At Crest View Recovery Center we offer several types of treatment options for ecstasy addiction. Generally, an individual who is suffering from a substance use disorder is abusing ecstasy along with other substances. Therefore, treatment options are dependent on exactly how much and how long have they been abusing substances, and of course, which substances?
If you think you or someone you know is dealing with an addiction to ecstasy, read more to learn about it, and treatment options available.
What is Ecstasy?
Originally manufactured in 1912 by Merck pharmaceutical company, Ecstacy resurfaced in the 1960s, but it wasn’t until the 1970s that it became the “rave” drug we all know today. Also known as a methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA), ecstasy is an illegal synthetic drug with the same chemical make-up as Molly. Classified as an entactogenic or psychoactive drug popularly used in the club scene, it is similar to the stimulant methamphetamine and the hallucinogen mescaline.
Also called X, ETC, or E, ecstasy acts as both a stimulant and psychedelic, to induce the feeling of euphoria, diminish the user’s anxiety, lowering inhibitions, and creating an illusion of extreme closeness with other people. Stimulants speed up the messages between your brain and the body, making you feel more alert, awake, confident, and energetic. Although ecstasy is sometimes described as being a mild hallucinogen, it is very rare for a person using ecstasy to hallucinate.
As drugs always have their side effects, with ecstasy, the reaction to taking it can be very dangerous. People who abuse ecstasy also experience symptoms of depression, confusion, sleep problems, and anxiety, as the normal levels of serotonin released in the brain become depleted. Ecstasy most commonly comes in pill form but can also be injected and taken in other ways. The 
high generally lasts between 3 and 5 hours. Ecstasy’s effects include:
- High energy
- Calmness and relaxation
- Emotional warmth
- Distorted perceptions of time
- Heightened sensations
Ecstacy almost is always taken in a pill form, specifically 60 to 120 mg. Rarely is it snorted or injected in liquid form. It is often hard to identify what an ecstasy pill looks like, but they often come in different colors and sometimes stamped with symbols, such as four-leaf clovers or smiley faces. It is important to note, that this is a drug, and these symbols do not indicate if these pills are pure and their level of intensity. Ecstacy is sold illegally.
What Ecstasy Does to Your Mind and Body
Ecstasy causes both psychological and physiological health effects. As our mind and body are connected in terms of health, this drug, and various others, affect both our brain and other parts of the body simultaneously. MDMA, like other amphetamines, affects our brain by increasing the activity of three important neurotransmitters, which are the chemical messengers located in the cells within the brain. Ecstasy interferes with the brain’s ability to create and release serotonin, the chemical responsible for pleasure, our happiness, mood stability, pain sensitivity, aggression, appetite, and also triggers hormones that affect sexual arousal and trust.
People are said to take ecstasy as it is a drug that creates a feeling of pleasure, an emotionally relaxed state, and a physical state of exhilaration. In addition to serotonin, ecstasy increases the activity of two other chemicals in the brain, dopamine, and norepinephrine. Ecstasy causes these neurotransmitter levels to drop below normal, causing this out of body experience.
When someone takes this specific drug, the emotional closeness, elevated mood, and empathy they are feeling is a result of the large amounts of serotonin being released in the brain. When dopamine is released, one’s energy/activity levels increase, and when norepinephrine is released into the brain and the bloodstream, our heart rate increases.
For example, dancing all night long at a rave without sleep or a break is normal for someone on ecstasy. This sense of euphoria or increased energy a person may feel at the time when the drug has entered the bloodstream may feel amazing at the time before it wears off. This is also due to as said before, the sure in extreme serotonin. An individual’s sense of human interaction is impacted on a large scale, so that is why you are likely to get closer to people, and engage in risky behaviors, that you wouldn’t otherwise do. This is due to our levels of executive functioning becoming compromised. In return, this extremely fast deployment of serotonin in the brain can deplete normal serotonin levels and cause depression after the drug wears off.
As mentioned before, the release of the neurotransmitter norepinephrine increases one’s heart rate and blood pressure and raises body temperature. This is especially risky for people who suffer from heart and blood vessel problems. Other health effects include nausea, muscle cramping, involuntary teeth clenching, blurred vision, chills, sweating, psychosis, thinking and memory problems, paranoia, and convulsions.
