What Is PCP? Understanding Its Effects and Risks

desperate man in silhouette sitting on the bed with hands on head

Phencyclidine, or PCP, is one such substance that has garnered attention for its potent and often unpredictable effects. Below, we’ll unravel the complexities surrounding PCP—its nature, abuse side effects, inherent dangers, and the intricate issue of addiction. Through this exploration, we aim to provide valuable insights into the world of PCP, equipping individuals with knowledge that can serve as a beacon toward healthier, more informed choices.

A Closer Look at PCP

Phencyclidine, abbreviated as PCP, is a mind-altering anesthetic drug developed in the 1950s for medical use. Originally, PCP came in pure crystal or powder form, but now can also be found in tablets and capsules. Most of these forms contain a distinctive bitter chemical taste. Street names include “angel dust,” “rocket fuel,” and “supergrass.”

Chemically part of the arylcyclohexylamine class, PCP acts on the central nervous system, producing significant psychological effects. Initially intended for medicinal purposes, this drug became notorious for its hallucinogenic properties. At moderate doses, users feel detached from reality and profound impacts on both the mind and body. This dissociation is a hallmark of its effect on the central nervous system, leading to a range of psychological and physical adverse effects.

Side Effects of PCP

Those who abuse Phencyclidine experience both immediate and long-term side effects.

Short-Term Effects

  • Profound alterations in perception
  • Distorted sense of time and space
  • Euphoria or intense anxiety
  • Erratic blood pressure fluctuations
  • Hallucinations and delusions
  • Impaired coordination and motor skills

Long-Term Effects

  • Memory loss and cognitive decline
  • Speech difficulties
  • Depression and anxiety disorders
  • Social withdrawal and isolation
  • Increased risk of psychosis
  • Significant weight loss

Dangers of PCP

PCP’s dangers lie in its unpredictability and the range of effects it can induce. Users may experience a sense of invulnerability, leading to reckless behavior and accidental injury or suicide. Its association with violent episodes is well-documented, with users sometimes displaying aggressive and erratic behavior. Additionally, the potential for overdose is a serious concern, often resulting in life-threatening medical emergencies.

PCP Addiction

The insidious nature of PCP is evident in its potential to lead to addiction. Users may develop tolerance over time, requiring higher doses to achieve the desired effects. Dependency can give rise to withdrawal symptoms, including cravings, anxiety, and depression, making it challenging for individuals to break free from the cycle of abuse.

Treatment Options

Addressing PCP addiction requires a comprehensive approach. Detoxification, under medical supervision, helps manage the physical withdrawal symptoms. Behavioral therapies, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), play a crucial role in addressing the psychological aspects of addiction. Support groups and aftercare programs provide ongoing assistance, fostering a supportive environment for individuals on their path to recovery.

PCP Recovery Starts Here

Girl on a background of mountains joyful spread her arms dancing at a height

Understanding the profound impact of this drug is a crucial step toward fostering a healthier future. If you or someone you know is grappling with PCP addiction, Newport Beach Recovery Center is here to help.

Our Residential Inpatient Addiction Treatment Program provides a supportive and structured environment for individuals seeking recovery. With a dedicated team of professionals, evidence-based therapies, and a commitment to individualized care, we are ready to guide you on your journey to lasting recovery. Take the first step toward a brighter tomorrow—reach out to Newport Beach Recovery Center today.

Why You Should Attend Medical Detox

medical detox

The best way to get started on the road to recovery from drug addiction is to undergo detox at a professional treatment facility. Unfortunately, many individuals struggling with drug abuse attempt to undergo detox on their own and are unsuccessful at attaining sobriety. It can also be incredibly dangerous to detox on your own as certain withdrawal symptoms are very severe.

Sometimes addicts will attempt to detox themselves because of financial limitations, embarrassment, or they think it won’t be that hard.  Newport Beach Recovery Center is here to let you know you shouldn’t detox by yourself. You have a much better chance of getting and staying sober by going to a professional detox program. 

