Effects of Ecstasy Abuse
While the short-term effects of ecstasy use might seem like a lot of fun to some naÏve users, the drug is doing its destructive work from the first moment it is ingested. A surprising amount of damage can be quickly accumulated, including, of course, addiction.
There are some people for whom the effects of ecstasy use include addiction in a quite short time. Cravings to use more ecstasy can drive a person back to use ecstasy again and again, even when they realize how much it is hurting them. One survey showed that nearly half of young people who reported ecstasy use also showed signs of addiction.
What is harder to see is when the effects of ecstasy are lasting psychological harm. Research has shown that even a short exposure to ecstasy can cause problems that last for several weeks, such as memory loss, problems learning, confusion, anxiety, and depression. Heavy users may also experience paranoia and sleep problems.
Night Clubs, Dance Clubs, and Music Festivals Cater to Ecstasy Dealers and Users
If you visit these venues, you will often find that there are obvious places where the patrons can buy cold water and sometimes there are chilled rooms where a person can cool off. This is because of the overheating effect of ecstasy use. As a user’s tactile sense is exaggerated, nightclubs who wish to attract drug-using clients may cover their walls with suede or other sensual material.
Occasionally, a patron at one of these events will overheat and die or may die of an ecstasy overdose. Other harm comes from the trend toward polydrug use. Ecstasy users may combine ecstasy use with alcohol, marijuana, methamphetamine or even heroin, seriously increasing their risk of harm.
Ecstasy Users May Not be Able to Feel Pleasure Without the Drug
While the reason for taking the drug is the sensations that users consider pleasurable, it is ironic that one effect of ecstasy use is to disable a person from feeling pleasure from normal events. This may help to drive addiction as the person feels depressed and miserable when they are not high.
Other effects of Ecstasy:
- Difficulty focusing on complex tasks
- Poor memory recall
- Uncoordinated gait
- Changes in mental associations
- Instability
- Slow reaction times
- Impulsiveness
- Need for stimulation that may lead to impulsive sexual activity
- Euphoria
Some of these effects tend to make the person affected by ecstasy a dangerous driver.
Other dangerous effects include flashbacks, panic attacks, and even psychosis. A person who is a heavy and long-term ecstasy user may suffer depersonalization, defined as a state in which a person feels detached from themselves and that their thoughts and feelings are unreal or do not belong to them.
If ecstasy is used repeatedly in a short time, the damaging effects can be even more severe than if it is only used occasionally. It is common for those attending dance parties to take multiple pills at once or to take pill after pill to keep the sensation going.
When a loved one experiences this kind of damage or when they are driven to use ecstasy over and over, despite the harm, you can help them recover by enlisting the aid of the Narconon drug and alcohol recovery program. In this program, those who became addicted to drugs or alcohol are helped to regain sober living skills. A sauna-based detoxification program helps flush out toxic residues left over from past drug use, which most people associate with lowered cravings.
Find out how Narconon can help someone you care about who is trapped in addiction.
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