In a world where drug addiction is moderately common, it is quite typical to see an addict struggling with their addiction almost everywhere they go. Whether they are simply walking down the street, in a restaurant, or even in a “family-friendly” environment, drug addicts are typically always in constant struggle with their addiction. The statistics continue to rise, with “an estimated 23.9 million Americans ages 12 and older have used an illicit drug or abused psychotherapeutic medications in the past month, up from 8.3% in 2002". While it is extremely sad to see this, most people are completely unaware that their addiction may result from an unwitting or misdiagnosed case of schizophrenia. People suffering from drug addiction need to make sure they receive appropriate treatment because their addiction could result from underdiagnosed or misdiagnosed schizophrenia. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay It is important that people with addiction receive the proper treatment they need, as well as educate themselves about schizophrenia and everything that comes with it. Schizophrenia is a long-term, often permanent, mental disorder that affects the relationship between thinking, emotion, and behavior, leading to misperceptions, inappropriate and unusual actions and feelings, confusion from reality and personal relationships to fantasy and illusion, and a sense of mental fragmentation. It is often confused with bipolar illnesses, personality disorders, and delusional disorders, but the symptoms vary slightly. Given that approximately half of schizophrenic patients have a history or current addiction to drugs (Winklbaur et al. 1), it is important that drug abusers realize that their addiction may have arisen from schizophrenia. Underdiagnosis and misdiagnosis of schizophrenia are quite common, and “approximately 30% of people with schizophrenia experience a severe lack of awareness of their diagnosis” (Anosognosia 1). Getting better is nearly impossible if the disease has been misdiagnosed, and it is important for addicts to personally ensure that they are not unaware of the possibility of being the home of this vicious disease. There are five different types of schizophrenia, paranoid, catatonic, disorganized, undifferentiated, and residual, drug-like types of symptoms may be more likely to be triggered by drug abuse. It is quite common for certain types of medications to be similar to what patients experience when they are diagnosed with paranoid and catatonic schizophrenia. For example, LSD can cause hallucinations and paranoia, just like these types of schizophrenia. It is difficult for a person to distinguish what is real from what is not when diagnosed with catatonic schizophrenia, and many psychedelic drugs give off the same symptoms. Drugs can make you feel like certain types of schizophrenia; therefore, the two diseases are commonly misdiagnosed. In a recent article titled “Schizophrenia and Street Drugs,” it is stated that “a number of drugs used illicitly for recreational purposes cause symptoms similar to those experienced in psychosis.” It is essential that drug abusers who have not yet been diagnosed with schizophrenia are aware that their terrible abuse symptoms could also stem from schizophrenia. Along with the five different types, each is susceptible to having four different categories of symptoms. Depending on the category, the effectiveness ofsome categories is much worse than others. These categories include positive, negative, cognitive, and disorganization. The positive category, which includes symptoms of hallucinations or hearing voices, delusions, and thought disorders or dysfunctional ways of thinking, is the category related to drug abuse. Although this is only one category in four, this category can overtake the patient's entire illness if he or she is subjected to drug abuse. The other three categories that contain symptoms such as lack of motivation, difficulty concentrating, reduced expression of emotions and lack of concentration are not as serious as the first category. While with the other three symptoms in the category it would be difficult to complete certain tasks and concentrate on important things, it would still be possible to live an almost normal daily life. On the other hand, if category one took over, having hallucinations and hearing voices every day would make it difficult to complete your daily tasks. If patients use trigger drugs to make their hallucinations and delusions more likely to occur, category one, or the positive category, may take over their entire illness, leaving the other categories as a minor and distant memory. If a person with a drug addiction consistently experiences category one symptoms, they are likely suffering from schizophrenia and should seriously consider getting the treatment they need. Whether or not they think it's just a coincidence and that they're only experiencing these symptoms because of the medications they're using, the most common misdiagnosis of schizophrenia is drug abuse and addiction. “Schizophrenia is often confused with substance abuse because the disorders have similar symptoms. This can sometimes make the diagnosis of schizophrenia or co-occurring disorders difficult” (Juergens 1). It is extremely important to