LSD Withdrawal and Detox

LSD Addiction: What is it?

LSD (Lysergic acid diethylamide) is a synthetic drug that is often abused for its hallucinogenic properties. Currently, the use of LSD is illegal in the UK, US, and many other countries worldwide. This is due to the drug having no significant medical benefits, but being capable of causing a variety of substance-related disorders. The drug is known to cause abusers to experience perception distortions, as well as see, hear and feel things that aren’t really there.

Addiction can be described as the development of substance dependence caused by the recurrent abuse of said substance. If you are addicted to a substance, you can find yourself still abusing it even though you are well aware that it is harmful and possibly destructive. So far, research has indicated that LSD cannot induce physical addiction or drug-seeking behaviour. This is unlike certain other hallucinogens, such as PCP or stimulants like cocaine or heroin.

LSD is unable to cause physical addiction, because unlike other illicit drugs, its abuse doesn’t cause chemical changes in the brain, which in turn lead to substance dependency and the development of cravings. Nonetheless, the abuse of LSD is dangerous and you can still develop compulsive behaviour from abusing it, such as a psychological dependence on the drug.

Psychological dependence is formed when you develop a compulsive habit of abusing LSD in certain situations. This can lead to you becoming addicted to the sensations caused by LSD and thus relying on the drug to evoke the desired feelings.

Another problem that can be caused by frequent abuse is the development of LSD tolerance. This refers to a condition where you require increasingly large doses of LSD over time, in other to attain a desired ‘high’. This can lead to life-threatening problems, such as overdose or long-term physical and mental defects.

Prolonged abuse of LSD can negatively impact your social or work life, as well as relationships with your loved ones. Signs that your abuse of LSD is turning into a problem include:

If any of these sound familiar because of your LSD habits – or that of a loved one – you should get help as soon as possible. Addiction Helper can get you on the path to breaking free from LSD addiction and regaining control of your life. Call our confidential helpline on 0800 915 9402 today to discover how.

LSD Withdrawal: Symptoms and Signs

Typical hallucinogenic drugs cause physical withdrawal symptoms when an addict suddenly stops using them. However, LSD doesn’t have this same effect.

Because LSD doesn’t cause physical dependency or give rise to drug-seeking behaviour, the substance is not considered by experts to be an addictive drug. Even though it’s not addictive, constant abuse of LSD can still give rise to a mental reliance on the drug’s effects, which can in turn lead to you having difficulty quitting.

This can be a problem, because the prolonged use of LSD can bring about a variety of health complications – especially psychological ones – if you miss a dose. Examples include:

If you’ve been experiencing these symptoms or know anyone who has, it’s not too late to get help. Call Addiction Helper today to find out how we can help with LSD addiction.

If you try to quit LSD, medical intervention isn’t necessarily required. Nonetheless, it is necessary that you are monitored and observed for a while, to ensure you don’t do anything to harm yourself or others. In certain severe cases, the use of medication such as benzodiazepines like Valium might be administered to an LSD abuser to reduce severe agitation.

It is important to not delay in getting medical help once you notice there’s an LSD-related psychological complication. The most effective way to get help is to enrol in an addiction recovery programme where addiction treatment and counselling can be provided as soon as possible. Counselling protocols like Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (DBT) will help you identify the connection between unrealistic thoughts and actions. Such therapy will also show how you can go on to live a happy and fulfilling life without the influences of LSD. Counselling can also help if you are suffering from severe psychological problems such as depression, anxiety, schizophrenia or suicidal thoughts.

Because LSD withdrawal symptoms can include HPPD, it might be necessary to consult an addiction specialist or medical professional for options on managing ongoing hallucinations and mental health problems. At times, medication might be prescribed if the symptoms are deemed severe.

Addiction treatment centres that can provide treatment for addiction and mental health disorders are the best choice for effectively managing LSD withdrawal and symptoms. This will be accomplished through dual diagnosis treatment, which deals with co-occurring disorders and also provides patients with the necessary skills to address rising symptoms.

