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You are here: Welcome > Resources > Drug & Alcohol Information > Ecstasy Addiction Facts

Ecstasy Addiction Facts


Ecstasy is a street name for 3-4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine, or MDMA, a synthetic, psychoactive drug chemically similar to the stimulant methamphetamine and the hallucinogen mescaline. Other MDMA street names Adam, XTC, hug, beans, and love drug. It's a neurotoxic drug with many negative effects.

In high doses, ecstasy can interfere with the body's ability to regulate temperature. This can lead to a sharp increase in body temperature (hyperthermia), resulting in liver, kidney, and failure of the cardiovascular system. Because ecstasy can interfere with its own metabolism, or ability to break down within the body, potentially harmful levels can be reached by repeated drug use within short intervals.

Users of ecstasy face many of the same risks as users of other stimulants such as cocaine and methamphetamines. These include increases in heart rate and blood pressure, a special risk for people with circulatory problems or heart disease, and other symptoms such as muscle tension, involuntary teeth clenching, nausea, blurred vision, faintness, and chills or sweating.

Psychological effects can include confusion, sleep problems, drug craving, and severe anxiety. Erratic mood swings and depression can lead to isolation from friends and family. Another common effect of ecstasy use is decreased performance on the job or in school.

Many of the psychological effects of taking the drug sometimes last for days or weeks after taking it. On rare occasions, the use of ecstasy can be fatal. The drug exerts its primary effects in the brain on neurons that use the chemical serotonin to communicate with other neurons. The serotonin system plays an important role in regulating mood, aggression, sexual activity, sleep, and sensitivity to pain. Chronic users of ecstasy perform more poorly than nonusers on certain types of cognitive or memory tasks; among other factors, some of these effects may be due to the use of other drugs in combination with ecstasy.

Trained professionals at Sunrise Recovery Center work with those addicted to ecstasy on an individual basis and in group sessions, in sensitive, structured settings to begin the journey back to a productive, non-addictive life.