Hallucinogen use disorder is a condition where someone gets addicted to the chemical and emotional effects of hallucinogens. These drugs are categorized as those that affect your mind and cognitive function and can cause hallucinations, which is where you see things that are not actually there. Hallucinogen use disorder is a type of drug addiction or substance use disorder that is difficult to overcome because of how addictive hallucinogens are.
Treatment for hallucinogen use disorder involves a combination of therapy, medications, and willpower. Overcoming any form of addiction is extremely difficult, but it is even more so with hallucinogens because of how they affect your brain. However, because hallucinogens cause many health problems and it is possible to overdose on them, it is important to receive treatment and overcome hallucinogen use disorder.
As with any form of addiction, the first course of treatment is to admit that you have a problem. Until the addicted individual admits that they need help and want help, they will not be able to overcome their addiction. Therefore, you may need to stage an intervention to help someone close to you understand how their addiction is hurting themselves and others.
Once the individual admits that they want and need help, they can then choose to go through withdrawal and recovery on their own, at an outpatient facility, or at an inpatient facility. Inpatient rehab facilities offer more comforts of home and personalized care, but they’re also very expensive. Outpatient facilities are more affordable but may not offer as many comforts or one on one care.
You can also try to detox and recover on your own, but this is extremely difficult unless you have friends and family to help you.
To ease the detoxification process, you may benefit from medication-assisted withdrawal. Medication-assisted withdrawal is where your doctor administers medications to ease the symptoms of withdrawal and wean you off of hallucinogens. However, there currently are not any FDA-approved medications to assist with this process.
Once you go through withdrawal and you are in the recovery phase, you will greatly benefit from cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). CBT can help you understand how and why you are so reliant on hallucinogens and help you find coping mechanisms to deal with cravings. CBT is usually one-on-one counselling with a professional counsellor that you can receive on your own or as part of your rehabilitation program.
In addition to one on one therapy, you may also benefit from group therapy. As the name indicates, group therapy is similar to cognitive behavioural therapy, but you talk about your addiction with fellow addicts rather than just to a counsellor. Hearing the trials and tribulations of others can help you in your own struggle.
Aside from group therapy and CBT, there are other forms of therapy that can help you overcome hallucinogen use disorder.
The goal of these forms of therapy is to help you relax, destress, and not get triggered to take drugs. These forms of therapy can also help you identify triggers, understand how drugs affect you, and realize that you are better off without them.
Overcoming hallucinogen use disorder is extremely difficult and takes a lot of willpower and assistance. However, it is very possible when you go to an inpatient or outpatient rehab facility or have friends and family helping you. Regardless of why or how you became reliant on hallucinogens, it is important to do whatever you have to do to overcome your addiction.