Kayla DiMarco
Dr. Small
English 1A
4 May 2014
Can MDMA Heal Psychological Trauma?
When you think of the drug “Ecstasy,” you probably imagine horror stories in which a naive teenage was found dead of the dance floor after blowing a whistle non-stop for three days. While there have certainly been reported deaths caused by the substance inside of Ecstasy, the drug is much safer than most people in the general public believe. The substance in Ecstasy is a drug that the public knows little about, which has potential dangers and uses. MDMA is known to be an illegal empathogenic drug that has been classified to be part of both phenethylamine and amphetamine classes of drugs, a stimulant and a hallucinogen and has become prominent over the past decade. This common social drug is usually taken in the form of a tablet, and it can also be snorted, inhaled or injected. Actually, MDMA was first used in the 1970s, but not just as a recreational drug but as an aid in psychotherapy. Some of the earliest studies have shown that MDMA in combination with psychotherapy can help people who have overcome a severe trauma – such as war, torture, disasters, or sexual assault. They will often experience the after effect, in a condition known as post-traumatic stress disorder and possibly other disorders as well.
The beginnings of MDMA were innocent, even banal. (OPRAH, 2011) In 1912, MDMA was first developed by two German scientists that worked for the Merck pharmaceutical company. The original intended use of MDMA was supposed to be an appetite suppressant and vasoconstrictor for people with low blood pressure (NIDA, Abuse 2011). It was researched sporadically for the next 65 years, though research was never based on psychoactive effects, but rather ef...
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...decade for the drug to reach the eye of the public. Nowadays most people have at least a general idea of what effects MDMA has on the mind and the body, even if those ideas are incorrect. Hopefully, further study will shows us MDMA is indeed more than a recreational drug but instead a way to help those whose mental anguish is treatable through conventional therapies. MDMA is a drug, and like all drugs there is a significant risk it taking it. Whether it's the chemical itself or the behaviors that come with it, it's important to note that it is not risk free. However, the effects of the drug may be able to give us the unparalleled ability to treat mental illness by allowing users to face their problems with a sort of protective armor, letting them relive troubling experiences without fear and solving deep-seated issues that therapy alone may not be able to treat.
In brief, while ecstasy at one point may have been a facilitator in the field of psychology between therapists and patients, it soon became a facilitator in society between recreational users and death. Ever since ecstasy was introduced to the curious public back in the 1960's, it has become a popular preference among drug addicts. Till this day, teenagers all over the world are being pressured into experimenting with MDMA leading them to a life controlled and regulated by not only ecstasy but other various drugs as well. It is actually quite interesting to see what lengths society will go to in order to attain and maintain a sense of happiness and ecstasy.
Recently there have been advanced studies into the use of MDMA to help treat PTSD. MDMA is the purest form ...
Credibility material: Its intake results in adverse medical conditions that are further exalted by its addiction properties that ensure a continued intake of the substance. The drug can be abused through multiple means and is medically recorded to produce short-term joy, energy , and other effects such as increased heart rate and blood pressure. This ultimately results in numerous psychiatric and social problems; factors that played a major role in its illegalization after multiple and widespread cases of its effects were reported in the country during the 1900s. In addition to this, the drug results in immediate euphoric effect, a property which the National Institute of Drug Abuse (2010) attributes to be the root cause for its increased po...
The article under review is Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in the DSM-5: Controversy, Change, and Conceptual Considerations by Anushka Pai, Alina M. Suris, and Carol S. North in Behavioral Sciences. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a mental health problem that some people develop after experiencing or witnessing a life-threatening event, like combat, a natural disaster, a car accident, or sexual assault (U.S. Department VA, 2007). PTSD can happen to anyone and many factors can increase the possibility of developing PTSD that are not under the person’s own control. Symptoms of PTSD usually will start soon after the traumatic event but may not appear for months or years later. There are four types of symptoms of PTSD but may show in different
Freismuth, M., Montgomery, T., Sitte, H., Steinkellner, T (2011). The ugly side of amphetamines: short- and long-term toxicity of 3, 4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, 'Ecstasy'), methamphetamine and d-amphetamine. Biology Chemistry, 392, 103-115. Doi:10.1515/BC.2011.016
Drug use and abuse is as old as mankind itself. Human beings have always had a desire to eat or drink substances that make them feel relaxed, stimulated, or euphoric. Wine was used at least from the time of the early Egyptians; narcotics from 4000 B.C.; and medicinal use of marijuana has been dated to 2737 B.C. in China. But it was not until the nineteenth century that the active substances in drugs were extracted. There was a time in history when some of these newly discovered substances, such as morphine, laudanum, cocaine, were completely unregulated and prescribed freely by physicians for a wide variety of ailments.
