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Hallucinogens Withdrawal Symptoms

People use hallucinogenic drugs to get a pleasurable high, where the user goes into a zombie-like trance. Although the potential for addiction to hallucinogens is rare, using any drug for a long time may cause tolerance and finally, dependence.

Prolonged exposure to psychedelic hallucinogens can cause a “flashback”, which means the users experience a “trip” after discontinuing the drug usage or taking a pause. Abruptly stopping the intake can lead to signs and symptoms like diarrhea and chills, which show up in a small period, and may range to severe symptoms that appear and last for weeks or months.

However, the hallucinogen withdrawal effects depend on the kind of drug you are addicted to. These are some of the symptoms that are the most common for hallucinogens:

Hallucinogens Withdrawal Symptoms

Physical Withdrawal Symptoms

  • Rapid breathing
  • High blood pressure
  • Increased heart rate
  • Increased heart rate
  • Muscle stiffening
  • Fever
  • Tremors
  • Seizures
  • Speech Problems

 

Psychological Withdrawal Symptoms

 

  • Mood swings
  • Rage
  • Anxiety
  • Enhanced sexual feelings
  • Psychotic breakdown
  • Hypersensitivity
  • Low Impulse Control

 

You lose all sense of time and perception. Apart from these, you may have spiritual ‘awakenings’ as you start to feel disconnected from your body and surroundings. Warped sense of time (psychedelic experience)

 

Hallucinogen Withdrawal Timeline

 

Days 1-3

  • Loss of appetite
  • Irritability
  • Anxiety
  • Fatigue

 

Days 4-10

  • Cravings
  • Lack of concentration
  • Panic episodes
  • Insomnia

 

Days 11 and beyond

  • Depression
  • Paranoia

 

Hallucinogens Bad Trip and Overdose

 

The temporary state of altered consciousness you feel after consuming hallucinogens is called a trip. During this phase, users experience auditory and visual perception changes, which make them unable to communicate with others or properly understand their surroundings. They start as ripples and undulated distortions, making them perceive themselves and the world differently.

While abusers crave this kind of deviation from reality, and it is a part of the high they achieve, sometimes, several unpredictable variables may make the whole episode particularly intense and even dangerous.

When you do not get a positive experience from the hallucinogenic drugs intake, it can be called a bad trip. The primary difference between a good and bad trip is that a positive experience marks a pleasant, dream-like, and enjoyable state. You may even get spiritual realizations out of the perceptual distortions, and usually feel fulfilled, either in a recreational sense or a deeper level.

Comparatively, the long-term effects of hallucinogens on the brain for prolonged periods can cause frightening visual and auditory distortions, making the experiences equal to nightmares. They can induce a sense of panic, paranoia, and the user may even lose their mind due to the intense long-term effects of hallucinogenic drugs. You feel that imminent danger is in order, such as a threat from abstractly frightening entities like monsters or the world is going to end soon. In this state, users are capable of hurting themselves or others even without their knowledge.

How To Help Someone Going Through A Bad Trip?

Whether or not you are also facing the long-term effects of hallucinogens on the body, being with someone going through a bad trip can be extremely stressful. These are the steps to follow to help someone on a bad trip:

Stay Calm

Don’t panic but remain rooted in reality. If they are being agitated, paranoid, or acting plain difficult, keeping calm throughout this ordeal will let them feel safe and understood. You can prevent things from escalating.

Assure Safety

One of the most telling characteristics of a bad trip is that users feel a sense of impending doom and fear danger. They may keep saying that there is something or someone out there trying to get them. In such cases, reaffirm their safety by saying encouraging words and reduce their paranoia and disorientation.

Regulate Breathing

When the tripping person starts to panic, they can hyperventilate, leading to high blood pressure, rapid heart rate, and other adverse physical effects. You may also need to administer appropriate treatment for overdose of hallucinogens in the worst cases. One of the best ways to let the user calm down is to help them perform some simple breathing exercises.

Give Water

Offer them cold water to increase dehydration and slow the appearance of physical symptoms. You can also help them focus by coordinating this action and stop them from getting further down on their trip.

What To Do In The Case Of Hallucinogens Overdose?