If you are experiencing LSD withdrawal symptoms, call our confidential helpline today. Our friendly addiction specialists are available 24/7 to recommend help and talk you through trying times.

Factors that influence LSD withdrawal

When you suddenly quit LSD, psychological withdrawal symptoms might be triggered. A variety of factors can determine how severe or negligible these symptoms are. Some of these determining factors include:

LSD Addiction Treatment

At present, there’s no official medical therapy for treating LSD addiction. However, this doesn’t imply that there’s no way of treating someone with LSD dependence, or that already existing therapies won’t work on someone with LSD addiction/abuse.

Suddenly quitting the use of LSD after long-term abuse doesn’t often lead to any significant physical withdrawal symptoms. Still, you might eventually experience depressive or psychotic symptoms which could require medical management.

Because the abuse of LSD isn’t very common in society, not many treatment centres have a specific treatment regimen for caring for LSD abuse. You can benefit from enrolling in an inpatient treatment programme if LSD is your sole or primary substance of abuse. Some of the benefits of enrolling at an inpatient centre include:

• Restricting your access to LSD and other addictive substances.
• 24/7 monitoring and management of any psychological or physical symptoms you might exhibit.
• Group and/or individual therapy to help you address the root causes of your substance usage, as well as help you develop coping skills and techniques to avoid a relapse.

During treatment, medication might be administered to treat specific clinical issues which can include psychosis, depression, or other mood symptoms resulting from LSD abuse. This is especially necessary for patients who might be suffering from a ‘bad trip’ brought on by the drug. Medication might also be used to manage instances of HPPD.

The National Institute of Drug Abuse recommends a dual approach to treatment that utilises medication and counselling be used to address the co-occurrence of mental illness and substance addiction. This might not be necessary if your addiction isn’t severe or if there isn’t any underlying mental illness.

You can get all the necessary treatment you need either as an outpatient or inpatient. Keep in mind that as an inpatient, you’ll have access to 24/7 care, while as an outpatient, you can go on with your daily life and only need to visit the treatment centre for counselling and therapy.

What You Should Know About Quitting LSD

You might experience panic attacks, anxiety or other psychological symptoms for which medical help will be required. A specialist can administer benzodiazepines like triazolam or diazepam to calm you and help reduce the risks of suddenly quitting. In severe cases, an antipsychotic tranquiliser like Thorazine might be prescribed to lessen the intensity of an adverse reaction.

Remember that the chance of actually having to go through any of this when you try quitting is quite unlikely. Factors such as how long you’ve been abusing LSD, as well as your physiology and psychology, will all determine how your body will react upon quitting.

Reasons to Quit Using LSD

While you might be worried about having to deal with the psychological symptoms of LSD withdrawal, you need to understand that the sooner you kick a LSD habit, the better. The longer you remain an addict, complications will likely pile up. However, if you walk away early enough, you might not have to worry about physical or psychological withdrawal symptoms.

If you need more of a reason to quit, keep in mind that the effects of abusing LSD are actually unpredictable. That is, the effects of using the drug today can be different from what you experienced the last time. For instance, you could have a bad trip, which can be a psychologically scarring and frightening experience that could cause you to self-harm or accidentally hurt those around you.

Another reason to quit is that constant abuse of the drug can lead to you building a tolerance – not just to LSD, but also other hallucinogenic drugs. There are also the undesired physical effects of LSD such as insomnia, excessive perspiration, speech difficulties, piloerection, renal failure, and tremors. NIDA also points out that abusers of LSD can experience flashbacks without warning, which can occur repeatedly even a year after quitting LSD.

There’s also the likelihood of long-term problems such as severe depression, schizophrenia, despair, anxiety, severe terror, panic attacks, paranoia, identity loss, social issues like strained relationships, and at times seizures.

