Can PCP Cause Psychosis

PCP, short for phencyclidine, is a powerful drug that changes how a person sees, hears, thinks and feels. It was first developed as a medicine to put people to sleep during surgery, but it was stopped for that purpose because it caused serious problems, including confusion, agitation and strange behaviour as people woke up. Since then it has been used as an illegal drug, and health agencies describe it as a dissociative drug, which means it can make a person feel cut off from their body, from the world around them and from what is real. That feeling of being cut off is not a small side effect. It is the main effect of the drug, and it is also the reason it can be so dangerous.

The question this article answers is a direct one: can PCP cause psychosis? The short answer given by public health guidance is yes. PCP can trigger psychosis, which means a state in which a person loses touch with reality. They may hear voices that are not there, see things that are not there, believe things that are not true, or become convinced that other people are trying to harm them. This can happen during use, and in some cases the symptoms can last after the drug has worn off. For some people, especially those who already have a mental health condition or a family history of one, PCP can bring on a longer-lasting psychotic illness. This article explains, in plain words, what psychosis is, how PCP affects the brain, what an episode can look like, who is most at risk, how long symptoms can last, and why urgent help matters. It is general information only. It is not personal medical advice, and it does not replace talking to a qualified health professional.

What PCP Is and How It Affects the Brain

To understand why PCP can cause psychosis, it helps to understand what the drug does inside the brain. The brain works through chemical messengers that carry signals between nerve cells. One of the most important of these messengers is glutamate, which helps with learning, memory and clear thinking. PCP blocks one of the main places where glutamate works, a site called the NMDA receptor. When that site is blocked, the normal flow of signals is interrupted. Thinking becomes confused, memory becomes patchy, and the brain struggles to sort out what is real from what is not. This is not like feeling a little dizzy or light-headed. It is a deeper disruption, and it can change a person’s whole sense of who they are and where they are.

PCP also affects other chemical systems in the brain, including dopamine, which is involved in reward, motivation and the sense of what matters. When dopamine signalling is disturbed, ordinary things can start to feel strangely important, and small details can take on a meaning they do not really have. A look from a stranger can feel like a threat. A sound in another room can feel like a warning. A coincidence can feel like a plan. This is the ground in which paranoia grows. The person is not being silly or dramatic. Their brain is giving them the wrong information, and they are trying to make sense of it with the information they have.

The effects of PCP can also last a long time. Unlike some drugs that wear off in an hour or two, PCP can affect a person for many hours, and its effects can come and go in waves. A person may seem calmer for a while and then become confused or agitated again. This is partly because the drug is stored in fat in the body and can be released back into the blood over time. It is also because the brain takes time to recover from the disruption. For people around the person, this unpredictability is frightening. They do not know whether the person is getting better or getting worse, and they do not know what to expect next. For the person themselves, it can be even more frightening, because they may not understand what is happening to them at all.

Another important point is that PCP is often not pure. It is made illegally, and the strength of one batch can be very different from the next. A person may take a small amount one time and feel only mild effects, and then take the same amount another time and have a much stronger reaction. It is also sometimes mixed with other substances, which can make the effects even harder to predict. This means that no one can say in advance how a particular use will turn out. The risk is there every time, even for someone who has used it before without a serious problem. Past use without a bad outcome does not make the next use safe.

What Psychosis Means in Plain Words

The word psychosis is used a lot, but it is often misunderstood. In plain words, psychosis is a state in which a person loses touch with reality in a way that affects their thoughts, their senses and their behaviour. It is not a single illness. It is a group of symptoms that can appear in different conditions and can be triggered by different causes, including some drugs. The three symptoms people hear about most often are hallucinations, delusions and disorganised thinking, and it helps to know what each of those words means in everyday language.

A hallucination is when a person sees, hears, feels, smells or tastes something that is not really there. The most common kind is hearing voices. Those voices may comment on what the person is doing, argue with each other, or give orders. The person hears them as clearly as they hear a real voice in the room, so it is very hard for them to believe the voices are not real. Some people see things that are not there, such as shapes, people or animals. Others feel as if insects are crawling on their skin, or smell something that no one else can smell. These experiences feel completely real to the person having them, which is why simply telling them that it is not real rarely helps.