What Is Medical Detox? 

Detox treatment for drug and alcohol abuse consists of clearing toxins out of the body that have resulted from substance abuse. A major focus of detoxification treatment is overcoming withdrawal symptoms that occur when you stop using drugs or alcohol. While detox and withdrawal can be difficult, we do everything we can at Newport Beach Recovery Center to make you feel safe and comfortable.

Detox is generally considered to be the first step in overcoming drug or alcohol addiction. After our clients go through detox, they move on to our residential inpatient treatment program. 

How Medical Detox Works

Before you’re able to undergo detox, we collect and review your substance abuse and medical history. It’s important we’re fully aware of the substances you are currently addicted to, how long you’ve been using them, and how frequently. All of these factors will help determine how long your detox will be and what the process is. On average our detox process lasts about 4-7 days. During detox, we monitor your health very closely. Depending on what substances you use, withdrawals can be mild to severe. 

Common withdrawal symptoms experienced amongst all addicts are nausea, anxiety, depression, an overall feeling of being sick, fatigue, and insomnia. These are not out of the ordinary as your body is now adjusting to functioning without drugs or alcohol. 

Benefits of Medical Detox

One of, if not the biggest, benefit to medical detox is being under the care of medical professionals while you go through withdrawals. Some withdrawals can be fatal so you definitely shouldn’t detox on your own. Other benefits include: 

Medicine is prescribed to manage withdrawals. 

During detox, we prescribe certain medications that help ease withdrawal symptoms. If you try to detox on your own at home, you won’t have access to these kinds of medications. It’s also important to wean the body off drugs instead of stopping cold turkey because you can completely shock your system. The “comfort meds” we prescribe are given to you in a controlled setting so you won’t be able to take them whenever you want. 

Therapists and counselors are here to help. 

Our experienced staff is available to answer any questions you may have during detox. If you start to experience any anxiety or feelings of depression, our staff can help. We know it’s crucial for those detoxing to have mental health support as detoxing affects the body and mind. 

Support from like-minded people. 

Aside from the support of our medical staff, it’s important to have the support from other addicts as well during detox. Detoxing at home alone is solitary. Being alone can aggravate some common symptoms of withdrawal such as depression and anxiety. With medical detox, our clients can help encourage, motivate, and keep an eye on you, which creates a supportive environment.

Detox Medically With Us

Newport Beach Recovery Center can help you overcome your addiction. We offer comprehensive detoxification, residential treatment, and outpatient treatment options. Detoxing is the first step to take on the road of recovery and once you accomplish that, we can help you with the next step! Contact us today to learn more about our program. 

Coping with Losing a Loved One to Addiction

Even though it’s not something that anyone finds it to be particularly pleasant, everyone knows that coping with the death of a loved one is a natural part of life. There is no denying that any type of loss is painful, but there is something about the loss of a loved one from addiction that puts things in a different category altogether. Addiction is a deadly disease, it doesn’t discriminate against anyone, it affects men, women, and children and it has destroyed many innocent lives. Unfortunately, losing a loved one to drug abuse is all too common. If you have lost a loved one to substance abuse, it is critical that you learn how to cope with the loss and not allow this devastation to consume your life as well. Here are some ways to cope with the loss of a loved one from addiction.

Get Support

Loss and unresolved grief are burdens that are commonly carried. It’s important to keep yourself in the company of supporting and loving others that you share your feelings and experiences with. It’s easy to fall into the trap of isolation, but it is critical for your own emotional health to increase your contact with family and friends, attend grief meetings and share from your heart. Do not be afraid to open up about what is going on inside your emotions.

Avoid Holding Back

Holding back your emotions doesn’t benefit you or those around you. Pain is inevitable, but you must grieve effectively and in order to do this, it’s essential that you share and release your pain with others. It’s often beneficial to talk with others who have also lost a loved one to addiction, such as groups that are designed specifically for loved ones of men and women who had a substance abuse problem. For instance, Al-Anon groups are typically located in most cities, and they will not only be able to provide you with information regarding addiction but direct you to additional support groups that help with the grieving process.