These reasons and more are why you should consider quitting LSD today. The drug is not to be trifled with and the risks of abusing it far outweigh the sought-after effects. A bad trip can be frightening enough to haunt you for the rest of your life and on its own can even cause you to forever avoid hallucinogenic drugs.

If you’ve never tried LSD before, don’t. Abstinence is the best way forward when it comes to illicit drugs. However, if you are already abusing LSD, you have every reason to quit and hardly any to continue with a habit that can jeopardise your future. Call at Addiction Helper today if you would like to talk to someone knowledgeable and friendly about quitting LSD.

LSD Detox and Withdrawal

At a detox clinic, you’ll have access to treatment experts and everything you need to work towards being rehabilitated from LSD addiction. The experts at the clinic will ensure that the detoxification and rehabilitation treatment provided is safe and best suited to your case. A comprehensive detox programme will cleanse your system of all LSD related toxins, manage withdrawal effects from the drug, and guide you towards living a life that’s entirely LSD-free.

At a detox centre, detoxification can be carried out either via the ‘cold turkey’ method or by maintenance detoxification/medically assisted detox.

• Cold turkey detoxification : This involves you being taken off all forms of medication, including any prescription medication that helps with easing withdrawal symptoms. The benefit of this treatment is that it gives you an opportunity to be more disciplined whilst working towards LSD independence. To ensure there are no complications from a cold turkey detoxification, your progress throughout treatment will be closely monitored by specialists who will promptly provide medical assistance if required.

• Maintenance detoxification : This can also be referred to as a medically assisted detox. This treatment programme will provide medication to help ease withdrawal symptoms from ending LSD usage. It ensures that you are as comfortable as possible for the duration of your detox and it is less difficult for an addict than cold turkey detoxification.

You can discover more about becoming LSD addiction-free and the best treatment options available your area by talking to Addiction Helper. The detox process can be carried out either on an inpatient or outpatient basis, and other forms of therapy can be provided to make sure you don’t suffer a relapse further down the line.

If you would like to find treatment for LSD withdrawal in the UK or abroad, please call 0800 915 9402.

LSD Addiction Treatment Centre and Recovery Programme Options

There is a general misconception that since LSD doesn’t lead to physical dependence, an addict doesn’t require special treatment. This isn’t entirely true, because even though there’s negligible physical addiction from abusing the drug, there is still a potentially dangerous psychological addiction. Specialised treatment is important in overcoming psychological addiction to LSD, as well as the psychiatric disorders that it can lead to. Examples of such psychiatric disorders include: bipolar, anxiety, schizophrenic symptoms, HPPD, and others. LSD abuse can also have a significant effect on cognitive function, which can worsen if not properly treated.

At Addiction Helper, we can arrange an addiction recovery programme for you focused on treating not just the use of the drug itself, but also any underlying issues that could be the root cause of your abusing LSD. Recovery treatment will involve a medically supervised detox that will ensure every trace of the substance is flushed from your system. Once a medically assisted detox is complete, treatment for LSD abuse – and its co-occurring addictions, including psychiatric complications – can begin.

We can ensure you get treatment at a centre which offers a dual diagnosis recovery programme, which combines addiction therapy with mental health services to achieve the best possible outcome. The point of such treatment is due to the recognised fact that most people with substance abuse issues likely also suffer from psychiatric complications. If a mental illness is occurring alongside addiction, specialised evaluation is required and should be promptly followed by treatment. If not, addiction therapy and treatment will likely prove ineffective in the end.

Another aspect of a recovery programme that should not be overlooked is aftercare services. Experience has shown that failure to receive aftercare services can more often than not cause a recovering addict to suffer a relapse. To avoid this, we’ll recommend the most qualified LSD addiction treatment centres in your area, with the facilities and competence to help you make a full recovery from LSD addiction.