A delusion is a strong belief that is not true and that does not change even when there is clear evidence against it. The most common delusion in psychosis is paranoia, the belief that other people are watching, following, plotting against or trying to harm the person. Other delusions include the belief that a person has special powers, that they are being controlled by an outside force, or that ordinary events on television or in the street carry secret messages meant only for them. These beliefs are not the result of being stubborn or refusing to listen. They come from a brain that is processing information wrongly, and the person is trying to explain experiences that feel very real to them.

Disorganised thinking is the third main symptom, and it shows up in the way a person talks and behaves. Their speech may jump from one topic to another without any clear link. They may start a sentence and lose the thread halfway through. They may use words in strange ways, or answer a question with something that has nothing to do with it. Their behaviour may also become disorganised: they may stop eating, stop washing, wander without a clear purpose, or act in ways that seem odd or out of character. Family members often notice this change before the person does, because the person may not realise that their thinking has changed. This loss of insight, the inability to see that something is wrong, is one of the hardest parts of psychosis, for the person and for everyone around them.

How PCP Can Trigger a Psychotic Episode

PCP can trigger psychosis in a few different ways, and researchers are still learning about all of them. The most direct way is through the drug itself. While the drug is active in the body, it blocks glutamate signalling and disturbs dopamine, and that disturbance can be enough to produce hallucinations, paranoia and confused thinking. This is sometimes called drug-induced psychosis, and it is the form most closely linked with PCP. A person may have no history of mental illness and still develop psychotic symptoms after using PCP, especially if they use a large amount or use it repeatedly over a short period.

The second way is through the strain that PCP puts on the brain over time. Regular use does not give the brain a proper chance to recover between episodes. Each use disrupts the chemical balance again before it has fully settled, and over weeks and months this repeated disruption can make the brain more vulnerable. Thinking becomes less sharp, memory becomes less reliable, and the ability to judge what is real becomes weaker. In this state, even a smaller amount of the drug, or a stressful event, or a lack of sleep, can be enough to tip a person into a psychotic episode. This is one reason why people who use PCP often say that the effects got worse over time, even though they were not taking more of the drug.

The third way involves people who already have a vulnerability to psychosis. Some people have a family history of schizophrenia or another psychotic illness, and their brains may already be more sensitive to changes in glutamate and dopamine. For them, PCP can act as a trigger that brings on an illness that might otherwise have appeared later, or might never have appeared at all. This is a difficult and painful fact, because it means the drug does not just cause a temporary problem. It can change the course of a person’s life. Health guidance is clear that people with a personal or family history of psychosis should avoid PCP and other drugs that can trigger psychosis, because the risk for them is much higher than for other people.

There is also the question of how long the episode lasts. For many people, the psychotic symptoms fade as the drug leaves the body, although this can take hours or even days. For others, the symptoms last longer, for weeks or months after the last use. And for a smaller number, the symptoms do not fully go away, and the person is left with a lasting psychotic illness that needs long-term care. Doctors cannot always predict which of these outcomes will happen for a particular person. That uncertainty is itself part of the danger. No one who uses PCP can be sure that they will be one of the people whose symptoms clear up quickly.

Paranoia, Hallucinations and False Beliefs

Paranoia is often the first and most distressing symptom that family members notice. A person who has used PCP may become convinced that someone is following them, listening to their conversations, or planning to hurt them. They may lock doors that are already locked, check windows again and again, whisper instead of speaking normally, or refuse to answer the phone. They may accuse a partner, a parent or a friend of betraying them, even though there is no evidence for it. These accusations can be very hurtful, and they can damage trust in a way that takes a long time to repair. It is important to remember that the person is not choosing to be suspicious. Their brain is telling them that they are in danger, and they are acting on that belief in the only way that makes sense to them.

