PCP Addiction Signs
Phencyclidine, universally recognized as PCP, is a harmful drug that was created in the 1950s to serve as an anesthetic. However, its use on human beings was immediately put on hold because of the capability of the drug to result in a number of dangerous side effects. Thereafter, specialists in veterinary medicine tried to use it for the treatment of animals, but their efforts proved abortive because it replicated the same dangerous side effects in the animals to whom it was given.
Nevertheless, PCP is accessible on the illicit market in various forms including as powder, capsule and tablet. PCP addicts ingest the drug through a range of ways including consuming orally, snorting, and smoking or injected into the bloodstream.
Being a hallucinogen, PCP users suffer identical symptoms and side effects as those experienced by individuals hooked on LSD, Psilocybin and peyote. Studies indicate that all hallucinogens work in the same way by altering the action of the neurotransmitters and attaching themselves to the pain receptor locations. PCP is also known to modify the way the brain perceives sound and light and creates detachment sensations from body and the surroundings. The effects of PCP typically extend to up to 6 hours.
PCP is known to cause distortions in the user’s perceptions and hallucinations. Hallucinogens make users see distorted pictures and experience feelings that seemingly look unreal. PCP addiction affects patients both physically and emotionally. A number of PCP abusers prolong taking PCP because of the sensations of strength and might.
It is essential to look at certain signs of PCP addiction when you suspect that a loved one is hooked on the drug. These include physical symptoms like loss of memory and frequent forgetfulness, paranoid episodes, hallucinations, delusions, light-headedness, sight problems, decrease in blood pressure, recurrent seizures, and poor coordination.
Apart from the physical PCP addiction signs, PCP users who have already built up dependence also exhibit a number of behavioral signs that you also need to watch out for.
First, when you talk with a PCP addict, you’ll notice that they’ll have problems expressing themselves clearly. They may also experience problems paying full attention especially when one subject is being discussed.
Second, addicts also exhibit unexplained mood distortions. They may suffer from mood disorder, depression and severe anxiety attacks
Third, be on the look out for suicidal attempts or suicidal thoughts. Maybe due to the extreme and frequent delirium and other emotional symptoms, a lot of abusers of this drug have suicidal thoughts and, at other times, successfully commit suicide.
PCP addicts also display acts of violence and keep threatening the people around them. Often, the aggression makes them fight with friends or colleagues leading to injuries to either themselves or to other people.
In case a loved one keeps on complaining about numbness especially in their limbs, you have a reason to suspect an addiction to PCP. Additionally, addicts may be spotted mixing certain substances in the company of new friends. The addicts may participate in many harmful activities without due regard for the consequences.