Treatment Time Span

How long your treatment for LSD abuse will last is dependent on a variety of factors, including the severity of you addiction and how long withdrawal takes. There is no specific LSD withdrawal medication available and the withdrawal period can vary from individual to individual.

If you are a first-time user or an infrequent one, you might not experience any withdrawal symptoms, which means treatment will likely not last very long. However, if there are psychological complications such as schizophrenia and paranoia stemming from your LSD abuse, treatment will definitely span a longer time period.

How LSD withdrawal is experienced (and the time it takes) is very different from what is often witnessed with the abuse of other psychedelic and psychoactive drugs. Firstly, the withdrawal peak for LSD has no specific time period. LSD can linger in your system for up to 29 hours after your last dose. This often leads to users experiencing withdrawal even before the drug is actually out of their system.

Once LSD’s effects have worn off, you may still experience hallucinatory effects and flashbacks for a few hours – or even months – after your last usage. LSD impacts the serotonin in your brain, and since everyone’s brain chemistry is different, the withdrawal time span and overall experience will likely differ between different individuals.

Alternative Therapies

Because LSD addiction does not present withdrawal symptoms that are typical with substance dependence, alternative therapies can be used to treat it. If you are suffering psychological complications from LSD abuse such as paranoia, hallucinations, cognitive impairment, or intense flashbacks, you are better off placing yourself in the care of experts who can evaluate and monitor your condition, as well as prescribe medication and other treatment as necessary.

Experts who specialise in the treatment of LSD addiction and its psychological effects have recorded some success with the use of alternative therapies to treat the addiction. Some of the more commonly applied forms of alternative therapy used to enhance recovery include: music therapy, animal-assisted therapy and psychodrama. Keep in mind that these forms of therapy are often only used in combination with more traditional forms of therapy in order to significantly aid recovery.

Are There any Home Remedies for Getting Clean Safely?

The most common home remedy for treating addiction involves purchasing a home detox kit. These are designed to help more with physical withdrawal symptoms and hardly offer any assistance with psychological withdrawal symptoms. Since LSD withdrawal is more psychological than physical, a home detox kit will offer little to no assistance in helping you getting clean safely at home.

So, for best results and to ensure you make a full recovery from LSD abuse, we strongly recommend that you seek assistance at a verified addiction clinic, experienced in treating the unique case of LSD addiction and its psychological aspects. It’s the best way to ensure you get the level of care you need, as well as avoid suffering from any long-lasting complications.

Safe Recovery Options from LSD Abuse

Recovery options that have been verified as safe forms of treatment for LSD abuse include:

• Inpatient or residential treatment: This form of treatment allows you to recover under the intensive and 24/7 care of specialists. It will require you to live at a rehab facility for the duration of your treatment, which can last anywhere between a few weeks and several months, depending on the severity of your condition.
• Outpatient treatment: Unlike inpatient treatment, you’ll be allowed to come and go as you please at an outpatient facility, but will be provided professional care as well as individual therapy, group counselling, psychiatric assessment, and other forms of treatment to help you recover. Treatment can involve visiting the facility at least an hour a week or eight hours a day, depending on the severity of a patient’s condition.
• Group counselling: This provides support and teaches addicts to cope without using drugs. Forms of therapy used in group counselling include: psycho-educational groups, skills learning, cognitive behavioural therapy, and interpersonal process groups.
• Individual therapy: This will involve you having one-on-one sessions with a therapist to help you develop insights into your addiction, treat any co-occurring mental health problems, and strengthen your motivation to avoid a relapse and live a drug-free life.
• 12-step support groups: Narcotics Anonymous are an example of a 12-step programme and can be helpful in getting you to stay sober as part of your aftercare plan.

If you need help selecting a LSD recovery plan that’ll work best for you, our compassionate specialists are available 24/7 via our helpline to provide all the assistance you need. Give us a call today on 0800 915 9402 to find a treatment centre to help you make a full and lasting recovery from LSD addiction.

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