Grieve in a Healthy Way

It is essential for your emotional as well as physical health that you allow yourself to not only grieve but to grieve in a healthy way. There are many stages of the grieving process, and your health depends on your experience in all stages. Over time the shock and the denial will gradually fade, so focusing on living in the present will help ground you through the denial phase of grief. Another phase is anger and you’re entitled to be angry, so allow yourself to be angry by expressing the anger in healthy ways. It is critical that you remember that you were and are powerless over what has happened. Depression is also a stage of grief that you must get through, but once you have worked through the anger and hurt, it will eliminate the risk for harboring resentments, which creates unnecessary distances between you and your loved ones when you need them the most. Although it’s difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel-acceptance will eventually come.

Living Your Life Well

One of the best ways to honor your lost loved one is to live your life the way they would want it for you. So, don’t forget to take care of yourself. The grieving process is stressful and overwhelming, but it’s critical that you not lose yourself in the process. Participating in activities you enjoy, such as taking a walk, listening to your favorite music or finishing that book you started is a great way to calm your mind and rejuvenate your emotional and physical strength.

After losing a loved one to substance abuse, it is common for family and friends to blame themselves, to look for ways that they could have helped or try to look for what they may have done wrong. Do not blame yourself or others! Harboring these feelings will prevent you from moving on and prevent you from healthy grieving. It’s important that you are gentle with yourself and give yourself space, time and patience you need to work through the loss.

How to Quit Heroin: Should You Go It Alone, or Seek Addiction Treatment?

how to quit heroin

If you have developed a heroin problem and are considering quitting, you deserve credit. Reaching this point means you have the wisdom to know that you have a problem- and that’s no small task. Maybe you have learned from the mistakes of others. Maybe you have hit rock bottom, or maybe someone in your life loves you enough to step in and say something. Whatever it is that’s brought you here, looking for answers- may this be the beginning of your journey to recovery.

How to Quit Heroin

To begin, it should be said that quitting heroin is never something that should be done alone. For those who have become physically dependent on the drug, quitting without help can be dangerous. If you are physically dependent on heroin, alcohol, or any opioid drug- professional medical detox services are often necessary to achieve a safe and effective recovery. That being said, there are ways to quit heroin- and you are not alone. Many people have faced the challenge of heroin addiction, and help is out there.

1. Quitting Cold Turkey

The importance of seeking professional detox services for those who are dependent on opiates cannot be overstated. However, if you are confident that you are healthy enough, and that your level of physical dependence is low enough- it is possible to go cold turkey– endure the withdrawals and successfully come off of the drug.

For some people, the challenge of overcoming withdrawals is appealing. For others, the pain barrier will simply be too much. Some degree of self-knowledge would be a great help here- otherwise, you risk enduring a day or two of painful withdrawals only to fail. This can lead to a sense of shame, which can deepen any addiction. In short- going cold turkey is not for everyone and there are significant risks.

2. Weaning off Slowly

Once again, we are talking about a method of quitting that is best suited to a certain personality type. Coming off slowly may be less painful, but the period of relapse risk is longer. With this method, it will be critical to obtain support and cut one’s self off from any use of triggers and drug connections.

During the weaning off period, you might consider going on vacation, staying away from social events- and binging on movies, television, video games, indulgent food, and so on. Research has shown that our capacity for resisting temptation is like a muscle. It can only perform so much work before it fails. So during a weaning off period, making heroin (and all harmful drugs) the only temptation you will avoid may be wise.

It will be important to set up rules for yourself that you intend to follow. Get others involved. Tell people you trust what you intend to do and ask them to check in on you periodically. Set a definite start date for yourself- after which you will begin using less.

Weaning one’s self off heroine comes with one major roadblock- if you do not have the supply you need at the start- you will have to obtain more during the weaning period which means not only breaking the law but also coming into contact with trigger people and scenarios. For these reasons, we cannot recommend weaning off of heroin outside of a professional replacement therapy regimen.

