Mushroom Addiction Treatment

Are mushrooms addictive? Learn how to identify unhealthy patterns of use here. Plus, A COMPLETE REVIEW of your addiction treatment options. You can quit mushrooms for good!

10
minute read

Can mushrooms be addictive?

Yes.

Just as any psychoactive substance, regular use of mushrooms can develop into psychological dependence, another name for “addiction”.

There are more than 40 species of psychedelic mushrooms which historically have been used in medical treatment, healing ceremonies, and spiritual rituals. But when used habitually or abused for their psychedelic effects, mushroom use can be unhealthy. So, how do you know where to draw the line? What’s the difference between use and abuse?

We review here. Read on for more on how identify problem use. Plus, a look at how drug problems with mushrooms can be treated. Finally, we’ll look at how you can help a loved one who you think is in trouble. We welcome your questions at the end. In fact, help is just a phone call away.
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Do you need help to quit mushrooms?
You are not alone. We can help you locate an appropriate recovery program.
Contact us at 1-877-560-6372 for help.
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Mushrooms as psychoactive

Psychedelic mushrooms are hallucinogenic drugs that alter your brain and consciousness. Two of the most common species of psychedelic mushrooms are:

  1. Psilocybe cubensis
  2. Psilocybe semilanceata

Psilocybin is the main active ingredient in magic mushrooms. When ingested, psilocybin breaks down and produces psilocin which causes hallucinations. When taken, magic mushrooms produce a state of altered consciousness called “psychedelic experience” followed by visual hallucinations such as: hearing colors and seeing sounds. However, psychedelic mushrooms use creates a thin line between fantasy and reality. The high experienced from magic mushrooms typically lasts from 5-12 hours.

 

What Do Magic Mushrooms Do To Your Brain?

The hallucinogenic mushrooms can be unpredictable and their effects depend from the setting in which they are used, the individual’s state of mind, lighting, sounds, and a variety of other stimulus. Magic mushrooms are often abused with friends, in clubs, and during other celebration events. However, the effects of magic mushrooms vary depending on the conditions every repeated experience of mushrooms is different from the last.

Generally, early onset psychosis lasts between 4-6 hours, but, in high dosages, other adverse side effects may occur. When taken, magic mushrooms can also produce the following effects:

  • changes in moods, perceptions, or emotions
  • dilated pupils
  • distortions of sights, sounds, or images
  • feelings of “enlightenment”
  • hallucinations
  • lack of coordination
  • out of body experience
  • nausea
  • sedation
  • weakness

More serious effects include:

  • depression
  • hallucinogen persisting perception disorder (HPPD)
  • inability to distinguish internal cognition from external cognition
  • increased heart rate or blood pressure
  • overdose
  • paranoia psychosis
  • suicidal ideation
  • unexpected flashbacks

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, magic mushrooms can produce feelings of relaxation similar to the effects of low marijuana doses. Magic mushrooms activate the hippocampus and anterior cingulate cortex associated with dreaming. Additionally, specific emotional regions of the brain are chemically activated, which leads users to a sense of expanded consciousness.

Further, mushrooms produce most of their effects by acting on neural highways in the brain that use the neurotransmitter serotonin. More specifically, magic mushrooms affect the brain’s prefrontal cortex, part of the brain that regulates abstract thinking, thought analysis, and plays a key role in mood and perception. Users reported experiencing intense anxiety, discomfort, and distorted sense of time after few minutes to a few hours of mushroom high. It was only afterward that some said they began to feel a sense of relief; and even this experience may vary significantly for each person.

Regardless of how long you’ve been taking mushrooms, let us know if you think things have gotten out of hand. Treatment programs can significantly improve your quality of life. You can live 100% drug-free! Call us for a free consultation at 1-877-560-6372.

Understanding Mushroom Addiction

Magic Mushrooms are not considered physically addictive, but long-term use can cause psychological dependence. Psychological dependence is characterized by:

  1. Loss of control of use.
  2. Cravings for a drug.
  3. Compulsive thinking about a drug.
  4. Continued use of a drug, despite negative consequences to home, work, or social life.

People who become addicted may experience psychological withdrawal and face difficulty discerning reality after several days of active mushroom use. Additionally, tolerance to psilocybin develops quickly and peaks after frequent use in short term intervals. Increased dosages will lead to serious adverse effects and you may not be able to achieve the desired results until you abstain from using this drug for a while. What are some other characteristics of addiction?

