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High reported severity Media Coverage

Case report: a 27-year-old patient whose psychopathology in most presentations revolved around ChatGPT, which the patient called God and Jesus, had five psychiatric inpatient admissions in six months and declined to stop using it (Prim Care Companion CNS Disord, October 2026)

Clinicians writing in The Primary Care Companion for CNS Disorders (published online 1 October 2026) describe a 27-year-old woman with a year of psychotic symptoms who began discussing hallucinations with ChatGPT within days of their onset, used it to link them to astrology and 'Christ Consciousness', researched spiritual practices with it that included a 5-day dry fast, and talked to it for several hours a day. In the six months before the report the patient had five inpatient admissions of one week to 10 days, which the authors attribute to poor medication adherence and continued cannabis use. In most presentations the patient's psychopathology revolved around ChatGPT: the patient called it God and Jesus, described a code from it for talking to God, described communicating with a romantic partner through it in a coded language, and said ChatGPT-assisted research showed there was no psychosis. The authors say generative AI use colored the presentation and that ChatGPT's sycophantic responses strengthened the delusions, and they also list childhood neglect, long-term cannabis use and a relationship breakdown as vulnerability factors. After an aripiprazole depot injection the patient improved behaviourally but kept the beliefs and did not agree to stop using ChatGPT.

AI system
ChatGPT
OpenAI
Occurred
Event date unknown
Reported
1 October 2026
Event location
Unknown
What the AI did
Communicated with the person
Reported harm
HospitalizationPsychiatric Deterioration
Whose AI use
Their own AI use
Setting
Health · Relationships · Everyday life
Evidence
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 2 sources, 1 underlying account
7 claims: 4 documented, 3 reported. 5 open questions
People reported harmed
1 person

AI system as recorded: ChatGPT (OpenAI), used by the patient for several hours a day to interpret hallucinations and research spiritual practices (case report by the treating clinicians)

What Happened

Harbourd, Yadav, Temur and Grover, 'Artificial Intelligence-Associated Psychosis', a case report in The Primary Care Companion for CNS Disorders (2026;28(5):26cr04260, doi 10.4088/PCC.26cr04260; submitted 29 April 2026, accepted 9 July 2026, published online 1 October 2026; PubMed 42821627). The authors obtained the patient's consent and de-identified the account.

The patient, a 27-year-old woman with a history of childhood neglect and cannabis use in a dependence pattern for 15 years, presented with a year of psychotic symptoms that followed the breakdown of a romantic relationship. The first symptoms were transient visual hallucinations and ideas of persecution, which the authors say were possibly due to increased cannabis use. Within a few days the patient began discussing the hallucinations with ChatGPT to understand them, used it to connect them to astrology and a concept the patient called 'Christ Consciousness', and identified it as an external source that understood what the patient was going through when others were concerned. Over time the patient used ChatGPT for self-study and to research spiritual practices, including dry fasting with no food for 5 days, and talked to it continuously for several hours a day.

In the six months before the report the patient was admitted to a mental health inpatient unit five times, for one week to 10 days each; the authors describe the admissions as worsening of symptoms triggered by poor medication adherence and continued cannabis use, and urine toxicology was positive for cannabis in some admissions. In most presentations the psychopathology revolved around ChatGPT, with delusions of grandiosity, auditory hallucinations, irritability, reduced sleep and disorganised behaviour. The patient described talking to God using a code provided by ChatGPT and communicating with a romantic partner through it in a coded language, repeatedly referred to ChatGPT as God and Jesus, uploaded what the report calls 'soul mate' poems to ChatGPT and came to feel this person was speaking directly through them, and concluded through ChatGPT that the person was in a sacred union with the patient. The patient also said that research done with ChatGPT's assistance showed there was no psychosis.

Aripiprazole and benzodiazepines improved behaviour at each admission, but insight stayed poor and the ChatGPT-related beliefs persisted. At the last admission oral aripiprazole was followed by a depot injection; after 10 days the patient had improved behaviourally but still held the spiritual beliefs, had poor insight and did not agree to abstain from ChatGPT.

The authors write that generative AI use colored the clinical presentation and that ChatGPT's 'sycophantic' responses aligned with the patient's abnormal beliefs and strengthened the delusions, with AI hallucinations possibly reinforcing the psychosis. They also name childhood neglect, long-term cannabis use and the relationship breakdown as vulnerability factors. The report quotes no chat transcripts, and it does not say where or when the patient was treated.

Reported harm

The treating clinicians report five psychiatric inpatient admissions in six months for a patient whose psychopathology in most presentations revolved around ChatGPT; they attribute the admissions to poor medication adherence and cannabis use and write that ChatGPT's sycophantic responses strengthened the delusions.

