Hallucinogens are a classification of drugs that cause the user to experience an altered perception of reality. The hallucinations or visual disturbances often caused by these drugs are where they get their name from. Hallucinogens drugs can be split into two subcategories as well: classic hallucinogens and dissociative drugs. Both subcategories can cause altered perceptions and hallucinations but dissociative drugs often cause the user to feel out of their body while high.
Hallucinogens can be natural or man-made and many are still not fully understood by the scientific community. Most hallucinogenic drugs are either illegal or highly regulated and while some users do not see them to be as serious as many other illegal drugs, they are still habit-forming and potentially dangerous when abused.
While hallucinogenic drugs are often not as strongly stigmatized as other Schedule I drugs, they can be just as dangerous at times. Hallucinogens are still habit forming drugs, meaning that a person will build a tolerance and need more each time to experience their effects. Effects of withdrawal can also potentially take a physical and mental toll on someone attempting to quit the use of hallucinogenic drugs.
Research still does not know all of the long term effects that heavy usage of hallucinogens has on a person’s body. Two disorders we do understand can develop are persistent psychosis and Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder, or HPPD. Persistent psychosis can cause long term paranoia and mood swings in a person who has abused hallucinogenic drugs, while HPPD can cause hallucinations and visual disturbances in someone even when they are sober.
The ability to alter perceptions of reality are perhaps the most dangerous aspects of hallucinogens. Someone high on hallucinogens often loses the ability to think rationally and interpret accurately the world around them. This, combined with increased levels of impulsive behavior, can lead to occurrences of either self-harm or danger to others due to psychosis.
While the dangers of other drugs are often well documented, the dangers associated with an addiction to hallucinogenic drugs stems from the fact that there is still so much unknown about how they affect a person’s brain long term. While there are no government-approved medications to help treat hallucinogen addiction, behavioral therapy has shown promising results.
At Create Recovery Los Angeles, we offer a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy program that can help treat the underlying causes of addiction disorders. We are here to help those who are suffering from addiction or mental health disorders. Please call (855)-518-0222 to learn more.