Those prone to using mushroom often have co-existing mental health or poly substance abuse disorders. People who take took many mushrooms too often also tend to be influenced by their peers or environmental stresses. But what drives problem use?

Factors that lead to mushroom addiction are:

  • trauma as a major underlying source of addiction behavior
  • mental illness
  • genetics
  • physical predispositions
  • environment
  • peer pressure

If you are struggling with any type of addiction contact us at 1-877-560-6372. We can help you find a customized recovery program that isjust right for you.

Getting the Best Treatment

People abuse drugs for various reasons. In fact, we each build a different relationship with our “addiction”. Drug use does something for us. It helps us cope. It takes away pain.

Like everyone else, drug users are a totally mixed group. Because the human psyche is a complicated field of study, each person requires an individualized and tailor made treatment program. This is why a high quality treatment program is composed of multiple therapeutic models. Ideally, you and your therapist can find the approach that best works for you.

The best mushroom addiction treatment does not simply include finding the right fit, but rather creating one that best answers your cognitive and relational styles. The main goal of any rehab center is to provide a menu of options from which people can choose and determine what best answers their specific addiction. Therefore, addiction treatment programs should be customized to meet your needs based on the following information:

  • your history of drug abuse
  • past traumatic experiences (if there are any)
  • your personal and emotional issues
  • other root causes of addictive behavior
  • how much/long/often did you (ab)use magic mushrooms
  • your unique treatment goals

Despite all the differences and variations of needed treatment, there are some therapies that you should be offered at a reputable rehab facility. These include:

  1. Education about drug abuse and the damaging effect over your health
  2. Individual and Group Counseling
  3. Medication Assisted therapy
  4. Integrated or Dual Diagnosis Therapy (if needed for cooccuring metal health issues)
  5. Relapse prevention training
  6. Aftercare services

Got questions about different treatment options? We have answers! Call 1-877-560-6372 TODAY. We

The First Step of Recovery From Mushroom Addiction

Addiction therapy helps people become drug-free by improving their health and well-being. The relationship that people build with their drug of choice is complex and therefore requires integrated treatment care. Because hallucinogenic mushrooms are more psychologically than physically addictive professional assistance is essential in order to recover and reach long term sobriety. Mushroom addiction treatment process consists of:

1. Assessment and Evaluation

When you arrive at a rehab, treatment staff will interview and ask you several questions about your drug use. Be prepared to talk about the age at which you first started drug abuse, patterns of use, and changes in use over time. The purpose of assessment and evaluation is not only historical fact gathering. During these informative sessions, your addiction counselor will carefully explore your feelings and objections about past treatment attempts. Discussing past treatment (if there is any) is a crucial part of the assessment because it supplies needed information essential for your doctor to plan a more effective treatment method. Another important purpose of the assessment and evaluation process is to provide time for you and your counselor to build a therapeutic relationship based on trust and understanding.

2. Detoxification

Addiction treatment is a process that usually starts with detox. Medical detox is most commonly the first line measure in recovery from mushroom addiction. Whether or not medications are involved, all formal detox protocols aim for the safe, comfortable clearance of mushrooms and their toxic influence from your system. But although detox is an effective first step, alone it is rarely sufficient for long-term abstinence from mushrooms. Upon successful completion of detox, you should continue on engaging in a structured treatment program either inpatient/residential or outpatient to get to the root causes of your dependence.

3. Therapy

The purpose of therapy is to help you resolve psychological issues connected to addiction and help you better understand what keeps you involved in the drug addiction relationship. There are many effective therapies included during treatment such as:

  • Personal therapy
  • Family therapy
  • Educational classes
  • Relapse prevention training
  • Life skill classes

4. Aftercare

There is a belief among addicts that recovery from substance abuse will eventually end with relapse at some point after formal treatment is finished. This is why you should look at recovery as a life-long effort that requires constant care and not as a time limited journey. Avoiding people, places, things, or “having one cookie when a plateful is offered” is not enough to maintain your sobriety. Being aware of the possibility to return to old habits will keep you engaged in all the activities that follow after formal treatment hospitalization such as:

  • Continued appointments with your therapist for ongoing individual counseling.
  • 12-Step program participation that provide a group support settings.
  • Education on new skills or relapse coping strategies.
  • Attendance at group counseling sessions to motivate from other’s successful stories.