Hallucinations can be just as frightening. A person may hear voices that criticise them, threaten them or tell them to do things. The voices may be quiet at first and then grow louder, or they may come and go. Some people hear a single voice, and others hear several voices talking at once. The voices may sound like someone they know, or like a stranger. Because the voices feel so real, the person may argue with them out loud, which can look strange to people around them. They may also see things that are not there, such as shadows moving, faces in the wall, or people standing in the room. These visions can be terrifying, especially if the person believes the figures mean them harm.

False beliefs can take many forms. One person may believe they have special powers, such as the ability to fly, or to read minds, or to control events from a distance. This can lead them to take dangerous risks, because they genuinely believe they cannot be hurt. Another person may believe that their thoughts are being broadcast to other people, or that thoughts are being put into their head by someone else. Another may believe that a song on the radio, or a headline in the newspaper, contains a secret message meant only for them. These beliefs feel obvious and certain to the person who holds them, which is why arguing about them usually does not help. The belief is not a conclusion the person reached by reasoning. It is a symptom of a brain that is processing information wrongly.

All three of these symptoms can appear together, and when they do, the person can become very frightened and very hard to reach. They may not eat or sleep. They may wander the streets, or hide in their room, or become aggressive if they feel cornered. Aggression in psychosis is usually driven by fear, not by cruelty. The person believes they are defending themselves against a threat that feels real to them. This is why the safest response is to stay calm, keep a distance, avoid arguing about the beliefs, and get professional help as quickly as possible. Trying to restrain the person, or to force them to admit that what they believe is not true, can make the situation worse and can put everyone at risk.

Why Some People Are More at Risk

Not everyone who uses PCP develops psychosis, and that fact can be confusing. It can make people think that the risk is small, or that it only happens to other people. The truth is that the risk depends on a mix of factors, and some of those factors are not visible from the outside. The amount of PCP used is one factor. Larger amounts, and use over a short period, raise the risk. The frequency of use is another. People who use often, without giving their brain time to recover, are more likely to develop symptoms than people who use rarely. But even small amounts can trigger psychosis in a vulnerable person, so there is no safe amount.

A personal or family history of mental illness is one of the strongest risk factors. People who have already had a psychotic episode, or who have been diagnosed with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or another condition that involves psychosis, are at much higher risk. So are people whose close relatives have had these conditions, because vulnerability to psychosis can run in families. For these people, PCP is not just another drug. It is a trigger that can bring on a serious illness. This is one of the reasons health professionals advise people with any history of psychosis to avoid PCP completely, and to tell their doctor if they have used it.

Age also matters. The brain is still developing through the teenage years and into the early twenties, and it is more sensitive to disruption during that time. Young people who use PCP are more likely to develop lasting problems than older adults, and the problems they develop can affect their education, their work and their relationships at a time when those things are being built for the first time. This is a heavy price to pay at a young age, and it is one reason why prevention and honest information for young people matter so much.

Other factors include lack of sleep, stress, and the use of other drugs at the same time. PCP is often used alongside alcohol, cannabis or other substances, and each of these can add to the strain on the brain. A person who has not slept properly for days, who is under heavy stress, or who is already struggling with their mental health, is more vulnerable than someone who is rested and well. None of these factors alone explains why one person develops psychosis and another does not. The risk is the result of all of them together, and because so many of them are hidden, the only safe assumption is that anyone who uses PCP could be at risk.

When Psychosis Lasts Longer Than the Drug

One of the most worrying questions about PCP and psychosis is how long the symptoms last. For some people, the answer is reassuring: the symptoms fade within hours or days as the drug clears from the body, and the person returns to normal thinking. For others, the answer is much harder. The symptoms can last for weeks, and in some cases for months, after the last use. During that time the person may continue to hear voices, hold false beliefs, or feel paranoid, even though they have stopped using the drug. This is sometimes called persistent psychosis, and it can be very frightening for the person and their family, because they expected the problem to end when the drug use ended.