In a world where mental illnesses like PTSD, depression, and autism are becoming more and more prevalent, MDMA, or “Ecstasy” is just the mental boost that someone needs and is illegally being dealt to patients while in therapy or counseling. The theory is that MDMA can raise “happiness levels” by forcing the brain to release serotonin and dopamine at the same time, resulting in intense euphoria and “ego softening” (Errowid). Some other side effects of MDMA can include feelings of inner peace, increase in social bonding, and an increase in ability to communicate. Some of the less positive side effects can be eye wiggling, increased heart rate, and dehydration. All of which, are quite manageable and not too noticeable. Sufferers of social anxiety and depression could greatly benefit from MDMA, as it can break down inner boundaries and increase the need to be around other people. A grou...
“An estimated 4.7 million Americans (2.1% of the U.S. population) have tried MA at some time in their lives” (Anglin, Burke, Perrochet, Stamper, and Dawud-Noursi 137-141). 4.7 million is a huge number of people who have admitted to trying (or using) methamphetamine, and that is only in one country! That number is undoubtedly rising every single day. The general public need to be educated about this harmful drug, so that they will hopefully have a better idea of how to deal with it if they happen to come face-to-face with methamphetamine. The drug is a growing problem in our country, and many people will possibly either see someone who is suffering with an amphetamine addiction, see the drug being trafficked, or come in contact with it.
Methamphetamine created in 1919 in Japan. It went into wide use for both sides during World War II and it was especially used by Japanese pilots before their flights. Once the war was over, leftover storage of Methamphetamine went public resulting in extremely high amounts of abuse with this drug. During the 1950’s this drug was used as a diet aid and was also used in the thought that it helped to fight depression. It was also over used by college students, truck drivers, and athletes because of its easy availability. This pattern increased remarkably in the 1960’s when this drug became more available in an injectable form. The United States Government in the 1970’s made Meth, for most uses, illegal which then resulted in Mexican drug trafficking organizations to set up large labs in California. Today most of this drug that is available comes from Thailand, Myanmar, and China. (History of Methamphetam...
A) Talks about how the military is not protected by ecstasy abuse. They may have a zero tolerance mentality about it but that still does not stop people from accessing it. The Navy found a medicine that makes hiding of having the trace of ecstasy on a person harder to hide. They found a better way to detect ecstasy with a certain drug exam that is ahead of technology. Instead if a normal test for amphetamines they found a new agent that can even trace the smallest amount of ecstasy on a person system. This medicine has been tested for the past two years and was tested again before they sent out the troops to go to Afghanistan. Ecstasy symptoms can be decreased facility to regulate sleep and emotions, as well as increase changes in hear attack, stroke and possibility of death. Hopefully this will shorten the amount of people using drugs like ecstasy in any military branch while on task.
“Ecstasy”, a drug with many different opinions and views, is often viewed as a killer, which is a stretch of the truth. The drug is sometimes thought of as one of the worst things in the world, but also as the best. Health issues are a problem and there have been some deaths .The deaths though are no way near the number of alcohol or cigarette deaths. How could such a beautiful word be considered such a horrible thing . Ecstasy can kill, but you can die tomorrow by being hit by a car or getting shot, why not live your life to the fullest. Live everyday as if it were your last, but don’t be stupid about it. Ecstasy does not kill a person, that’s just the excuse they use for ruining their life or killing themselves.
A largely debated topic in today's society is whether or not psychedelic drugs should be legalized for medicinal purposes and if they should, how this legalization would affect the communities in which they’re being prominently medicinally used. Although many scientists have argued that psychedelics pose a mental health risk, closer examination shows that communities would have a significantly lower depression rate if certain psychedelics were legalized. Now to fully understand how psychedelics could be beneficial or the opposite thereof, you’ll need to understand how they work and what they are. What a psychedelic drug is, the immediate effects, both mentally and physically, and how communities might benefit and function with the sudden use of these drugs.
The leaders in the novel put pharmacologists and biochemists to work to make the drug and it was perfected within six years. The drug is hypothesized to calm people and also get them high without any negative side effects. In the book, soma is described as “All the advantages of Christianity and alcohol; none of their defects” (Huxley 37). Huxley makes it seem like everyone should take Soma and that there’s no reason for them to not consume it since it makes people feel alive and satisfied but doesn’t cause any harm. In a video interview, Huxley says, “I postulated it a substance called ‘soma,’ which was a very versatile drug. It would make people feel happy in small doses, it would make them see visions in medium doses, and it would send them to sleep in large doses.” This quote shows that when the drug is taken it at different doses it seems to have different effects but each of these effects are perceived as being good. At small doses it seems to help people feel carefree, and at medium doses it allows people to see the world from a different point of view while, at high doses people can completely run away from reality. The author seems to be talking between the lines to show that even though some of these effects could be seen as being dangerous it is foreseen by the public because they think of it as being unharmful and all they’re trying to do is achieve the pursuit of
In the history of mankind, the hallucinogens have probably been the most important of the narcotics. Their fantastic effects made the...
Ecstasy Effects | Information on Ecstasy,Club. Drugs,Pills and MDMA. Web. The Web. The Web.