3. Abandon all Bridges to Drug Use

Regardless of the method, you use to quit, cutting all ties to use, both emotional and interpersonal, is critical. Much of the addiction process is psychological. That is not to say that there is not a physical reality to addiction- there is. But much of it has to do with emotional factors, perceptions, and habits. Bridges to use are not just drug connections- but people, events, places, music, or anything that triggers positive thoughts about using heroin.

Eliminating and avoiding any and all triggers must become a major part of any recovering addicts’ daily life.

4. Find a Safe and Secluded Place to Stay

Unless you intend to complete your recovery in a rehabilitation center, you will need a place to stay where former drug connections, friends-in-use, and other triggers are not a factor.

Your recovery location should have everything you need during your initial recovery. This includes food, entertainment, and ideally- the loving support of family or loved ones not connected to your addiction.

Seek Support & Professional Help

At the end of the day, beating a heroin addiction is not something anyone should try to do alone. Heroin is infamously addictive and dangerous.

If you or someone you love has developed an addiction to heroin, professional recovery services are the best prescription. At a detox and recovery center, recovering addicts can obtain distance from the people and locations that trigger use, access sympathetic support, and avail themselves of any necessary medical help.

 

How To Talk To Your Family About Your Addiction Problem

It is never easy to have a conversation where you are left feeling vulnerable, and few conversations are more difficult than discussing a personal drug or alcohol addiction with friends and family. For a variety of reasons, you may be afraid. You need to look past the fear if you want to maintain or rebuild an honest relationship with the people you love most.

To help combat your nerves before getting started, ask yourself a few basic questions and honestly assess your answers. These will help you determine if now is the right time to have a conversation or pursue addiction treatment.

Do I party or have an addiction?

Sometimes it is hard to admit you have an addiction, particularly when you associate your behaviors with a party or social lifestyle. If you are still trying to determine if your regular drinks after work are a problem, you may want to discuss addiction recovery with a third-party before talking to your family. Someone else who has battled their way forward from a drug or alcohol dependency or who is skilled in treatment can help you see how your drinking or use is impacting your life. This can help you develop the confidence needed to describe your battle to others.

Am I ready to get help?

After you have talked to someone about the possibility of treatment and recovery, you need to assess if you are ready to move forward with finding a treatment program. Your family can be of tremendous help here, but only when you can commit to a journey toward sobriety.

Can I take responsibility for my actions?

As you started drinking or using drugs, it is possible your habit started to impact your relationships with friends and family. If that is the case, you need to be prepared to admit this. Part of a long-term program will include working to repair fractured relationships you want to maintain. Discussing and acknowledging your behavior at the beginning is a big step forward.

And it is important to realize “damage” to a relationship does not have to be a dramatic fight or a full breakdown while high or drunk. It can be an extended period of not returning phone calls, failing to be there when you had a friend in need or skipping out on basic obligations.

There may also be hurt feelings you have caused or pain left in your wake you never noticed. Part of speaking to your family could include hearing about things you did you never knew would hurt those you loved. You need to be prepared to have these difficult conversations if your family starts a larger discussion. Sometimes, they may not share until your recovery journey unfolds further or not at all.

Will my family support me?

It is important to acknowledge you are responsible for your addiction recovery. This means not blaming others for your behavior. However, it is also important to recognize some family members or friends can act as triggers for you. Whether they goad you emotionally or tempt you with their own drinking or drug use, they are a toxic presence in your life.

When you feel your family is unlikely to support you on your treatment path or may even sabotage you, you should not feel compelled to involve them in the process. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t tell them in most circumstances. It does mean a phone call relaying you are entering a treatment program for XX amount of days is sufficient. As you become more confident in your sobriety, you may feel better about talking to a wider range of people, but there is no need to potentially sabotage your progress as you are getting started.

How can I start the conversation?

