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Ayahuasca Addiction Treatment
Taking advantage of the bountiful medicines provided by nature is necessary for many aspects of ideal living, but abusing these gifts can lead to adverse physical health and strained psychological well-being. Ayahuasca is one such substance that can be beneficial in small, mediated doses but can also easily be abused.
What is Ayahuasca?
Ayahuasca is a brewed beverage first made by indigenous cultures within the Amazon from leaves of the Chacruna or Chagropanga plants mixed with Banisteriopsis caapi vines. The leaves are a source of dimethyltryptamine, or DMT, a naturally inactive hallucinogen that becomes active when combined with a monoamine oxidase inhibitor, or MAOI. By brewing this concoction slowly, the active ingredients are released much slower into the body than through direct consumption of pure active DMT. The native Amazonian people believe they were given direction to brew Ayahuasca from the spirits of the plants themselves.
What are the Consequences of Ayahuasca Use?
Users of Ayahuasca report one of two experiences, in general, which follows along the lines of other, less potent hallucinogens. In the first type of experience, the users describe spiritual, emotional, and psychological awakenings, sometimes combined with visions of higher dimensions and the beings that inhibit those places. These experiences are often considered by those who experience them to be life-changing or a form of rebirth. The second type of experience exists on the opposite end of the spectrum, although they are not as common. These experiences tend to be inward and depressive, and often result from being ill prepared or from a mistake in the brew itself.
Ayahuasca Abuse Symptoms
Ayahuasca is not only a powerful psychedelic drink, but it also creates intense nausea, vomiting, sweating, and several other negative side effects that occur before the hallucinations begin. The experience lasts up to 12 hours and recovery can take up to 24 hours so that abuse could be a serious issue. The substance is essentially a poison that the body has to process, and it does damage with every use just like any other drug. Each instance of use is simply much more damaging, and many people have reportedly been killed as a result of Ayahuasca use.
Effects of Ayahuasca Abuse
Each case of Ayahuasca use is separate as the body processes the full dose after about 24 hours. After the toxins have been filtered away, you’re only left with the damage that was done due to the initial use, such as injury to the digestive tract, as well as potential tremors in mental stability.
Ayahuasca Withdrawal Symptoms
Ayahuasca has no physically addictive qualities, so there are no withdrawal symptoms associated with its use. Some studies indicate the contrary, as a matter of fact. Ayahuasca has been recommended as a potential treatment for serious addicts of other drugs, like opiates and other painkillers. The reason for such an effect is unknown, but many researchers cite the extreme brain chemistry that results from consuming Ayahuasca as a possible cause.