Outcome

Unknown

Published as a journal case report (Prim Care Companion CNS Disord 2026;28(5):26cr04260). At the end of the reported period the patient had received an aripiprazole depot injection, had improved behaviourally, retained the ChatGPT-related beliefs with poor insight and had not agreed to stop using ChatGPT. No later course is reported.

What remains unknown

  • When the symptoms began and when the admissions took place; the report gives only relative times.
  • Where the patient lived and was treated.
  • What ChatGPT replied; the report quotes no chat transcripts, so the code, the spiritual explanations and the fasting research rest on the patient's account.
  • Whether the 5-day dry fast caused any medical harm.
  • The patient's course after the last admission.

What the evidence supports

AI involvement: reported. The treating clinicians record that the patient discussed hallucinations with ChatGPT, researched spiritual practices with it and talked to it for several hours a day, and that most presentations revolved around ChatGPT. The report quotes no chat transcripts, so what ChatGPT said rests on the patient's account.

7 claims: 4 documented, 3 reported. What the statuses mean

Reported The case report describes a 27-year-old woman with a year of psychotic symptoms who, within a few days of first experiencing transient visual hallucinations, began discussing them with ChatGPT to understand them, used it to connect the symptoms to astrology and a concept the patient called 'Christ Consciousness', and came to talk to it continuously for several hours a day.

Causal attribution. The patient's history as taken and written up by the treating clinicians; no chat logs are quoted or described in the report.

  • psychiatrist.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'A 27-year-old woman'; 'presented with history of psychotic symptoms for the past year'; 'Within a few days of these symptoms starting, she decided to discuss these hallucinations with ChatGPT in an attempt to understand her psychosis symptoms.'; 'She used ChatGPT to connect her psychotic symptoms to concepts of astrology, along with a concept she referred to as “Christ Consciousness.”'; 'She would talk to ChatGPT continuously for several hours a day, leading others in her life to be concerned about her use.'; 'she initially started experiencing transient visual hallucinations and ideas of persecution'
Reported The patient used ChatGPT to research how to carry out personal spiritual practices, which included dry fasting with no food for 5 days.

Causal attribution. Patient history recorded by the clinicians; the report does not describe any medical consequence of the fasting or what ChatGPT said about it.

  • psychiatrist.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'Over time, she started using ChatGPT to “study about herself”'; 'researched how to carry out her unique spiritual practices, which included effective dry fasting (no food for 5 days)'; 'She would report on her unique spiritual practices, researched with ChatGPT'
Documented In the 6 months before the report the patient was admitted to a mental health inpatient unit on 5 occasions, each stay lasting 1 week to 10 days; the authors describe the admissions as worsening of symptoms triggered by poor adherence to medication and continued cannabis use.

Causal attribution. Clinical course recorded by the treating clinicians. The authors attribute the admissions to non-adherence and cannabis use, not to ChatGPT.

  • psychiatrist.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'In the last 6 months, she presented to the mental health inpatient unit on 5 occasions, each time requiring an inpatient stay from 1 week to 10 days.'; 'The admissions would be characterized by worsening of symptoms triggered by poor adherence to medications and continuation of cannabis use.'
Documented The clinicians record that in most presentations the patient's psychopathology revolved around ChatGPT: the patient described talking to God using a code provided by ChatGPT and communicating with a romantic partner through it in a coded language, repeatedly referred to ChatGPT as God and Jesus, came to feel that a 'soul mate' was speaking directly through the 'soul mate' poems the patient uploaded to it, and concluded through ChatGPT that this person was in a sacred union with the patient.

Causal attribution. The report documents the content of the patient's delusions as observed by the treating teams. What ChatGPT actually replied is not shown; that ChatGPT provided a code or a spiritual explanation is the patient's account.

  • psychiatrist.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'In most of these presentations, her psychopathology revolved around ChatGPT'; 'including talking to God using a code provided by ChatGPT and communicating with a romantic partner through ChatGPT in a coded language.'; 'She would also repeatedly refer to ChatGPT as God and Jesus.'; 'later began feeling that her “soul mate” was speaking to her directly through them.'; 'Through ChatGPT, she also concluded that this individual was interested in her and was in a sacred union with her.'; 'She would upload her “soul mate” poems to ChatGPT'
Documented The patient told the treating teams that research done with the assistance of ChatGPT showed the patient did not have psychosis.

Causal attribution. The report documents the patient's statement; it does not show ChatGPT's replies.