The best way to start a hard conversation is to lay the biggest truth on the table immediately. State that you are addicted and are starting a treatment program. If you are comfortable speaking more about the ins and outs of your addiction, your behavior and how you decided to seek treatment, do so. When your emotions are too raw, let your family ask you questions and answer them truthfully.

What are my next steps?

Before or after talking to your family, it is up to you to sign up for a drug or alcohol addiction treatment and recovery program like Newport Beach Recovery in Costa Mesa, CA. Discuss your treatment program with your family members and advise them on how they can help you with the recovery process. You are likely to find a much larger source of support than you realized, and this will be key for your long-term success in a program.

The Relationship Between Stress and Addiction in Relationships

People can grow addicted to harmful substances for a variety of reasons.

According to the Mayo Clinic, factors that can significantly raise the likelihood of you developing some form of substance addiction include mental health disorders, your family history, and the current situations involving your friends and family.

The reality is that if you aren’t careful, it can become very easy to fall prey to the perceived allure of addictive substances.

Those are not the only factors that can place you at greater risk for developing an addiction, however. Stress can also play a large role in how willing you are to use addictive substances.

Stress Hormones May Be Causing People to Crave Addictive Substances

An article published earlier this year by Tufts Now shines a spotlight on experiments being conducted by neuroscientist Klaus Miczek and his colleague, research assistant professor Herb Covington. Thanks to the experiments they have performed, a clearer picture of how stress can lead people to become addicted is starting to develop.

Experiments conducted on various animals have revealed that exposure to social stress can cause behavioral changes that sustain for extended periods of time. The exposure doesn’t even have to last that long for the changes to take hold.

There’s an interesting chain of progression that goes from when stress is first experienced leading up to when an addictive substance is sought after.

It starts with exposure to the stressful situation as that will subsequently lead to stress hormones being released by the brain. Those hormones then trigger specific dopamine neurons. After those dopamine neurons have been triggered, the increased craving for addictive substances is increased.

Why We Turn to Addictive Substances to Deal with Stress

If stress hormones do cause certain changes in the brain that eventually result in us wanting to consume an addictive substance of some kind, there is another important question that emerges. That question: Why do we have a tendency to look for addictive substances when we are dealing with a stressful situation?

This is not some kind of new phenomenon after all. Drinking after work is a habit for many and from there, it can develop into something more harmful.

Part of the reason why many people lean on alcohol and other addictive substances when they are feeling stressed out could be because of how those items can affect the brain.

As noted by Healthline, alcohol in particular is a sedative. In that capacity, alcohol can work as a kind of stress reliever. You can feel better and become more relaxed as a result of you having a drink.

Going back to the risk factors mentioned earlier, it’s also possible that we lean on addictive substances while in the throes of a stressful situation because we’ve observed others in our lives doing so in the past and have adopted that habit as our own.

Combine the immediate effects that a substance can have on us with the at-times difficult to struggle against inertia of a way of life we’ve grown accustomed to and it becomes easier to understand why people become addicted.

The Different Sources of Stress

For the average person, stress is completely unavoidable. If you go to school or work, chances are you will feel pressure of some kind.

You can probably think back to some of your high school days and recall just how stressful it was getting prepared for big exams and presentations. For those who are now members of the workforce, deadlines for projects are frequent sources of stress.

Traumatic events that took place earlier in your life can also make you more prone to feeling stressed out later on. That early event may also serve as a constant source of stress that becomes very difficult to get away from.

Per Psychology Today, chronic stress can increase our motivation to use and abuse addictive substances. Unless you can find some way to reduce the amount of stress you experience on a regular basis, you may find it harder and harder to fight against addiction. That is why it is essential for people to seek out a form of addiction treatment that works for them and significantly lowers the number of stressful situations they have to be in.

 How to Cope with Stress and Addiction

One of the best ways for you to get rid of your tendency to use addictive substances is to remove yourself from overly stressful situations. Quitting your job or your studies may not be options, but you can at least address the other sources of chronic stress that may be plaguing you at the moment.

