah, thought he could not be hurt etc..) so anyway... the psychologist (psychiatrist?) told him that there was a high probability that his heavy usage of marijuana may have caused his bipolar disorder. They said the prolonged use of marijuana effected a delicate balance of chemicals in his brain and eventually made him bi-polar due to the imbalance. My question is, how many of you are or know somebody that is bi-polar (or some kind of mental disorder) and smoked a lot of weed prior to this?

Sounds like the weed to me

[Big Calhoun]

Well, I start out with I've been smoking for 10+ years and am no where near bi-polar or any other medical condition. I have a short temper and am moody, but I was born that way.

On the flipside, my brother has something going on, not quite sure what it is or what meds the doctors have him on. But basically, before he left for college, everything was fine. While there, he started smoking. Now, he went to college in Kansas and we were in New Jersey; according to him, all he smoked was weed. But he came back one semester and was wierd. I mean, he would just start talking out of nowhere or laugh to himself for no reason. Ended up he tried to kill himself and that's when my mother started aggresively seeking help for him. It's been years and he's on meds, but he's almost back to 'normal'. But the question remains was it the weed that brought it on, did he get hold of bad shit, or was it some other factor.

[GhostFace2K]

Well, I start out with I've been smoking for 10+ years and am no where near bi-polar or any other medical condition. I have a short temper and am moody, but I was born that way.

On the flipside, my brother has something going on, not quite sure what it is or what meds the doctors have him on. But basically, before he left for college, everything was fine. While there, he started smoking. Now, he went to college in Kansas and we were in New Jersey; according to him, all he smoked was weed. But he came back one semester and was wierd. I mean, he would just start talking out of nowhere or laugh to himself for no reason. Ended up he tried to kill himself and that's when my mother started aggresively seeking help for him. It's been years and he's on meds, but he's almost back to 'normal'. But the question remains was it the weed that brought it on, did he get hold of bad shit, or was it some other factor.

the story about your brother is basically the same as mine... he went to college, made it through 3.5 years and in the last semester right before he was about to graduate he flipped out and went nuts, stopped going to class, started spending tons of money he didn't have on credit cards, and then threw out the credit card bills and said he didn't hafta pay them because he was the Messiah. LOL i started to notice the difference my freshmen year, i had been recruited to play football at the same school, and i made it through my freshmen year fine. He was a senior and basically at our annual spring football banquet is when he started to go crazy... i don't even like my brother anymore really just because he's such an asshole all the time and he uses his "bi-polarness" as an excuse to be a dickhead to everyone...

[Big Calhoun]

Yeah, I can definately feel your pain. Before my brother was in treatment, we got into some terrible fights. I mean, man to man fist fights. Even during the begining of treatment, he would call and ask for money and then I'd find out he was smoking it up or drinking it away. Thank God he seems to have stablized these last few years.

I know from alot of the research I and my mother did in trying to help him, we learned that alot of mental illnesses will onset usually between 18 - 24 years of age...my brother was about 20 when all this started happening. That and sometimes alot of stress can cause mental illness. So in the case of our brother, we're surmissing that the weed, a possible predisposition to mental illness on his fathers side of the family, and stress of being away from home is what brought it all on. He's never really told us EVERYTHING that went on when he was away so that is our best guess based on what we do know.

The best thing you can do is research, research, research. My mother and I were able to find resource groups, doctors, and alot of other information to help him out. It was rough in the begining, but it's now to the point where he can do most things for himself and is largely responsbile. It's a tough thing to go through. Hang in there.

[Garden Knowm]

I have witnessed several people who's minds become so loud when they smoke that they inturn trry to compete with their own inner voice.. making them seem CRAZY...

or be crazy.. what ever you wish to call it..

Weed does that.. it can male whatever you focus on that much more initense..

you focus n your mind and it becomes noisy..

you focus on the frisbee and you can catch anything throw in your direction..

A noisy mind is a scary mind.. for those who belive they are their mind
ILOVEYOU

[1234abcd]

Well if weed turned me bipolar, then Im using it to help that :thumbsup: :rasta: :stoned: :stoned: :stoned: :stoned: :stoned:

[harmonicminor]

sounds like propaganda, theres plenty of other shit we ingest on a daily basis that they put in our food and water and breathe from the air that could change your brain chemistry. even natural foods change the bodies chemistry depending on the ph of the food itself. I would think it would be more likely a genetic factor. I hear studies have shown that mj actually helps people with bipolar.
and for your brothers, sorry to hear that
maybe they were mentally scarred from thier college initiations???