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Ecstasy Addiction |
 Addiction to ecstasy can not only wear down
the body and cause serious damage, but it
can be fatal. Ecstasy use can cause
long-lasting damage to brain areas critical
for thought and memory. A findings from a
study from Johns Hopkins and the National
Institute of Mental Health now suggest that
ecstasy use may lead to impairments in other
cognitive functions besides memory, such as
the ability to reason verbally or sustain
attention. Researchers are continuing to
examine the effects of chronic ecstasy use
on memory and other functions in which
serotonin has been implicated, such as mood,
impulse control, and sleep cycles. |
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The designer drug ecstasy, or MDMA users may
encounter problems similar to those
experienced by amphetamine and cocaine
users, including addiction. Narconon of
Oklahoma indicates that in addition to its
rewarding effects, MDMA's psychological
effects can include confusion, depression,
sleep problems, anxiety, and paranoia
during, and sometimes weeks after, taking
the drug. Physical effects can include
muscle tension, involuntary teeth clenching,
nausea, blurred vision, faintness, and
chills or sweating. Increases in heart rate
and blood pressure are a special risk for
people with circulatory or heart disease.
Ecstasy-related fatalities at raves have
been reported. The stimulant effects of the
drug, which enable the user to dance for
extended periods, combined with the hot,
crowded conditions usually found at raves
can lead to dehydration, hyperthermia, and
heart or kidney failure. MDMA use damages
brain serotonin neurons. Serotonin is
thought to play a role in regulating mood,
memory, sleep, and appetite. Recent research
indicates heavy MDMA use causes persistent
memory problems in humans. |
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If you need help with an Ecstasy addiction,
call (877) 340-3602
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There has been some disagreements on whether
Ecstasy is addictive. For some people,
ecstasy can be addictive according to the
National Institute on Drug Abuse. A survey
of young adult and adolescent esctasy users
found that 43 percent of those who reported
ecstasy use met the accepted diagnostic
criteria for dependence, as evidenced by
continued use despite knowledge of physical
or psychological harm, withdrawal effects,
and tolerance (or diminished response).
These results are consistent with those of
similar studies in other countries that also
suggest a high rate of ecstasy dependence
among users. Ecstasy abstinence-associated
withdrawal symptoms include fatigue, loss of
appetite, depressed feelings, and trouble
concentrating. |
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false idea that a person only feels good
with ecstasy leads to a desire to take it
more often than just at raves and techno
parties; 67% of those who use the drug want
to continue taking it, despite having bad
experiences. And regardless of its addictive
properties, people often try other drugs
which are even more dangerous and do cause
the user to become addicted. |
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The Life Cycle and
Mechanics of Addiction
By Gary W. Smith
C.C.D.C.
Executive Director
Narconon Arrowhead
Whether a person is genetically or
bio-chemically predisposed to addiction or
alcoholism is a controversy that has been
debated for years within the scientific,
medical and chemical dependency communities.
One school of thought advocates the “disease
concept” which embraces the notion that
addiction is an inherited disease, and that
the individual is permanently ill at a
genetic level, even for those experiencing
long periods of sobriety.
Another philosophy argues that addiction is
a dual problem consisting of a physical and
mental dependency on chemicals, compounded
by a pre-existing mental disorder (i.e.,
clinical depression, bipolar disorder or
some other mental illness), and that the
mental disorder needs to be treated first as
the primary cause of the addiction.
A third philosophy subscribes to the idea
that chemical dependency leads to permanent
“chemical imbalances” in the neurological
system that must be treated with
psychotropic medications after the person
has withdrawn from their drug of choice.
The fact remains that there is some
scientific research that favors each of
these addiction concepts, but none of them
are absolute. Based on national averages,
addiction treatment has a 16% to 20%
recovery rate. The message is pretty clear
that these theories are just that, theories,
and we have a lot more to learn if we are to
bring the national recovery rate to a more
desirable level.
There is a fourth school of thought which
has proven to be more accurate. It has to do
with the life cycle of addiction. This data
is universally applicable to addiction, no
matter which hypothesis is used to explain
the phenomenon of chemical dependency.
The life cycle of addiction begins with a
problem, discomfort or some form of
emotional or physical pain a person is
experiencing. The person finds this very
difficult to deal with.
Here is an individual who, like most people
in our society, is basically good. He has
encountered a problem that is causing him
physical or emotional pain and discomfort
that he does not have an immediate answer
for. Examples would include difficulty
“fitting in” as a child or teenager,
puberty, physical injuries such a broken
bone, a bad back or some other chronic
physical condition. Whatever the origin of
the difficulty is, the discomfort associated
with it presents the individual with a real
problem. He feels this problem is a major
situation that is persisting. He can see no
immediate resolution or relief from it. Most
of us have experienced this in our lives to
a greater or lesser degree.
(click
here for full article) |
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