Have you developed a dependency on a particular type of hallucinogen? If you find yourself in this position, there are steps you can take to regain control of your life and avoid drug use in the future.

Before we discuss the finer details of getting rid of dependence, let’s take a closer look at the four most common types of hallucinogens:

• LSD
• Peyote
• Psilocybin
• PCP

When your body becomes dependent on any type of hallucinogen, you will crave the drug. This happens most often when you are around certain people or in certain social situations.

Treatment Options

Treatment can help you overcome a dependence on hallucinogens.

Since hallucinogens do not lead to a physical dependence, it is often times easier to overcome the abuse of this type of drug. That being said, these drugs can have an impact on your mental state, which leads to the desire for continued use.

As you attempt to quit using hallucinogens, you could be faced with a variety of mental symptoms, such as depression and memory loss. To go along with these, other mild to severe symptoms can come about. These are based largely on how often and how much of the drug has been abused:

• Panic attacks
• Trouble sleeping
• Mood changes
• Extreme paranoia
• Stomach pain accompanied by nausea and loss of appetite
• Fast heartbeat
• Dry mouth
• Shaking
• Sweating

Once a person gets past his or her hallucinogen dependency, these symptoms will begin to dwindle until they eventually disappear altogether.

There are many treatment options for hallucinogen abuse, including both outpatient and residential options.

For those who have a serious problem, often combined with another type of addiction, residential treatment is typically the answer.

The following types of therapies may be implemented:

• 12 step program
• Group therapy
• Individual therapy
• Relapse prevention
• Dialectical behavioral therapy
• Cognitive behavioral therapy
• Medication management
• Anger management
• Recreation therapy
• Hypnotherapy

Statistics

According to the 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, hallucinogen abuse has become common in the United States. Here are some statistics from the survey:

• More than one million people reported using some type of hallucinogen within the last 30 days
• Approximately 3.7 million people reported using a hallucinogen in the past year
• Roughly 36 million people experimented with a hallucinogen at least one time

Getting rid of hallucinogen dependence is never an easy task, despite the fact that a physical addiction is not present.

Fortunately, there are treatment options to consider, all of which have been proven successful over the years. By considering all available treatment strategies, it will not be long before you find one that will put your life back on track.