Open Door Retreat

This disturbing video documents the downward spiral of a meth addict:

Watching someone addicted to meth is like watching a train wreck. If you know someone with an addiction to crystal meth, you have seen the sick truth of addiction magnified.

Meth produces symptoms that are almost exactly like schizophrenia including hallucinations, disorganized thinking, paranoia, and delusions. For many, these symptoms never go away – even after they stop using.

Says Psychiatrist Dr. Heather Keizer

It can be an “on switch” for schizophrenia, she said. “So we can clean you up, get the drugs out of your system and you’re still psychotic because you’ve turned on that switch, and I do see that. I’ll diagnose them with psychosis secondary to substance abuse, but a year down the road I diagnose them as schizophrenic…. I’ve had a lot of cases and that’s why I’m disturbed by this.”

Meth literally poisons the body and mind while simultaneously telling the addict that she needs more and more. Meth is like a demon inside, holding its victim hostage.

HealthyPlace.com quotes Jake, a youth who began using meth at age 16:

The paranoia kicked in,” Jake says. “I’d be so lonely and paranoid. It was a horrible feeling….I’d be looking out my window every five minutes to see if someone was out there. The trees I had always seen looked like people. I was so freaked out one night; I swear to God there were people out there. I hopped out my window in my boxer shorts looking for these people. I couldn’t find them, so I got dressed and walked around the block looking for people in bushes. Thank God my parents caught on.

However irrational someone on meth seems, there is still some piece of the addict that understands the torture of this addiction and yearns for an escape.

If you or someone you know is addicted to meth, please get professional help immediately.

t the Open Door Women’s Transitional Living Center, we offer a variety of programs to teach women how to overcome addiction and live a more purposeful, healthy, life in sobriety. To see a full list of program activities, visit our women’s addiction recovery retreat page.