Are you hearing voices or feeling bugs on your skin? Do you believe you’re surrounded by law enforcement who are out to get you or your drugs? That’s due to your cocaine use. Is your loved one acting agitated, paranoid, or delusional after using cocaine? That’s cocaine, too.

Cocaine psychosis is a common symptom of chronic cocaine abuse that causes symptoms such as paranoia or hallucinations.

Cocaine is a dangerous psychoactive stimulant that can cause the user to experience tactile or auditory hallucinations or delusions that they are a celebrity, under attack, or guilty of something much worse than they really are.

Long story short, abusing drugs can make you lose your mind.

The good news is that most psychotic symptoms of drug abuse are reversible if you get the proper treatment. There’s a high probability that all symptoms will cease and life will return to normal if the person quits using cocaine and gets help.

Read on to find out more about cocaine psychosis, how to get through it, and how to treat it so it stops and never returns.

What is Cocaine-Induced Psychosis?

Cocaine-induced psychosis (CIP) is a side-effect of cocaine abuse caused by the rush of dopamine that the stimulant induces in your brain. Cocaine-induced psychotic symptoms can last anywhere from a few hours to up to weeks or a month. 

Here’s why they happen…

Cocaine has a hurricane-like effect on the neurotransmitters in your brain, namely dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine. These chemicals affect everything from pleasure and alertness to your mood, aggression, and sleep. When you have too much of these chemicals, your brain goes haywire.

That’s why addicts say that taking coke is like speeding in a sports car: it literally drives you mad.

According to a July 2012 study in PubMed, “Prevalence and risk factors of psychotic symptoms in cocaine-dependent patients”, by Roncero, Carlos et. al., the most common characteristics of cocaine psychosis include:

• Agitation
• Distrust
• Dysphoria (unease or dissatisfaction)
• Suspicion
• Compulsive behaviours (e.g, checking behaviour)
• Auditory hallucinations (e.g, people following the individual)
• Visual hallucinations (e.g, spies in the window)
• Tactile hallucinations (e.g, bugs under the skin)
• Delusions
• Risky sexual behaviour

According to the study, the most frequent delusion was that the person thought individuals around them were law enforcement agents or that they wanted to steal their cocaine from them. The most shocking fact from the study was that the researchers found that psychotic symptoms were present in anywhere from 12% – 100% of cocaine users, depending on the clinical trial.

Is Cocaine Psychosis Dangerous?

Yes, cocaine psychosis can be dangerous. It can even be life-threatening – both to the user and others around them. While the physical risks to the individual might not be dangerous, individuals suffering from cocaine-induced psychosis are a risk to themselves and others.

One study in the National Library of Medicine entitled “Cocaine and Psychiatric Symptoms” by Morton, Alexander W., states that violent behaviours occur in 55% of patients with CIP. It also states the following:

That study went even further by citing another study that concluded that 27% of people in New York City who had fatal injuries tested positive for cocaine.

The evidence is clear: Cocaine use is associated with aggression, homicide, suicidality, and fatal injuries.

Long story short: CIP makes the person a danger to both themselves and the people around them, and the individuals’ cocaine use must be stopped at all costs.

What Are The Risk Factors For Cocaine Psychosis?

Risk factors for cocaine psychosis include the dosage, age of first use, the duration of consumption, body mass index, and even co-occurring psychiatric disorders. It’s impossible to say who or what caused the person’s CIP without a trained addiction specialist making a diagnosis.

The following list elaborates more on the risk factors of cocaine-induced psychosis:

• Age of First Use: The age at which the person first started abusing cocaine is a significant factor in developing CIP. The younger you were when you started, the more likely you are to develop the condition. 

• Severity of Use: If the person has been abusing the drug for long periods of time or is taking a high dosage of cocaine each time they use, that also increases the risk for CIP.

• Comorbidity With Mental Health Disorders: People who are also struggling with mental health issues such as ADD, ADHD, anxiety, depression, and antisocial personality disorder are at greater risk of CIP and hospitalization. According to the study “Cocaine and Psychiatric Symptoms” published in the National Institutes of Health by Morton, Alexander W., “Patients with ongoing, chronic psychiatric disorders and who use cocaine will have more frequent hospitalizations, often related to cocaine-induced paranoia and depression”. If you or your loved one have a history of mental health issues, it’s imperative that you get professional help immediately to treat the underlying causes of cocaine addiction.

• Body Mass Index: Body mass index (BMI) can play a role in how the body metabolises and processes cocaine. It can also contribute to vulnerability and toxicity when taking drugs. This increases the risk of developing CIP.

• Intake Route: Individuals who inject or smoke cocaine, especially crack, develop CIP at much higher rates than those who don’t.

• Other Substance Abuse: If you or your loved one are also abusing other substances such as alcohol or marijuana at the same time as cocaine, that drastically increases the chances of developing psychosis.

Can Cocaine Psychosis be Treated?

Yes, cocaine psychosis can be treated relatively quickly IF you get help immediately. Most symptoms will subside within 24-48 hours with abstinence (this should be done under medical supervision). 

But CIP can last for weeks or more than a month depending on several factors such as length of cocaine usage and co-occurring behavioural health issues. Things may even get worse before they get better.

That’s why it’s imperative that you get professional help immediately. There’s no way to know for sure unless we do a full evaluation in person or over the phone/internet.

If you or your loved one receive the right guidance, monitoring, and medication, you can make a full recovery from CIP, and your mind and body will return to normal.

Ceasing all drug use at once will help reduce the severity of CIP symptoms, and put an end to further episodes. However, depending on the severity of the situation, medical detox and supervision may be needed. If other physical health issues have developed, those may need treatment too before it’s too late.

Treatments for cocaine psychosis include:

• Medication like antipsychotics or benzodiazepines
• Medical supervision for the reduction of withdrawal symptoms
• Therapy and counselling (by someone trained in addiction psychiatry)
• Group and family therapy
• Support groups
• Medications for relapse prevention
• Treatment for co-occurring disorders (depression, anxiety, etc.)

How Can The Cabin Sydney Help With Treatment?

At our inpatient and outpatient addiction rehab clinic in Sydney, we’ve helped countless Australians recover from CIP and cocaine addiction through a combination of therapy, counselling, education, and medical treatment.

It’s important to understand the severity of this situation. Cocaine-induced psychosis can turn dark at any time, and those suffering from this condition can turn violent against themselves or others. Anyone suffering from CIP requires immediate attention from trained professionals.

Get in contact immediately with our outpatient cocaine addiction specialists for immediate intake and medical detox if necessary. At the very least, we can provide more helpful information or point you to the right resources to learn more about CIP.

We understand that this can be a frightening situation. But you must understand that CIP is almost never just a one-time thing. It’s a symptom of cocaine addiction. In order to stop it once and for all, the individual suffering from CIP must quit cocaine and receive addiction treatment.

We offer specialised services for drug addiction in-person in Sydney, online for the rest of Australia, and inpatient treatment at our luxury facilities in Chiang Mai, Thailand. We can fit nearly any budget and schedule. You may not even have to leave home or miss work to recover.

What’s important is that you reach out and break cocaine’s grip on you or someone you care about for good.