An Exploratory Study of Cognitive Distortions and Psychosis among Meth-Amphetamine Users

Abstract

This research aims at studying the cognitive distortions and psychosis among the meth-amphetamine users. This study was exploratory in nature and qualitative research design was used. The sample size of this study was N = 19 meth-amphetamine users who were residing in different rehabilitation centers of Islamabad/Rawalpindi and convenient sampling technique was used. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and then the thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. The results of the analysis indicates that there is a strong association between cognitive distortions and psychotic symptoms. The results also highlighted that the most common type of cognitive distortions includes all or nothing thinking, mental filtering, and catastrophizing. This study has shown that hallucinations and paranoid delusions can cause significant harm to their day-to-day functioning as well as to their quality of life. The research highlight the critical role that social and emotional support plays in mitigating the impact of cognitive distortions on mental illness. The results of this study highlights the need of comprehensive intervention techniques which will target both the cognitive and psychosocial levels in the treatment of addiction to prevent the relapse rate.