Another option is to check in to a rehab or addiction treatment facility. While at a rehab facility, you can focus more on yourself and leave behind the stressful situations that have grown to characterize your everyday life. Even a temporary stay may be able to work wonders and ease you off of your addiction.

Stress may be inescapable and addictive substances enticing, but you don’t have to give in to either of them.

Addiction Treatment and Recovery Options – When Do I Need Help?

According to a 2012 survey on addiction and health in the United States, conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, as little as 10 percent of individuals who admit that they are struggling with substance dependence or abuse of some kind have actually received any kind of treatment. This is a terrifying and saddening statistic and is made all the more worrisome when one stops and thinks about the various types of substances people are addicted to.

Lack of Treatment Sought for Addictions

Many people choose to forego any kind of treatment for their addiction disorder because they believe things are not really all that bad and they don’t need any help or treatment yet. They have yet to hit rock bottom or they do not believe that their problem is bad enough to warrant any sort of treatment or intervention. The truth of the matter is: if you’re questioning whether or not you need help getting sober, you likely do. Whether your addiction is related to drugs such as heroin or methamphetamine, prescription medications like Oxycontin or phenylalanines,  or other substances like caffeine or alcohol, it is important that you get treatment for your addiction sooner rather than later!

Understanding Your Addiction and Its Severity

If you are beginning to have problems with your personal life, social interactions, relationships, work or school life, and any other areas of your life because of your substance use, then you probably have an addiction. Addiction is diagnosed on a spectrum and there is a range of various criteria that will be used to determine how bad your addiction is- mild, moderate, or severe. Medical and mental health professionals use eleven criteria to determine if someone is addicted to or abusing a substance:

  • Lack of control over when and where and how much the substance is consumed or used
  • The individual has a desire to quit but has been unable to do so under their own power
  • The individual is spending a lot of time, effort, money, and energy to get the substance
  • Cravings for the substance that begin to interfere with normal activities when not satisfied
  • Lack of responsibility in terms of how much the substance is used or while it’s being used
  • Problems with relationships in personal, romantic, social, work, or school environment
  • No interest in doing things that the individual normally enjoyed for the sake of the substance
  • Dangerous use of the substance repeatedly occurring and concerns and warnings not heeded
  • Worsening situations and a visible decline in health, hygiene, mental sharpness, etc
  • Tolerance develops which requires more of the substance to be consumed for desired effects
  • Withdrawal symptoms and cravings get severe when the substance is withheld

Your Addiction Can Get Worse

Because addiction severity is measured on a spectrum, a diagnosis of a mild addiction may be better than a severe addiction, but it is not a reason to be flippant about getting addiction treatment and help. It’s easy to take an it-could-be-worse approach but it is important to remember that addiction is a progressive disease. If it is not taken seriously and if you not get help sooner rather than later, it will get worse and it will get worse quickly in almost all cases. If you’re only a mild case right now, this is the time to act and seek help before the addiction grows and takes an even stronger hold. Think of it like you would a problem with your car- it might be minor now and not be affecting how the car runs or operates; however if left un-fixed the problem could eventually lead to a serious breakdown of the key part of the car and cause a major accident or render the car useless. Addictions can do the same to your mind and body when left untreated!

Get The Help You Need For Recovery

Addiction is not simply a lifestyle choice or a mistake. While most addictions originate from a poor choice or a bad decision that was made at one point and time, the underlying addiction itself is a chronic disease, and truly is no different than other disease people have to deal with their entire lives like asthma, hypertension, diabetes, cancer and so forth. Someone diagnosed with Stage 1 or 2 cancer would seek help to treat and control their disease.  Someone with diabetes and a blood sugar of 200 would work to take steps to control their disease. Someone with asthma would use their inhaler at the signs of a mild asthma attack rather than waiting for it to get worse. You don’t have to hit rock bottom and be out of all other options before you get help for your addiction. Get help before things get worse and take back your life. Call Newport Beach Recovery of Costa Mesa, CA. Learn more about rehab and how treatments can help you beat your addiction once and for all with the finest recovery program in the area!