In a smaller number of cases, the symptoms do not go away at all, and the person develops a lasting psychotic illness. This can happen after a single use, although it is more common after repeated use. It can also happen in people who had no obvious signs of mental illness before they used PCP. Doctors cannot always tell in advance who will recover quickly and who will not, and that uncertainty makes the situation harder. Families often ask how long they should wait before seeking help, and the answer from health guidance is that they should not wait. If psychotic symptoms last more than a day or two after use, or if they are severe, or if the person is a danger to themselves or others, professional help should be sought straight away.

The reason some people develop lasting psychosis is not fully understood, but researchers believe it involves changes in the brain that do not reverse quickly. Repeated blocking of glutamate signalling may change the way nerve cells connect and communicate. Repeated disturbance of dopamine may leave the system more sensitive, so that it overreacts to ordinary events. Stress, lack of sleep and poor nutrition during a period of heavy drug use can also make recovery harder. The brain is remarkably able to heal, but healing takes time, and in some cases the damage is lasting. This is why early help matters so much. The sooner a person gets proper care, the better their chances of recovery, and the less likely they are to develop a long-term illness.

It is also important to know that stopping PCP does not always bring immediate relief. Some people find that their symptoms get worse in the days after they stop, before they start to get better. This can be confusing and discouraging, and it can make a person think that stopping was a mistake. It was not a mistake. The brain needs time to adjust after a long period of disruption, and the adjustment is not always smooth. What matters is that the person is safe, that they have support, and that they are in touch with health professionals who can monitor how they are doing and help if the symptoms continue.

What an Episode Looks Like for the Person and the Family

It is hard to describe a psychotic episode from the outside, because the experience is so different from ordinary life. For the person going through it, the world can feel strange and threatening. Familiar rooms can look different. Familiar voices can sound different. Time can feel stretched or compressed. The person may feel as if they are watching themselves from outside their body, or as if their body does not belong to them. These feelings are part of what the word dissociative means, and they can be deeply unsettling. The person may not know whether what they are seeing and hearing is real, and that uncertainty can be terrifying in itself.

For family members, an episode can feel like losing the person they know. Someone who was calm and reasonable may become suspicious, withdrawn or angry. Someone who was organised may stop eating, stop sleeping and stop looking after themselves. Conversations become difficult, because the person may not follow what is being said, or may respond to something that was not said at all. The family may not know whether to argue, to agree, or to say nothing. They may feel guilty, wondering whether they could have prevented it, and they may feel helpless, because they cannot reach the person they love. These feelings are normal, and they are a sign of how much the family cares, not a sign of failure.

An episode can also have practical consequences that last long after the symptoms fade. A person may lose their job because they could not concentrate or because they behaved strangely at work. They may damage relationships because of things they said or did while they were unwell. They may get into trouble with the law, or have an accident, because their judgement was impaired. They may spend money they do not have, or make decisions they would never have made if they had been thinking clearly. These consequences can feel unfair, because the person was not in control of their thinking at the time, but they are real, and they can take a long time to repair.

The most important thing for families to know is that psychosis is an illness, not a choice, and not a character flaw. The person did not choose to lose touch with reality, and they cannot simply choose to snap out of it. What they need is patience, calm, and professional help. Arguing about beliefs, raising your voice, or trying to force the person to accept that they are ill usually makes things worse. Speaking calmly, keeping sentences short and simple, avoiding crowded or noisy places, and making sure the person is safe are more helpful. And if the person is a danger to themselves or to others, or if they are refusing food and water, or if they are behaving in a way that puts them at serious risk, emergency help should be called straight away.

Getting Help Urgently and What Recovery Can Involve

If someone is showing signs of psychosis after using PCP, the first step is to make sure they are safe. That means staying with them if it is safe to do so, keeping them away from traffic, heights, water and anything they could use to harm themselves, and calling emergency services if they are in immediate danger. It also means not leaving them alone if they are very confused or agitated, and not giving them more drugs or alcohol, which can make the symptoms worse. If the person is willing to go to a hospital or a clinic, that is the best place for them, because staff there can assess them, keep them safe, and start the right care.

