“My best friend Maggie, from childhood moved to the Midwest. Still, we’re close. I visited her and she said I stole her lipstick. She eavesdropped on her husband’s calls. When I gave her a medium-sized jacket as a present, she said I was calling her fat. A mutual friend told me Maggie lashed out at her, accusing her of things and she had to ask her to leave the house. Maggie told me another Mom was after her daughter. It took me off-guard, I didn’t know what to make of it. She looks and sounds normal and seems totally convinced that these things are true.
I just read that chronic pot smoking causes brain damage, even schizophrenia, in pre-disposed people. She smoked weed daily for thirty years. Could this be the cause of a personality change? She is so paranoid now. She still works, cares for her three kids. She was always smart so maybe she has neurons in reserve. It is easy to just brush off her suspicions. And I want to. But I am worried. I see a pattern. Crazy statements burst out here and there, not all the time, but consistently. It breaks my heart. I know other people who smoked just as much, but nothing happened to them. ”
Research shows that brain changes occur with chronic pot smoking in genetically vulnerable people. A denser amygdala and nucleus accumbens exacerbate fear, aggression, paranoia, addiction and overall emotion. For some vulnerable individuals cannabis causes psychotic behavior.
If the person is unable to function either in a work or interpersonal setting, anti-psychotic treatment may be warranted. Paranoid people may not appear disturbed or chaotic to others, but they suffer inwardly from painful fears and suspicions. Often, they do not experience themselves as paranoid but rather as astute. They believe that they see what others cannot. If they can be helped to feel less anxious and more safe, many benefit. A sense of omnipotence in this case is not empowering but terrifying.