Specifically, this abuse causes hallucinogenic effects as part of its high while lowering your inhibitions, leading to risky behaviors, ones that a person would not normally engage in. This is also due to the want and need of the drug to feel more pleasure.
Even though ecstasy may be on the list of less addictive drugs, despite what people have said or heard, ecstasy is addictive and can lead to serious problems, and worse, death if overly abused. Even if a person uses ecstasy more recreationally, addictive habits can still form, which often leads to a stronger dependency, and before you know it, you can’t live without it, For example, because this drug makes you feel so awake, alert, and energetic, it can cause dehydration and other problems, most commonly, sleep deprivation, which in turn can make you very sick, as mixing this drug with alcohol, which also dehydrates, increases the risk of adverse effects. Also, as alcohol is a depressant, the side effects caused, can mask the stimulant properties of ecstasy misleading the user about how intoxicated they are. Thus, in return, putting themselves in danger.
They say, although the high from ecstasy usually only lasts a few hours, the crash can last for days. There is no safe use of ecstasy. Instead, an individual is undoubtedly putting themselves in harm’s way for not only acute issues but severe complications, that could eventually and unfortunately result in death. So, instead of continuing to put yourself at risk, know that it is okay to ask for help. Crest View’s ecstasy addiction treatment center in Asheville, NC, are experts in addiction treatment and will get you back on the road to recovery.
Is Ecstasy Addictive?
Research done on abuse statistics has shown that 92 percent of people who begin to use ecstasy, later on, turn to other more addictive drugs such as marijuana, amphetamines, cocaine, and heroin. So, despite people thinking ecstasy is not addictive, it is important to note, that for some people, they can develop a dependency on this drug or unfortunately move onto abusing other substances. For those who feel like they may be addicted to ecstasy, like with every drug, there are warning signs and risk factors to look out for. These include:
- More frequent use
- Needing more and more to get the same effect
- Spending time thinking about using the drug
- Finding it’s hard to be happy without it
- Spending more money than you have on it
- Making new friends who do it and neglecting old friends who don’t
Therefore, if you or a loved one has developed any sign of addiction or dependence on ecstasy, an addiction treatment center that specializes in this specific area can help guide away from abuse and into lifelong sobriety. If you find that you can’t stop using ecstasy, remember, that it is okay to ask for help!
Find An Ecstasy Addiction Treatment Center Near You
As mentioned before, ecstasy causes various symptoms and leads to many problems. These include addiction, despite many people thinking the drug is non-addictive. Research proves that people even experience withdrawal when they try to stop abusing the drug, after addiction sets in. Withdrawal symptoms include many negative effects for which you need an ecstasy addiction treatment center.
Ecstasy addiction begins after tolerance, the point when you need more MDMA just to feel the drug’s effects. After this, physical and psychological addiction starts with continued Molly drug use. The only way to stop your addiction before it is too late is through the help of an ecstasy addiction treatment center. Through this help, people will learn the underlying reasons of why they abuse drugs in the first place, and what must occur for them to foresee a sober future. Furthermore, during treatment, specialists will also discover and learn about any co-occurring conditions of mental illness you may suffer from, and whether those came before your substance abuse or because of taking ecstasy.
MDMA effects do not end with your addiction. Many continue to affect you for years after treatment. These include depression, thinking problems, and problems with memory. Therefore, you need a quality treatment center that helps you learn how to deal with these changes and improve the problems over time. At Crest View, we pride ourselves in tailoring treatment to meet each of our client’s needs, as everyone and their cases are different. Therapies taught in ecstasy rehab not only help treat substance abuse, in this case, ecstasy but also, help our patient’s at Crest View also learn the proper coping skills to prevent relapse.
The Rehab You Need for Happier and Healthier Days Ahead
Treatment for your abuse of stimulant drugs must include a wide range of therapies for the changes ecstasy brought to your life. You also must address co-occurring conditions and gain coping skills for relapse prevention. All of these addiction therapy services take place in a quality rehab treatment center, such as Crest View Recovery Center in Asheville, NC. For example, programs of Crest View Recovery Center include:
- Rehab treatment
- Gender-specific housing
- Intensive outpatient program
- Reality therapy model of treatment
- Life skills and coping skills development
- Off-site detox
- Trauma treatment
You can end your drug addiction. However, you just need the right help. Find that help at Crest View Recovery Center in Asheville, NC. Call (866) 327-2505 to learn more information about CVRC’s ecstasy addiction treatment center.