At a hospital, the person will usually be assessed by a doctor and a mental health professional. They will ask about what the person has taken, how much, and when, and about the person’s medical history and any history of mental illness in the family. They may also do blood tests and other checks to rule out other causes of the symptoms, such as an infection, a head injury or another drug. The person may need to stay in hospital for a few days, especially if they are very unwell or if they are a danger to themselves or others. This can feel frightening, but it is the safest place for them while the symptoms are severe, and it gives the care team time to work out what is happening.

Recovery from PCP-related psychosis is different for everyone. For some people, the symptoms clear up in a few days with rest, safety and support, and they are able to go home and get on with their lives, with follow-up care to make sure the symptoms do not return. For others, recovery takes weeks or months, and involves regular contact with a mental health team, support for the family, and help with practical things such as housing, work and daily routines. Some people need ongoing care for a longer time, and some need medication to help with their symptoms. The details of that care depend on the person and their situation, and they should be decided with a qualified health professional, not from information on the internet.

What matters most is that the person does not use PCP again. Using again after an episode of psychosis raises the risk of another episode, and each episode can make recovery harder. It also matters that the person has support after the episode ends, because the period after psychosis can be difficult. The person may feel embarrassed about things they said or did, they may feel low or anxious, and they may worry that the symptoms will come back. Support from family, friends and health professionals can make a real difference during that time. Recovery is not just about the symptoms going away. It is about rebuilding confidence, rebuilding relationships, and rebuilding a daily life that feels steady and safe. That takes time, and it takes patience, but it is possible, and many people do recover and go on to live full lives.

My Take:

What stays with me after reading about PCP and psychosis is how quickly a person’s whole world can change. One day they are thinking clearly, talking normally, and making ordinary plans. Then the drug disrupts the chemical signals in their brain, and suddenly the world looks threatening, voices appear where there are none, and beliefs take hold that no amount of argument can shift. That change is not a matter of being weak or foolish. It is a matter of chemistry, and chemistry does not care how strong or sensible a person is. Anyone who takes a drug that blocks the brain’s main signalling system is taking a risk with the very thing that lets them tell what is real.

I think the part that deserves more attention is the quiet damage that happens before the obvious crisis. People often talk about psychosis as if it appears out of nowhere, in a single dramatic moment. In many cases it does not. It builds slowly, through repeated use, through nights without proper sleep, through thinking that gets a little less sharp each week, through memory that gets a little less reliable, through a growing sense that something is not quite right. By the time the person is hearing voices or convinced that someone is following them, the ground has already been shifting for a while. That is why I think honest information matters so much. If people understood that the risk builds up, not just in one bad night, they might take the early warning signs more seriously.

I also think we need to be honest about how hard it is for families. When someone you love develops psychosis, you do not just worry about them. You lose the person you knew, at least for a while. Conversations that used to be easy become difficult. Trust that took years to build can be damaged in a single afternoon by an accusation that was never true but felt completely real to the person making it. And the family often has no idea what to do. Should they argue? Should they agree? Should they call for help, or wait and see? There is no easy answer, and there is no training that prepares a parent or a partner for that moment. What I would say to families is this: you are not failing because you do not know what to do. This is genuinely hard, and the fact that you are still there, still trying, still looking for help, is what matters most.

The question of blame comes up a lot, and I want to be clear about where I stand. I do not think a person who develops psychosis after using PCP should be blamed for it. They may have made a choice to take the drug, and that choice had consequences, but the psychosis itself was not a choice. No one chooses to hear voices, or to believe that their family is plotting against them, or to lose the ability to think clearly. Those are symptoms of an illness, and illness deserves care, not punishment. At the same time, I do not think we should pretend that the choice to take the drug did not matter. It did matter, and that is why prevention matters. Both things can be true at once: the person deserves compassion, and the drug deserves to be taken seriously as a cause of serious harm.

What worries me most is the risk to young people. The brain is still developing in the late teens and early twenties, and it is more vulnerable to disruption during those years than it will ever be again. A young person who uses PCP is not just risking a bad night. They are risking their education, their first job, their friendships, and their sense of who they are, at the very time when all of those things are being formed. And because psychosis can change the course of a person’s life, the cost can last for years after the drug use has stopped. I think we owe young people honest information about this, not lectures and not scare stories, but plain facts about what the drug does and what can go wrong. They deserve to know the truth before they make a choice, not after.