Psychedelic drugs may not be inherently toxic, nor do they cause an overdose, but taking them in large amounts can increase their inherent toxicity. Users can start acting in erratic ways and create life-threatening injuries to themselves and the people around them.

Other types of hallucinogenic drugs, such as dissociative and deliriant drugs can cause an overdose when taken in dangerous quantities. For instance, ketamine and other drugs may require a thorough overdose treatment program for hallucinogens. Or, they may prove fatal if you don’t seek medical care in time.

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Some Shocking Statistics

  • There are over 30 million American users of hallucinogens, abused primarily for their psychedelic effects.
  • Around 5% of Americans aged 15-24 have experimented with LSD, the most common and powerful hallucinogen, whereas, about 14% of high school seniors used LSD at least once, as revealed in a study.
  • In 2004, about 16,858 emergency department (ED) visits were estimated due to dextromethorphan (DXM) involvement, following which, the FDA has warned the people about abusing OTC pharmaceuticals containing DXM.
  • Young people who suffer from a pre-existing major depressive disorder are more likely to use psilocybin, ayahuasca, and other naturally available hallucinogens than those without one.
  • Between 1995-2000, of all the violent crimes reported where college students were the victims, 41% were committed by offenders who were using drugs.

 

Hallucinogens Addiction Treatment Options

The treatment for hallucinogenic drugs addiction is basically different from addiction treatment for most other drugs. Since there is no exact pharmacological treatment for hallucinogens addiction, the primary thing to do is to keep the user calm and stress-free.

The significant ways in which these drug effects differ from others are the major changes they make to the users’ perceptions. The users go into a state of distorted perception of reality, and hence, there is a risk that they may succumb to schizophrenic behaviors. Therefore, the main focus of the treatment should be on making them realize that they function normally without abusing hallucinogens.

Proper hallucinogen addiction treatment programs at the best drug inpatient rehabs can help them overcome their dependence. Medical professionals at these rehabs use multiple approaches to holistic treatment including intensive treatment, behavioral therapy, group counseling, and community support programs.

Medical professionals certified to treat drug addiction issues specialize in giving individual care and attention to each patient. They understand your issues, listen to your problems compassionately, and deliver the appropriate treatment. The only required condition is that you admit your problem and be honest.

If you are wondering, “do hallucinogens have withdrawal symptoms even when you are at an inpatient rehab?” then yes, you can. However, the fact that you have access to 24*7 monitoring of your vitals or changes in moods and behavior patterns, it is the safest place to be when you are trying to kick your habit of hallucinogens abuse.

Treatment For Hallucinogens Withdrawal Symptoms At An Inpatient Rehab

Treatment For Hallucinogens Withdrawal Symptoms At An Inpatient Rehab

Among the various available treatment options for hallucinogens, inpatient rehab may be your best bet because you can receive multiple levels of care, based on the intensity of your addiction. The severity will be classified based on whether you have consumed some other drugs in addition to hallucinogens or if there are any underlying mental illnesses.

The following are the various options of medical treatment for hallucinogens:

Residential Drug Rehab

You get effective treatment on the spot when you enroll at a residential treatment center. Particularly if you struggle with multiple substance abuse or a dual diagnosis, constant monitoring can eliminate the chances of relapse.

Partial Hospitalization

These programs may require you to attend the rehab for up to five or more days, for several hours in one session. While you may go home every night, the majority of your evenings may be spent here. These programs act as hybrids between inpatient and outpatient treatment programs.

Outpatient Drug Rehab

People who only abuse hallucinogenic drugs but are yet to develop severe addiction or hallucinogens withdrawal symptoms can benefit from outpatient treatment programs. You have the same programs and sessions as the residential and partial hospitalization programs, but with flexible timings. If you are not showing too intense long-term side effects of hallucinogens, you can choose outpatient programs and go on normally with your regular chores like work or school.

Therapy And Support

After the completion of youraddiction treatment programs, you can make it even more successful with robust therapy and support groups. These can help you overcome the challenges of fitting into society after deaddiction.

Find The Best Hallucinogens Addiction Treatment Center In Your Location

At Addiction Aide, we are committed to assisting people with drug dependence in locating the top facilities in for treatment for hallucinogenic addiction. For a long-lasting and successful recovery from hallucinogens dependence issues, find the best addiction treatment center near you.

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