It’s true that as your kids start to grow, they become more independent. He/she then begins to recall what has been learned from you and others and make their own decisions based on what they see, what they hear and what is taught. As a result, you need to understand that all of your actions today will determine your child’s future – happy, healthy life, or otherwise.
Ecstasy is a huge problem in today’s society, causing so many teenagers to lose their futures when they fall into it. So, to help your child, as best as you can, from this problem, you need to start educating your child about ecstasy in particular and other stimulants in general. The article below will help you better understand ecstasy and harmful effects of ecstasy on your child.
What is ecstasy?
Ecstasy (3, 4-methylenedioxy-N-methamphetamine, or MDMA) is an illegally produced drug. Ecstasy is one of the most common illegal drugs sold on the street. The ecstasy is also known as XTC, X, Adam, E, Roll, A, 007, Molly.
Ecstasy is a hallucinogenic stimulant. This drug is popular with teenagers and young people who go to music clubs, bars, concerts because of the “high” and the euphoria it gives. Many teenagers think that this medicine will help them feel good, excited and keep them active for many days without the need to rest. But in fact, ecstasy is dangerous because when using ecstasy, they are more likely to perform dangerous actions for themselves and those around them.
How ecstasy is used
- By swallowing tablets, or inhaling the powdered form
- Ecstasy abuse is by taking more than 3 pills at the same time, swallowing several pills in
- a short period, using ecstasy with LSD or mixing with alcohol/ marijuana.
What it feels when using ecstasy
Since ecstasy is both a hallucinogen and a stimulant, it enhances your kids’ emotional intensity, whether that emotion is good or bad. The effects of the drug usually last up to 6 hours.
Ecstasy increases heart rate and can cause dry mouth, teeth grinding, blurred vision, chills, sweating, or nausea. Ecstasy can make users feel anxious, confused, and paranoid that someone is trying to harm them. Ecstasy damages the brain cells involved in thinking and memory.
When taking ecstasy, your kids’ body temperature will dangerously increase while performing physical activities, leading to muscle weakness, kidney, liver and heart damage. Using ecstasy can cause seizures, brain swelling, brain damage and even death.
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Effects of ecstasy: Addiction
Because ecstasy makes users feel euphoric, teenagers use ecstasy to increase the
excitement at parties, and use it repeatedly to prolong the “high”.
According to a report by the U.S.’s National Institute of Drug Abuse, 43% of young
people using ecstasy shows signs of dependence but continued to use the drug regardless of having the knowledge about the physical and psychological harms, as well as the effects of detoxification.
The study above is consistent with the results of similar studies in other countries,
that ecstasy-users are dependent on the drug. Symptoms of ecstasy-dependent include fatigue, anorexia, depression, and difficulty concentrating.
Side effects of ecstasy
There are psychological problems that occur during the period that users consume ecstasy, as well as a few weeks afterward, which include:
- Confusion
- Depression
- Craving for drugs
- Paranoia
- Serious anxiety
- Sleep problems
Physical symptoms, such as:
- Blurry vision
- Chills or sweating
- Fainting
- Increased heart rate and blood pressure
- Severe thirst
- Uncontrolled grinding of teeth
- Muscle tension
- Nausea
- Rapid eye movements
Long-term effects of ectasy
Researchers show that ecstasy causes lasting damage to the brain’s ability to think
and memorize, which is similar to the effects of taking cocaine and meth.
Ecstasy is structurally and functionally associated with methamphetamine – a drug
that degrades neurons containing the neurotransmitter dopamine. Damage to the neurons
containing dopamine is the cause of Parkinson's disease where the patients’ motor muscles lose coordination and the patients are ultimately paralyzed. In other words, consuming ecstasy can lead to paralysis.
According to the DEA, in high doses, ecstasy (MDMA) can interfere with the body’s ability to regulate temperature. Sometimes, this can lead to an increase in body temperature (hyperthermia), lead to failure of the liver, kidneys and cardiovascular system, and possibly death. Because of
MDMA can interfere with its metabolism (i.e. its breakdown in the body), so a potential level of harm can be achieved with repeated drug use over short periods.
How can parents prevent the use of Ecstasy in the first place?
The use of ecstasy in particular and other stimulants such as marijuana in adolescents can lead to serious consequences in the future. In addition to starting to talk about the topic earlier or constantly reminding your child over time, you also need to build a healthy, drug-free, stimulants-free environment and relationships around your child, such as:
- Get your child engaged in outside activities to sharpen their creativity, such as sports
- Involve your child in extracurricular programs to make them feel confident and valuable
- Let your child feel loved and have safe relationships
- Let your child know that they can talk to you if they face worries or problems in their life
However, to protect your child more effectively, you also need to use content filtering tools like CyberPurify – in addition to filtering out harmful content that reaches your child like porn, accidental gore pictures, etc. it will notify you when your child is looking for information about marijuana, stimulants, drugs, etc. to help you detect, prevent unpredictable consequences.
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