Ecstasy addiction must be treated like the disease it is. The Harmony Group of treatment centres has been helping people overcome Ecstasy addictions for over 7 years. Providing a specialised combination of medical treatment and behavioural therapy has seen a high success rate of recovery for Ecstasy abusers. If you or a loved one needs help, contact us today! 0861 695 9067
Information about Ecstasy Addiction
MDMA, or Ecstasy, is a synthetic, psychoactive drug that is chemically similar to the stimulant, methamphetamine, and the hallucinogen, mescaline. MDMA produces feelings of increased energy euphoria, emotional warmth, and distortions in time perception and tactile experiences.
How Is MDMA Abused?
MDMA is taken orally, usually as a capsule or tablet. It was initially popular among Caucasian adolescents and young adults in the nightclub scene or at weekend-long dance parties known as raves. More recently, the profile of the typical MDMA user has changed, with the drug now affecting a broader range of ethnic groups. MDMA is also popular among urban gay males—some report using MDMA as part of a multiple-drug experience that includes marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, ketamine, and other legal and illegal substances.
MDMA can produce confusion, depression, sleep problems, drug craving, and severe anxiety. These problems can occur soon after taking the drug or, sometimes, even days or weeks after taking MDMA. In addition, chronic users of MDMA perform more poorly than non-users on certain types of cognitive or memory tasks, although some of these effects may be due to the use of other drugs in combination with MDMA. Research in animals indicates that MDMA can be harmful to the brain—one study in non-human primates showed that exposure to MDMA for only 4 days caused damage to serotonin nerve terminals that was still evident 6 to 7 years later. Although similar neurotoxicity has not been seen definitively in humans, the wealth of animal research indicating MDMA’s damaging properties strongly suggests that MDMA is not a safe drug for human consumption. This is currently an area of active research.
For some people, MDMA can be addictive. A survey of young adult and adolescent MDMA 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 from similar studies in other countries that suggest a high rate of MDMA dependence among users. MDMA abstinence-associated withdrawal symptoms include fatigue, loss of appetite, depressed feelings, and trouble concentrating.
Adverse Effects on Health
MDMA can also be dangerous to overall health and, on rare occasions, lethal. MDMA can have many of the same physical effects as other stimulants such as cocaine and amphetamines. These include increases in heart rate and blood pressure (which present risks of particular concern for people with circulatory problems or heart disease) and other symptoms such as muscle tension, involuntary teeth clenching, nausea, blurred vision, faintness, and chills or sweating.
In high doses, MDMA can interfere with the body’s ability to regulate temperature. On rare but unpredictable occasions, this can lead to a sharp increase in body temperature (hyperthermia), which can result in liver, kidney, and cardiovascular system failure, and even death.
Famous Ecstasy Users
Band Name – Happy Mondays. Single – ‘FreakyDancin’. Album – ‘Pills, Thrills and Bellyache.’ Tattoo – ‘Ecstasy Shaun.’ Results – conclusive. Legend has it that Shaun and percussionist Bez drove into town with one of the first big batches of Ecstasy filling their car trunk.
The research chemist who rediscovered MDMA in 1965. Expanded human scientific knowledge of psychco-actives and their use more than anyone else. Detailed his experiences in the book ‘Phikal’ (Phenethylamines I Have Known And Loved)
Claims that sex and drugs get better after 40. A born-again guru practicing extreme yoga, tantric sex and ecstasy.
The great white hope of hip hop. Changed the game from blunts, weed and cognac to ecstasy and acid. Takes half an E before every stage performance to “loosen up”.
Fat Boy Slim
From ironic Housemartin to iconic DJ King of The World, Fatboy Slim. One of the most influential men in music and popular culture, he is now believed to be staying away from drugs since his marriage to a well-known children’s TV host.
The most effective treatments for drug abuse and addiction in general are cognitive-behavioral interventions that are designed to help modify the patient’s thinking, expectancies, and behaviors related to their drug use and to increase skills in coping with life stressors. Drug abuse recovery support groups may also be effective in combination with behavioral interventions to support long-term, drug-free recovery. There are currently no pharmacological treatments for addiction to MDMA.