be open and vulnerable to the fact that your addiction may have been triggered by schizophrenia. In fact, schizophrenia is mainly caused by genetics and is mainly hereditary. Drug abusers with a family history of schizophrenia need to be more cautious than those who do not. If a sibling, parent or grandparent has been infected with this brutal disease, it is extremely necessary for them to be constantly aware and in touch with their feelings and to always be on the lookout for signs or symptoms of the disease. Given that four out of five cases of schizophrenia are linked to genetics, families whose DNA carries the schizophrenia gene should always be on the lookout for any signs or symptoms that might associate with their illness and, above all, should avoid any medications. or alcohol that might mock their symptoms. If one is even just suspicious, he may have contracted schizophrenia, he should seek help immediately and refrain from being unaware of the problem, to avoid a worse outcome. In October 2017, a study was conducted using 31,524 pairs of identical twins, all born between 1951 and 2000. Identical twins all inherit the same set of genes from their parents. It turned out that almost every single twin who was diagnosed with schizophrenia, the other twin brother was also a carrier of the disease. The study concluded that “about 80% of schizophrenic patients got it through pure genetics” (McRae 1). If the abuser does not know whether their family has a history of schizophrenia, it is still important to get as much information as possible and continue to consider receiving an official diagnosis, despite the slim chance of having it. Since schizophrenia is only about 80% hereditary, it has been a constant battle to discover what else could do. Since theories about causes areexternal environmental factors, random mutated genes, childhood trauma or PTSD, and drug abuse, it is important to take all of these aspects into consideration when trying to determine whether a person can be diagnosed. Many studies, surveys and articles have been conducted on this very statement and five actual disease-causing categories have been discovered. The remaining 20% ​​of the causes of schizophrenia are five things: “structural changes in the brain, chemical changes in the brain, complications of pregnancy or childbirth, childhood trauma, or previous drug use.” Continuously, drug abuse is a trigger for the symptoms of schizophrenia. The use of prescription and illegal drugs can trigger certain symptoms, especially if you do not receive treatment. To prevent symptoms from occurring, abusers must realize that drugs are more dangerous if they are used while carrying the disease. Even if the abuser does not have a family history of schizophrenia, he should not rule out the possibility that he may do so now or later in life. People are slightly more likely to develop schizophrenia later in life if they abuse drugs due to certain changes in the brain. A recent study was conducted to show whether schizophrenia can develop in a person in later life due to drug abuse. The study is said to show that almost any type of drug abuse can increase the risk of developing schizophrenia. The researchers used data from 3,133,968 individuals born between 1955 and 1999 nationwide. In all, they identified more than 200,000 cases of substance abuse and more than 21,000 diagnoses of schizophrenia. The authors of this study concluded that their findings “illustrate a robust association between nearly every type of substance abuse and an increased risk of developing schizophrenia later in life” (Newman 1). While most feel safe from the disease if they have no family history, it is vital that people with addiction do not ignore their symptoms and side effects and get a correct diagnosis to help themselves. Unfortunately, the abuser's addiction makes things much worse for their illness. One can only imagine living in paranoia and fear forever, but adding that with psychedelic and hallucinogenic drugs creates an absolute monster. An article by Amy Carmosino states that “Using drugs such as cocaine, amphetamines, and marijuana can also increase schizophrenic symptoms and worsen their severity. Additionally, people with schizophrenia often abuse alcohol or drugs and may experience particularly negative reactions to certain medications.” Worsening symptoms of schizophrenia could lead to extreme consequences such as hospitalization or engaging in unwarranted and dangerous activities. For example, if you take a hallucinogenic drug, you become even more paranoid and imagine that one of your family members is out to get it (the fear that someone or something always wants to hurt you is a common side effect of severe schizophrenia), the patient could ultimately seriously injure or even kill their family member due to their excessive paranoia. Since drug abuse is proven to worsen the symptoms of schizophrenia, those who abuse them need to be careful and take the first steps to get the help they seriously need. Schizophrenia can be a sensitive topic for some victims, and even if they are aware that they may suffer from it, they may remain in a state of secrecy or denial. Some don't want people close to them to know about their illness, so dealing with it may become more/.