Residential treatment programs follow step by step treatment protocols. They are oriented towards long-term recovery from addiction. Because treatment programs provide a comprehensive, tailor made recovery program they are considered as more successful than outpatient treatment programs. Call us to help you at 1-877-560-6372.

Treating Magic Mushroom Dependence

Medically supervised detox has been proven as the SAFEST and most SUCCESFUL way of coming down from mushrooms. There is no documented evidence of severe psilocybin withdrawal symptoms. However, as chemicals are stored in the fatty tissues of the body, abrupt discontinuation from mushrooms may can cause mild to moderate withdrawal symptoms.

Further, hallucinogenic mushrooms do not produce severe physical dependence, but they are psychologically addictive instead. Chronic mushroom abusers experience the following symptoms after discontinuation:

  • depression
  • insomnia
  • flashbacks

A flashback is the experience of trip (state of hallucination) that may last for days, months or years after using the drug. Recreational users who use the drug for its hallucinogenic high may continue to use and abuse psilocybin to prolong the euphoria.

Nonetheless, slow reduction of the mushroom dosage used is often recommended to prevent adverse withdrawal side effects. You may also be prescribed with some benzodiazepines during mushrooms detox to prevent or control seizures and agitation.

Call us 1-877-560-6372 to find help and start your recovery now.

How To Help Someone With Addiction

Reaching out to help someone with addiction is not easy. All too often, close friends and family turn a blind eye to the situation and hope that the person will eventually see sense. This rarely happens.

Do not stay in denial about your loved one’s addiction. Reach out for help at 1-877-560-6372.

What can you do -practically – to help someone that you love? Here are some tips for helping an addicted friend or loved one:

  1. Look into the CRAFT Model of intervention. Over time, CRAFT shows significant success rates at getting people into treatment.
  2. Collect facts about their mushroom use. Learn via CRAFT how to discuss the consequence of use on health and behavior.
  3. Avoid moral judgement and conflicts. Stay safe and do not approach someone who is high.
  4. Practice tough love. Spend time with your loved one when off the drugs. Avoid them when they use. Also, avoid enabling behaviors such as taking on responsibilities.
  5. Offer support during addiction treatment.

There is a great deal of scientific evidence that treatment works, and people recover every day. Like other chronic diseases, mushroom addiction can be managed successfully. If you or a loved one is struggling with problems with mushrooms, call 1-877-560-6372 to discuss different options available to you.

Long-Term Aftercare And Relapse Prevention

Q: What is the importance of follow-up treatment?
A: Finishing a treatment program helps you address the initial cravings for mushrooms, but is rarely enough to keep you sober for the rest of your life. This is why committing to an aftercare program is equally important. It greatly reduces the likelihood of relapse. Continuing care helps you learn coping skills and other ways they can return you to your normal life without feeling the need to go back to your old habits.

Aftercare teaches you to:

  • recognize potential triggers
  • avoid high risk situations
  • develop the coping skills to maintain long-term recovery

Effective addiction treatment programs share a common philosophy that the best treatments should answer all your needs. Based on this principle, the best aftercare programs will offer focus on providing knowledge and training about the following areas:

  • Child care
  • Education
  • Legal issues and Finances
  • Medical status (HIV/AIDS testing) and treatment
  • Mental health
  • Relationships

Does Addiction Treatment Work?

Yes, addiction treatment can help you step in the right direction. In fact, addiction treatment brings you many benefits besides a drug-free life such as:

  • Employment and education improvements
  • Relationship improvements
  • Better mental health and legal status
  • Improved public safety

If you’re struggling to make sobriety a priority, Call 1-877-560-6372 TODAY to speak with addiction support specialists who can help you turn your life around.

Why struggle alone?

We’re here to help.

Reference Sources: NCBI: Hallucinogens
US Department of Justice: Psilocybin
NIH: Treatment Approaches for Drug Addiction
NIH: Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment: A Research-Based Guide
SAMHSA: Treatments for Substance Use Disorders
NCBI: Hallucinogens and Dissociative Drugs
About the author
Lee Weber is a published author, medical writer, and woman in long-term recovery from addiction. Her latest book, The Definitive Guide to Addiction Interventions is set to reach university bookstores in early 2019.
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