Psychology Today Investigation Documents Rising “AI-Induced Psychosis” Cases from Therapy Chatbots

In 2025, a case report described a man who developed psychosis after replacing table salt with sodium bromide. News stories linked it to ChatGPT and sometimes called it the first AI-induced psychosis case. The facts are more specific than that, and this page sets them out.

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What the Case Report Says

The report appeared in Annals of Internal Medicine: Clinical Cases in August 2025, written by three University of Washington physicians. A 60-year-old man with no psychiatric history came to an emergency department worried that a neighbor was poisoning him. Within a day he showed rising paranoia and heard and saw things that were not there. After he tried to leave, he was placed on an involuntary psychiatric hold and stayed in hospital about three weeks (NBC News).

Doctors found he had been taking sodium bromide for three months in place of table salt. He said he had asked ChatGPT about cutting chloride from his diet. The diagnosis was bromism, a form of bromide poisoning.

What It Does Not Show

• It does not show that a chatbot gave the advice. The authors had no chat logs. When they asked an older version of ChatGPT a similar question, the reply named bromide with a note that context matters, but no clear health warning.
• It was bromide poisoning, a toxic cause of psychosis. That is different from the delusion reinforcement described in other reports.
• Reports quoting a blood level of “233 times the healthy limit” are not in the account we could read. We left the number out.
• One case cannot show how common this is.

OpenAI told Fox News its terms of service prohibit using the service to treat health conditions and that its systems encourage people to seek professional guidance, as NBC reported.

A Correction to Common Retellings

Psychology Today summarized the case in an article by Martha Koo (Psychology Today). Some retellings, including the Psychology Today piece, call it the first documented case of AI-induced psychosis, and that article dates the event to 2024, although the report was published in August 2025. As NBC describes it, the report itself diagnosed bromide poisoning and did not make a “first case” claim. Retellings also cite “22 percent of American adults” using mental health chatbots. The Psychology Today source says 22 percent found some relief, and it dates from 2022.

Practical Takeaways

• Ask a pharmacist or doctor before changing your diet, supplements or medicine, whatever an app says.
• If you suddenly feel suspicious, hear voices or cannot sleep, get medical care. A doctor can check for causes such as poisoning, infection or drug effects.
• NIMH lists medicines, alcohol and drug misuse and sleep loss among possible causes of psychosis (NIMH).

What is bromism?

Bromism is poisoning from too much bromide. It can cause confusion, paranoia, hallucinations and skin problems. It is treated in hospital.

Can ChatGPT give dangerous medical advice?

It can be wrong, including on health topics. Check with a clinician before acting on health advice from any chatbot.

This page is for education only. It is not medical advice, a diagnosis or a treatment plan.