How Does Flakka Affect the Brain?

07/20/2022

How Does Flakka Affect the Brain?

People turn to recreational drug use for various reasons. They may think they are escaping the crushing weight of existence or lessening their anxiety, or they believe it’s the only way they can have fun. When they use stimulants, they want to feel the rush that comes with it and feel alive; however, doing so affects your brain chemistry in ways that can be difficult to notice when you’re in the moment. Flakka is no different from other stimulants.

What Is Flakka?

Flakka is a Schedule 1 drug classified by the DEA and is considered the more potent cousin to bath salts. Derived from the khat plant, this psychoactive stimulant has been around since 2012. It made its biggest impact in the news cycle in 2015 when the “zombie drug” caused 80 deaths in Florida, where the people’s behaviors mimicked that of a horror movie monster.

Substance abuse treatment centers in Mahanoy City, PA, and beyond have seen flakka expand beyond Florida and into communities across the country. As the drug has continued to gain a foothold, more people began looking at just what this drug does to the brain chemistry of those who use it.

What Are the Immediate Effects of Flakka?

As with any designer drug, the immediate effects are what users gravitate towards. This synthetic drug mimics the effects of cocaine and methamphetamine but is turned up to eleven. People can enter a state of excited delirium, feel euphoric and hyperactive, and possess heightened alertness. Additionally, they experience:

Aggressive Behaviors
Rapid Heart Rate
Inhibition Loss
Increased Strength
Panic Attacks
Raised Body Temperature

Flakka affects your brain by overstimulating different areas tied to your mood, alertness, and behaviors. Moderate doses can induce mild hallucinations. However, if the users fall into patterns of drug abuse, the long-term effects on your brain chemistry and your body can prove catastrophic.

What Are the Long-Term Effects of Flakka?

Flakka can have a wide range of long-lasting effects on your body and brain that you did not expect when you first started taking the drug. Physical issues such as muscle damage, kidney failure, liver failure, and heart attacks are some of the most common. From a mental perspective, they can expect severe paranoia, mental illness, suicidal thoughts, and more as a result of prolonged use. Prolonged flakka use impedes our ability to process specific transporter proteins in the brain, flooding your head with increased levels of dopamine and serotonin — the two main substances tied to our internal reward center.

As these chemicals overload our senses, flakka becomes directly associated with feelings of pleasure and happiness that can prove fleeting in our daily lives. Since our bodies can quickly build a tolerance, people need higher doses to achieve the same high, leading to higher addiction rates and overdoses.

Overcoming Flakka Addiction With Silver Pines Treatment Center

Fighting through the withdrawal symptoms of flakka can be difficult for people to do on their own; having an experienced counselor to help is invaluable. Entering into an addiction treatment and rehab program is the first step towards resetting your brain chemistry to something closer to your normal before using flakka.

Silver Pines Treatment Center has specialized professionals that can help you through the early stages of flakka withdrawal and recovery. Our substance abuse rehab programs in Mahanoy City, PA , can help guide you through these difficult times and offer the support you need to make positive changes in your life that your flakka addiction has made difficult for you to see.

If you or someone you love is struggling with a flakka, cocaine, or methamphetamine addiction, please don’t hesitate to contact our team at 267.209.7313. We understand that seeking help is a difficult step, and we look forward to offering you all the support you need.