I am also struck by how unpredictable the outcome is. Some people use PCP and their symptoms clear up in a day or two. Others are left with symptoms that last for months. A few are left with a lasting illness. Doctors cannot reliably predict which group a particular person will fall into, and that uncertainty should be part of the warning. It is not like a drug where the risk is the same every time and everyone knows what to expect. With PCP, the same amount can have very different effects on different days, in different people, and in the same person at different times. That unpredictability is not a small detail. It is the heart of the danger, because it means no one can use PCP safely by being careful, or by using a small amount, or by only using it once in a while. The risk is there every time.

Recovery is the part I want to end on, because it matters that people know recovery is possible. Psychosis after PCP is serious, and for some people it leads to lasting problems, but many people do recover, especially when they get help early, when they stop using the drug, and when they have support from family and from health professionals. Recovery is not always quick, and it is not always smooth. There may be setbacks, and there may be a long period when the person feels low, anxious, or unsure of themselves. But with time, with care, and with a steady daily life, thinking can clear, trust can be rebuilt, and the person can find their way back to ordinary life. That is not a guarantee, and I would not pretend otherwise, but it is a real possibility, and it is worth working towards.

If I could say one thing to someone who is thinking about trying PCP, it would be this: the risk is not just a bad trip, or a frightening night, or a hangover the next day. The risk is losing touch with reality, and not knowing whether you will get it back quickly, or slowly, or at all. That is a high price to pay for an experience that lasts a few hours. There are many ways to feel good, to relax, to escape from stress, and to have fun with friends, and almost all of them are safer than a drug that can make your own brain turn against you. If you are already using PCP, I would say the same thing in a different way: the sooner you stop, and the sooner you talk to someone who can help, the better your chances. You do not have to do it alone, and you do not have to be ashamed of asking for help. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness. It is a sign that you understand what is at stake.

For families, my message is simpler. If someone you love is showing signs of psychosis, do not wait and hope it will pass on its own. Get help, and get it quickly. Stay calm, keep the person safe, do not argue about their beliefs, and call a health professional or emergency services if the person is in danger. You may feel that you are overreacting, or that you are betraying the person by calling for help. You are not. You are doing the most caring thing you can do, which is making sure they are safe and that they get the care they need. And look after yourself too. Supporting someone through psychosis is exhausting, and you need support of your own, whether that comes from family, friends, or a support service. You cannot pour from an empty cup, and you do not have to carry this alone.

Finally, I think this topic teaches a wider lesson about how we talk about drugs. Too often the conversation is either too simple or too judgemental. Either the drug is presented as harmless fun, or the person who uses it is presented as a bad person. Neither is true, and neither helps anyone. The truth is more complicated, and more useful: PCP is a powerful drug that disrupts the brain in ways that can cause serious, lasting harm, including psychosis, and the people who use it deserve honest information, compassion, and help, not judgement. If we can hold both of those truths at the same time, we will do a better job of preventing harm, and a better job of helping the people who have already been harmed. That is what I hope this article does, in its small way.

I also think about the people who work in emergency care and mental health services, because they see the sharp end of this problem. They meet people at their most frightened and confused, often in the middle of the night, often without a clear history of what was taken or how much. They have to make quick decisions about safety, about whether the person needs to stay in hospital, and about how to talk to someone who may believe that the staff themselves are part of a plot. That is difficult work, and it deserves respect. It also reminds me that psychosis is not an abstract topic for a textbook. It is a real event that happens to real people, in real rooms, with real families waiting outside, hoping that the person they love will come back to themselves.