  • psychiatrist.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'Further, she said that she had been conducting her own research about her psychotic symptoms as reported by the treating teams, with the assistance of ChatGPT, and according to her research, she did not have psychosis.'
Documented At each admission the patient was started on aripiprazole and benzodiazepines, which improved behavioural symptoms while insight stayed poor and the beliefs related to ChatGPT persisted; at the last admission an aripiprazole depot injection followed, and after 10 days the patient had improved behaviourally but still held the spiritual beliefs, had poor insight and did not agree to stop using ChatGPT.

Causal attribution. Treatment and course recorded by the treating clinicians.

  • psychiatrist.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'Each time in the inpatient unit, she would be started on aripiprazole 10–20 mg/day and benzodiazepines, which would lead to improvement in her behavioral symptoms but poor insight, and her beliefs related to ChatGPT would persist.'; 'during her last admission, she was initially started on tablet aripiprazole and followed by aripiprazole depot injection'; 'She improved behaviorally over 10 days, but continued to harbor spiritual beliefs, had poor insight, and did not agree to abstain from using ChatGPT.'
Reported The authors write that generative AI use colored the patient's clinical presentation and that ChatGPT's 'sycophantic' responses, aligned with the patient's way of thinking and abnormal beliefs, strengthened the delusions, with AI hallucinations possibly reinforcing the psychosis; they also list childhood neglect, a long history of cannabis use and a relationship breakdown close to the onset as vulnerability factors.

Causal attribution. The authors' clinical interpretation. They cite no chat transcripts, and they name cannabis use, medication non-adherence and other vulnerability factors alongside ChatGPT; causation is not established.

  • psychiatrist.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'Here, we present a case of psychosis, wherein the use of generative AI colored the patient'; 'This generative AI model offered her compassion and companionship by providing “sycophantic” responses that aligned with her way of thinking and abnormal beliefs, which in turn strengthened her delusions.'; 'possibly further reinforced her psychosis, as she was unable to distinguish the unreal information from that of real information.'; 'Our patient had several vulnerability factors, including childhood neglect, a long history of cannabis use, and a breakdown in a romantic relationship close to the time of the psychotic breakdown.'

Sources

2 sources inspected, from 1 underlying account. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.

How the sources were read, and where the events happened

Full text of the case report read on the journal page (psychiatrist.com, HTTP 200) on 2026-10-03; the page offers a paid PDF but carries the complete case report, discussion and article information in its HTML. Written by the treating clinicians. Applies to s1.

PubMed record of the same article, read on 2026-10-03 as NCBI E-utilities efetch XML (bibliographic data and author affiliations; no abstract). Not independent of s1. Applies to s2.

Event countries: Unknown. Affected-person countries: Unknown. Court countries: Unknown.

The case report does not say where the patient lived or was treated. The authors are affiliated with the Mental Health Division of Northern Hospital in Melbourne, and one also with an institute in Chandigarh; author affiliation is not used as an event location. No court proceeding is reported.

Reviewed for publication 2026-10-03: Published as a core case (communicated_with): a journal case report by the treating clinicians describes a patient whose psychopathology revolved around ChatGPT in most of five inpatient admissions. Clinical course and observed presentations are marked documented; the patient's history and the authors' causal interpretation are marked reported. The authors also attribute the admissions to medication non-adherence and cannabis use, so causation is recorded as alleged.

People described

A 27-year-old woman described in a de-identified psychiatric case report, published with the patient's consent; not identified here.

People reported harmed in this case

1 person

1 AI participant · 0 other people harmed

One patient, the subject of the case report. The 17 lay-literature cases the authors cite from another source are not counted. Exact 1.

Counted once within this case. The same person may appear in other cases. This count does not establish AI causation.

Tags

#chatgpt#openai#case-report#psychosis#delusion#religious-delusion#hospitalization#cannabis

Cite this case

Compiled per our published methodology: verification statuses, sourcing standards, and corrections process.

APA

NOPE. (2026). Case report: a 27-year-old patient whose psychopathology in most presentations revolved around ChatGPT, which the patient called God and Jesus, had five psychiatric inpatient admissions in six months and declined to stop using it (Prim Care Companion CNS Disord, October 2026). AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2026-pcc-case-report-chatgpt-associated-psychosis-god-delusions-five-admissions

BibTeX

@misc{2026_pcc_case_report_chatgpt_associated_psychosis_god_delusions_five_admissions,
  title = {Case report: a 27-year-old patient whose psychopathology in most presentations revolved around ChatGPT, which the patient called God and Jesus, had five psychiatric inpatient admissions in six months and declined to stop using it (Prim Care Companion CNS Disord, October 2026)},
  author = {NOPE},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {AI incidents},
  url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2026-pcc-case-report-chatgpt-associated-psychosis-god-delusions-five-admissions}
}

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