DMT Addiction Treatment
DMT Addiction Treatment
Table of Contents
What is DMT?
DMT, otherwise known as N, N-Dimethyltryptamine, is a drug that looks like a white powder. While the risk of physical addiction is less likely than many other drugs, psychological addiction can occur and may require treatment in a drug rehab facility.
It’s taken for its powerful hallucinogenic properties and is derived from animals, fungi, and plants. Several species of plants containing DMT are found in Mexico, South America, and parts of Asia.
Many people call it the “spirit molecule.”
Rick Strassman, a clinical associate professor of psychiatry at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine, coined the term. The mystical experiences reported by participants in his studies inspired the term.1
Visual and Auditory Hallucinations
The psychedelic experiences it produces are quite intense, accompanied by both visual and auditory hallucinations. People ingest it by drinking it in concoctions like ayahuasca, which has been used for centuries in South America in shamanic rituals. They also smoke it in a pipe or vape it. Less commonly, it is snorted or injected.
To this day, medical researchers don’t really understand how DMT produces the effects it does. What’s known is that humans possess a specific serotonin receptor that DMT binds to. There’s some experimental evidence to suggest that DMT is naturally produced in the pineal gland.
DMT Half-Life
A drug’s half-life is how long it takes for half the dose to be eliminated from the bloodstream.
DMT’s half-life is fifteen minutes.
Although it has fewer side effects than other psychedelics, it still has a host of potentially serious ones, including:
Agitation
Chest pain or tightness
Diarrhea
Dilated pupils
Dizziness
Increased heart rate
Increased blood pressure
Nausea
Rapid rhythmic movements of the eye
Vomiting
Inject the drug causes the worst types of side effects including abscesses and vein damage.
Serotonin Syndrome
DMT causes more serotonin to be produced, which is a neurotransmitter that makes people feel happy. And because it does, it can cause a potentially fatal reaction known as serotonin syndrome.3
This happens when too much serotonin builds up in your body.
You should immediately seek medical attention if you’ve taken DMT and are experiencing any of these symptoms of serotonin syndrome:
Anxiety
Confusion
Dilated pupils
Disorientation
Irritability
Muscle spasms
Muscle rigidity
Overactive reflexes
Shivering
Tremors
You can’t get physically addicted to DMT.
However, if you consistently take DMT to avoid dealing with the real world, it may cause psychological dependence.
DMT Withdrawal Symptoms
Because you can’t get physically addicted to DMT, prolonged use doesn’t cause withdrawal symptoms after the drug is stopped. However, there can be lingering psychotic symptoms that last long after the last dose is taken.
One troubling effect is Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder or HPDD. This is a chronic disorder where an individual reexperiences the impact of the drug days, weeks, or even years after they last use it.
Although a “bad trip” only lasts for about an hour, the residual effects could last much longer. It’s possible to remain in an abject state of terror for days afterward.
If you’re suffering from these symptoms, a clinician might misdiagnose the symptoms as a mental health disorder because it can mimic schizophrenia. This is why it is very important, to be honest during conversations with a medical professional.
Inpatient Rehab
If you have a severe psychological addiction to DMT, you might benefit from inpatient rehab. Here, you’ll live at a treatment center where you’ll have access to round-the-clock care. Long-term residential treatment can last up to one year.
Removing yourself from your daily routine allows you to focus every bit of mental energy on recovery. You’ll also have a supportive community of staff members and other patients who help.
Treatment will focus on reducing any psychological dependence on the drug. There should also be a plan in place to mitigate residual psychological effects such as flashbacks, as they can be quite traumatic.
