What Is Ibogaine Treatment For Addiction?

Of the many treatment methods that are currently used to treat heroin addiction, none has substantial effect on a psychological level. They majorly serve to treat the addiction or help victims manage it, but never really treat the addiction with the intention of reducing or completely curing the disease. However, among the many unconventional and experimental treatments that have been tried, Ibogaine has indicated some promising results.

What is Ibogaine?

Ibogaine is a psychoactive substance derived from certain trees and shrubs found in native African rainforests. The natural psychedelic is cited to have been used by African pygmy tribes (and other tribes) for ritual and medicinal purposes.  

Ibogaine Treatment for Addiction

Several separate researches that have been carried on Ibogaine (since 1960s) have indicated that the substance can effectively treat various forms of addictions: heroin, cocaine, alcohol, methadone, methamphetamine, steroids, and other drugs. When used as type of interruption therapy, the psychedic induces dream-like visions to the patients (while they are awake) followed by feelings of instructive replays of the various pivotal life effects that may have contributed to their addictions. Some are also confronted by negative emotions and fear that in a way drive the addiction disease.  If used for addiction treatment, it's recommended that supplemental treatments such as intensive counseling, therapy, and aftercare are applied to achieve maximum results from the Ibogaine treatment.

Side Effects

Although Ibogaine has been implicated as treatment for various forms of addiction in unprecedented number of studies, it's been associated with a number of negative side effects, including loss of motor coordination (making it difficult for patients to walk or stand without assistance), vomiting, nausea, and dry mouth. Ibogaine can also agitate certain types of heart conditions and can cause fatal reactions with certain foods (such as foods that contain citrus and bergamot oil). What's more, the psychedelic can have detrimental effects when administered alongside other psychotropic medications and is therefore not recommended for dual-diagnosis (simultaneous treatment for addiction alongside mental or emotional disorders).

Bottom Line

For Ibogaine treatments to be universally accepted in the healthcare fraternity, there must be enough evidence that its benefits surpasses its potential to cause harm, which currently necessitates continued research and clinical experiments. Nonetheless, preliminary results regarding the development of the Ibogaine into clinical, therapeutic, and medicinal treatments are quite promising.

What Is Alcohol-Related Psychosis?

 

Most people are aware of a medical condition known as alcoholism, or an addiction to alcohol. However, there aren't as many people who are aware of just how severely addicts suffer. In addition to the drastic and complicated effects of alcohol withdrawal, addicts can experience equally painful symptoms while still consuming alcohol. One of the most debilitating and misunderstood alcohol related medical conditions is called Alcohol Psychosis.

What is Alcohol Psychosis?

Alcohol Psychosis is a medical condition that affects long-time alcoholics. Most of the symptoms are neurological in nature and can severely harm a person's quality of life. In fact, the symptoms are so severe, the condition is often confused with schizophrenia, making diagnosis difficult. People who suffer from Alcohol Psychosis will endure relentless hallucinations or persistent delusions. In addition, sufferers may also experience other equally severe symptoms in conjunction with the hallucinations, such as paranoia and aggression.

Who is Affected? 

It is rare for anyone suffering from alcoholism to experience Alcohol Psychosis. Only 3% of the alcoholic population will experience psychosis due to their alcoholism. However, the vast majority of those who endure Alcohol Psychosis are alcoholics who have abused alcohol for a prolonged amount of time.

How is Alcohol Psychosis Diagnosed?

Although Alcohol Psychosis often closely mimics schizophrenia, there are a few important factors that can help differentiate the two conditions. Typically, symptoms of Alcohol Psychosis begin to manifest at a much later date in the sufferer's life than symptoms of schizophrenia do. Alcohol Psychosis only occurs after years of chronic alcohol abuse. In addition to this, those who suffer from Alcohol Psychosis will find that their symptoms significantly decrease as their alcohol consumption does. Although some people may experience an increase in symptoms as they go through withdrawal, they will often find symptoms completely disappear once the alcohol has finally dissipated from their systems.

Alcoholism drastically and negatively affects addicts in hundreds of unfortunate ways. Alcohol Psychosis is arguably the most serious potential complication on the list. Just as with alcoholism itself, however, there is hope for alcohol induced psychosis in the form of abstinence and recovery.

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Get The Facts About Panic Attacks

The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that around 4 million Americans routinely experience panic attacks, and if you are one of them, you can testify as to how alarming and stressful one can be. A panic attack is a strong, often sudden feeling of extreme anxiety, unease or helplessness, often lasting for several minutes and sometimes accompanied by a shortness of breath, a racing heartbeat and a feeling of lightheadedness.

Although panic attacks can be triggered by a specific event or situation, they can often occur for no obvious reason, making them even harder to deal with and leading to fear that another panic attack will happen. There are other symptoms of panic attacks, and these can include a heavy feeling in the chest (or chest pains), trembling muscles, tingling in the hands or feet, a flushed face and sweaty palms, as well as the uncontrollable and terrifying feeling of panic. Many people describe the feeling as a total loss of control, sheer and utter panic or even the certainty that they are going to go crazy or die.

Because the fear of having another attack is part of the aftermath of a panic attack, many people understandably avoid potential situations in which they might feel anxious or lose control. Some people who have experienced panic attacks even reach the point where they rarely leave their home or other so-called safe zone, a condition called agoraphobia. Most agoraphobics do not enjoy their condition; the fear of having another attack, especially in public, forces them to adopt that extreme behavior.

It is possible to effectively treat anxiety disorders such as panic attacks, although many people are too ashamed to seek help or the condition remains undiagnosed and therefore untreated. In recent years, the shift has been away from old-fashioned techniques using analysis to treat panic disorders, and towards CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy). The therapy focuses on how to identify and eliminate the feelings and thoughts that cause the anxiety and the panic. An educational campaign is being carried out by the National Institute of Mental Health to convince people that panic attacks can be treated successfully.