Another thought that stays with me is how much stigma still surrounds psychosis, and how that stigma stops people from getting help. Some people are afraid to tell a doctor that they have used PCP, because they worry they will be judged or reported. Some families are afraid to tell friends or neighbours what is happening, because they worry about what people will think. That silence makes everything harder. It delays help, it isolates the family, and it leaves the person feeling even more alone. I would rather live in a world where a person can say, honestly, that they took a drug and now they are hearing voices, and be met with care instead of judgement. That is not soft thinking. It is practical thinking, because care is what leads to recovery, and judgement is what leads to silence.

The long view matters too. When I think about a person who has had a psychotic episode after PCP, I do not just think about the episode itself. I think about the months that follow, when the voices have faded but the confidence has not yet returned, when the person is trying to go back to work or to college and wondering whether people will treat them differently, when the family is trying to trust again after a difficult period. That slow rebuilding is the part of recovery that rarely gets talked about, and it is the part that needs the most patience. A person can be free of symptoms and still not feel like themselves yet. That is normal, and it does not mean the recovery has failed. It means recovery takes time, and time is something we should be willing to give.

Finally, I want to be honest about what I do not know. I do not know why one person recovers in days and another is left with a lasting illness. I do not know exactly how much of the risk comes from the drug itself and how much comes from the vulnerability that was already there. Researchers are still working on those questions, and anyone who pretends to have a simple answer is not being honest. What I do know, from the health guidance that is available, is that PCP can cause psychosis, that the risk is real and serious, that early help makes a difference, and that stopping the drug is the single most important step a person can take. Those facts are enough to act on, even while the science continues to fill in the details.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can PCP psychosis be treated?

Yes, PCP-related psychosis can be treated, but the right care depends on the person and how severe the symptoms are. A health professional will usually assess the person, keep them safe, and work out whether the symptoms are likely to fade as the drug leaves the body or whether longer care is needed. Some people recover in days with rest and support, while others need care from a mental health team over weeks or months. What matters is getting help early, not using PCP again, and following the care plan that a qualified professional puts together for that person.

Who is at risk of PCP psychosis?

Anyone who uses PCP can be at risk, but the risk is higher for some people than for others. It is higher for people who use large amounts, who use often, and who use alongside other drugs or alcohol. It is also higher for people with a personal or family history of psychosis, schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, for young people whose brains are still developing, and for people who are very stressed or have not slept properly. Because many of these factors are not visible from the outside, there is no reliable way to know in advance who will develop psychosis and who will not.

How long does PCP psychosis last?

It varies a great deal from person to person. For some people the symptoms fade within hours or a few days as the drug leaves the body. For others they last for weeks or months after the last use. In a smaller number of cases the symptoms do not fully go away and the person develops a lasting psychotic illness. If symptoms last more than a day or two, or if they are severe, or if the person is a danger to themselves or others, professional help should be sought straight away rather than waiting to see if they pass on their own.

Can PCP cause psychosis?

Yes. Public health guidance is clear that PCP can cause psychosis. It can trigger hallucinations, paranoia, false beliefs and confused thinking while the drug is active, and in some cases the symptoms can last after the drug has worn off. PCP can also trigger a longer-lasting psychotic illness, especially in people who already have a vulnerability to psychosis. The risk is there with every use, because the strength of the drug can vary and because no one can predict in advance how their brain will react.

What should families do during PCP psychosis?

Families should stay calm, keep the person safe, and get professional help as quickly as possible. That means staying with the person if it is safe to do so, keeping them away from traffic, heights and anything they could use to harm themselves, and calling emergency services if they are in immediate danger. It helps to speak calmly, use short and simple sentences, avoid arguing about the person’s beliefs, and avoid crowded or noisy places. Families should not give the person more drugs or alcohol, and they should look after their own wellbeing too, because supporting someone through psychosis is exhausting.

What is psychosis after PCP?

Psychosis after PCP is a state in which a person loses touch with reality after using the drug. It can include hearing voices or seeing things that are not there, holding false beliefs such as the idea that others are plotting against them, and thinking in a confused or disorganised way. The person may not realise that something is wrong, and they may behave in ways that seem strange or out of character. Psychosis is a serious medical problem, not a choice, and it needs professional help. If someone is showing these signs, they should be kept safe and seen by a health professional as soon as possible.