ecstasy

[KOKO23CAT]

was anyone elses anxiety triggered by ecstasy abuse?

[Nel]

Where is the NO option!!??

___________________________________________
"At the end of a storm, there's a golden sky..."

[KOKO23CAT]

i pressed the wrong button and loaded it before i'd finished!!!! sorry!

[keepemlaughing]

i only used ecstacy twice, so that probably isn't my problem. but i used methaphetamine for years and i know that contributed to my anxiety problems. drugs are for idiots....
:D

Sheryl

Always expect a train.

[keepemlaughing]

so what is your opinion?

Sheryl

Always expect a train.

[happyone]

I would pick 'no' if it was there!:D

I found it strange when the CBT woman asked me about drugs. I didn't realise that past use can have an impact now.

happyone

[HazyMind]

I do wonder what effect the drugs i took have to do with my anxiety.

I didn't take ecstacy myself as I'd had my children by the time it was more available. I did take alot of lsd before that however so maybe that contributed.

I have friends that have been damaged by taking drugs but then other people I know who have taken just as much are just fine mentally and physically.

I reckon it would depend alot on your body chemistry and metabolism.

x

[dj9928]

Theres no proof of ecstacy causing anxiety, I took about 20 tablets in my life, sure them made ur head mangled the next day and following that depression but I wouldn't say it caused my anxiety. If anything I would say the 5 or 6 joints I smoked did most damage yet I have freiends who smoke it every day and are fine.

A happy person is fully caught up in the moment --and is not thinking about the past or the future.

[Lilith1980]

I have heard that if you do to much ecstacy then this can have a negative effect on your mind. Ecstacy helps release the serotonin in your brain which makes you feel good but if you over-use ecstacy, your brain can find it hard to produce the serotonin as well and this can cause depression and anxiety.

I guess some people have had bad experiences first off with drugs and others can take them and be ok. Its weird how it can be so hit and miss.

Jo xxxxx

[Jimbo]

I took a few ecstacy pills here and there in my youth. But I gave up taking it because it did cause me periods of severe depression, anxiety and paranoia so I never really got heavily into it. But it was only short term and went away after a few weeks. I thought I was just one of those people who had very bad come downs.

However, I did take all manner of other things when I was younger for a period of about 4-5 years. I gave up long before I got ill and felt that any after effects had long gone.

I think it's highly unlikely that historic drug use can affect you in the future. All trails that have been done say that you recover fairly quickly. But it seems possible that drugs can trigger underlying conditions and cause short term problems.

I think there is another poll somewhere on drugs. But would be interesting to do another to see how many people historically used drugs in the past and which ones. I guess we can assume people using the site do have problems now, but would be interesting to see what percentage of people used drugs in their past. I spose it also depends on how many people are willing to admit it too. :winks:

Jim :hugs:

[frank]

I used ecstacy, speed and cannabis regularly and atrribute that to the beginnings of my panic attacks and subsequent anxiety and depression. Sometimes feel very angry with myself for abusing drugs and wish i'd never laid eyes on them!

[Jimbo]

Hey Frank,

Don't feel so bad. The chances are that although you might have experienced panic and anxiety while using those drugs, they didn't cause your current problems. You would probably be in the same boat had you not used them.

I'm quite militant on this subject and feel quite strongly as I, like many people have visited countries like Holland where cannabis, mushrooms etc are legal and the government properly inform people about what to expect. They don't have a larger percent of the population with mental health problems.

There have been a few decent scientific studies done into drug use. They basically took 2 groups of people. 1 Group never used drugs, the other did. It showed that in the long term there is very little difference between the 2 groups of people who suffered mental illness.

It's why I get so angry when I see the adverts on TV about pot smoking. "The freakout free X50" etc. Most of the misinformation distributed by governments are based on studies done in the sixties using mice and rats. Complete bupkiss imo. Most people who suffer mental illness would still suffer even without any drug use.

I don't discount that you can have bad experiences while using these drugs. I remember walking into a busy Amsterdam coffee-shop once, sitting down and smoking a huge joint and having to leg it back to my hotel as I was freaking out. A few hours later I was fine. Same with other drugs, I've seen and experienced myself some of their unpleasant side effects, but the studies show these are only temporary.

Because of these negative effects, taking them if you are ill is probably not a good idea as you are more likely to experience the bad side.

If only we were honestly and properly informed about using drugs and their effects people wouldn't be so unsure about what can happen. I'm sure that the misinformation actually makes it worse and triggers people off because they think that they've caused their problems with the drugs after a bad experience. Everyone knows about alcohol for example, everyone knows about hangovers and what can happen when you are smashed.

Jim:hugs:

[AtmoLav]

It's highly unlikely that any drug can physically cause anxiety. What can cause anxiety is the FEAR of feeling like you do when you have a bad experience. For instance, panic is a very common side effect of marijuana, just like being sick is a side-effect of alcohol. I believe it's how you react to the bad experience that determines whether you'll be anxious the next day (or week, or month or year). The education in the UK doesn't help....there's so much fear surrounding "illegal" drugs - some people buy into this, have a bad experience and then worry about "never being normal again". It's an easy trap to fall in to, but the truth is there is no scientific, definitive or convincing argument that drug use causes anxiety. And if it did, all the "prescription" drugs would have to be tarnished with the same brush.

If ecstasy, marijuana, LSD, whatever causes anxiety so would nicotine, alcohol, valium, citralopam, paracetemol........

I've been offered anti-depressants millions of times but I don't bother. If I'm feeling really bad, a drink or five settles me down. I'd much rather use something that's grown in the ground, by nature than something brewed in a lab for no reason other than pure financial gain for the manufacturer.

How many people on here have found their anxiety gets worse on prescription meds? Probably a few.

How many have found there anxiety gets less on prescription meds? Probably a few.

How many on here have found that "illegal" drug use has caused their anxiety to get worse? Probably a few.

How many on here have found that "illegal" drug use has caused their anxiety to get better? Probably a few.

[maysoon]

i have taken ecstasy a very long time ago, almost 9 years ago now! i remember clearly because stupidly enough i was celebrating completing my 1st degree, thank god i had the sense of postponing until well and truly after my last exam.
i took it only twice but very irresponsibly, first only the one but the second time i took FIVE in one go!!! that was obviously a stupid thing to do..but the interesting thing was this...,exactly one year later and just 2 weeks before my Masters exams i had the most traumatic break down,it was of a huge scale i don't know how to describe it but it certainly was major...now i have never been the same since..... long term depression, anxiety etc. you name it!!! i did manage to retake the masters the following year and the effort it took to pass 4 lousy exams put me off trying anything ever again...
i only had one question because i was baffled as to why this should have happened to me, i tried my hardest to convince myself that it was the pressures of my masters exams...but deep down i knew that was not it.
i have never been exactly happy go lucky, but that break down was way beyond anything in my worst nightmares.
I am know convinced that my break down is directly linked to that huge overdose of ecstasy 9 years ago. surprisingly enough that makes me feel better, and knowing that its completely my own fault and not as a result of a mysterious genetic illness or worse, divine retribution, makes it easier for me to deal with my symptoms and make the best of my everyday life.

for the sake of complete honesty, i took cannabis here and there in parties and with friends even some coke a couple of times, apart from having a good time, nothing else happened....but there is something about Es and i wish there was more research about them....but i really should hope that no one takes them ever again!!!

[nicolaford]

My physiatrist said it is not related, I asked exactly the same question as I did abuse many types of drugs for years including ecstasy. He said it was more likely that I took them because of my condition (mind set). I have ADD and Unspecified Bi Polar which cause my anxiety.