The need to find effective treatments to combat anxiety disorders leads researchers to use all possible alternatives, even though they are dangerous. This is the case of the new studies with hallucinogenic drugs such as LSD or MDMA to treat certain types of anxiety. The controversy is served. Anxiety drugs?
Drugs for anxiety
If more and more people deny drugs to treat anxiety problems and focus on alternative medicine or natural therapies, there are those who bet even more strongly and affirm that drugs such as LSD or ecstasy can be effective in combating anxiety or depression.
The use of this type of drug in the treatment of emotional disorders is understood to be under strict medical control, but this does not avoid certain risks. And it is that if the usefulness of drugs such as anxiolytics, antidepressants or even hypnotics to treat anxiety, depression and insomnia is already being questioned, the presence of hallucinogenic drugs as a new alternative is still risky.
It seems that LSD and ecstasy can help treat certain types of anxiety, especially post-traumatic stress disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder, as well as alcohol addiction. The controlled use of these drugs could have a beneficial effect on those areas of the brain that are most affected when an emotional disorder is suffered.
The risk of drugs for anxiety
But in any case it is a situation in which we have the enemy at home. The relationship between drugs and anxiety is well known, so treating one problem with a higher risk of generating another may not be the best idea. In any case, we do not want to rule out any treatment alternative either.
We are only concerned about the future use of these drugs, which although they may have therapeutic purposes, are currently used for recreational purposes. The legal availability of hallucinogens, even under medical supervision, could trigger the consumption of these substances. Or not? And it is that the debate on the legalization of certain drugs is endless.
Nor can we assume that strict medical control is necessary, as promoted by the advocates of this type of treatment. The health reality is different. Doctors prescribe antidepressants, anxiolytics or any other drug to treat emotional problems without monitoring the medication or the results.
