Plan a few days where you don’t have to do anything but enjoy life. This will help you to feel better straight away, and it will speed up the recovery more generally. Some people like to smoke their way through a comedown.
However, this surge depletes natural supplies of these neurotransmitters, leading to a crash. MDMA, also known as ecstasy or molly, is a stimulant and hallucinogen that produces intense feelings of euphoria, empathy, and heightened sensory perception. These are signs of serotonin syndrome, which can be fatal if left untreated.
Thus, it’s always prudent to start with a low dose and see how your body reacts. So, what exactly does an MDMA hangover feel like? This is known as a latent crash or delayed hangover.
Come Down from Ecstasy
Talk with trusted friends, join support groups, or consider counseling if mood issues persist. While there’s no way to completely avoid the comedown from MDMA, certain strategies can make it less severe. This is why many describe the comedown from molly as a mix of physical exhaustion and emotional crash. MDMA increases the release of serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine in the brain, producing intense pleasure. While many people focus on the high, the comedown on MDMA can be physically and emotionally challenging.
How Long Does an MDMA Comedown Last?
For example, if MDMA’s half-life in your body is seven hours and you take 100 mg at 11 pm, half of it will likely leave your system by 6 am. If you re-dose, you’re essentially “stacking half-lives,” Giordano says.
Rest & stay hydrated
- So the brain returns to a state of normal levels of serotonin, but a significantly reduced number of serotonin receptors.
- By the same token, an ecstatic experience (to use the religious sense of the word) can elevate and expand it.
- Our team of experienced professionals works closely with clients to uncover underlying issues that contribute to drug use, such as trauma or mental health concerns.
- If you feel quite tired and aren’t already there, go home.
With a focus on long-term recovery, our evidence-based services include medical detox, inpatient rehab, outpatient programs, and sober living. Nova Recovery Center is a trusted drug and alcohol rehab facility offering personalized treatment programs across the United States. For immediate mental health support, you can call or text 988 to connect with the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, available 24/7.
Hydration status, nutrition, sleep, dose size, frequency of use, and whether the substance was mixed with alcohol or other drugs all shape the experience. Compared to a cocaine hangover, which typically resolves within 1–2 days, the MDMA comedown may feel more emotionally taxing. Further substance use will only prolong the effects of a comedown, as it will destabilize your brain and exhaust your body still further.
MDMA Hangover vs. Come Down from Ecstasy vs. Coke Comedown
With very heavy use (several times a week) users can become quite dysfunctional (panic attacks, major memory/concentration problems, in some cases amphetamine psychosis has been reported.) The probability of experiencing such a ‘flashback’ seems to mdma hangover cure be linked to the frequency of use and/or the intensity of an experience (since both strengthen the memory of being high.) Where things get interesting is that your brain doesn’t simply store memories as data; you ‘remember’ mental states and ways of processing information as well.
To help your serotonin system recover, try a tryptophan or 5-HTP supplement. While the body should eventually do this on its own, taking certain supplements can help speed up the process. This kicks our nervous system into high gear, leaving us tired and depleted the next day. If you’re smart, you’ll stick to just one to avoid unwanted interactions and unnecessary stress on your system.
MDMA hangover cures
If you push it, (such as weekly use) the severity and length of the ‘hangover’ period can grow much worse as the regular disruptions of your brain’s serotonin system add up. These events are infrequent, and the probability of experiencing such a ‘mental state’ memory declines with time as the memory of the drug experience fades. As a result, if you have an intense MDMA experience at a rave, you might at some later time start to feel euphoric when you hear the same sort of music again. In the case of drugs, flashbacks are the result of something reminding you of the drug experience, causing your mind to bring up a memory of the experience.
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The half-life is the amount of time it takes for your body to break down the concentration of a drug by 50 percent. In addition, some have more resilient serotonin systems, and some are less sensitive to MDMA in general, so they’re less likely to experience a major crash at all. In addition to the “blue Mondays” immediately following weekends of raving, some people describe “suicide Tuesdays” or “Tuesday blues” with a two-day delay. “It takes a while for your body to make more serotonin, and the effect of serotonin depletion is a tremendous crash.”
For people in a good state, who don’t take drugs very often, a comedown may only last a day or two and feel like a minor inconvenience. Most people feel symptoms for 1–2 days, though mood effects can last up to a week. These effects may feel similar to a cocaine comedown or a coke hangover, though MDMA is more likely to cause prolonged mood changes due to serotonin depletion. Using drugs infrequently is one of the best ways to avoid bad comedowns. While these drugs may not cause the intense crash of an MDMA comedown, they can still cause a significant drop in energy, cognitive ability, and mood.
These are chemical precursors — like raw materials — that your body needs to produce serotonin. Replenishing your brain’s stock of neurotransmitters will help normalise your mood and energy levels. Rest, hydration and certain supplements may help protect against the worst effects of the crash. MDMA floods the brain with these feel-good chemicals, causing a burst of euphoria, empathy and energy.
What are the symptoms of an MDMA hangover?
It can make the person have a low mood, foggy thoughts, nausea, irritability, and sleep that will not cooperate. If you are facing a crash right now, or you have been through it before and want to avoid repeating it, you are in the right place to get the help you deserve. MDMA is famed for its euphoric and ecstatic effects, yet is equally notorious for the dreaded hangover that follows. Don’t over-exert yourself, as this will put unnecessary stress on your body and hinder recovery. Be sure to remain within the recommended dosage of any supplements, and avoid taking these supplements the same day that you take MDMA.
- Not much can be done to alleviate an MDMA hangover, Giordano says, though rest, hydration, and nutrition can help.
- MDMA is famed for the glowing feelings it produces on a night out, but it can make you pay for them with a nasty hangover.
- The high from MDMA (aka Molly or ecstasy) can feel electric.
- If you get several nights of solid, high-quality, and restful sleep, you’ll find your comedown will drift away fairly painlessly.
If you get several nights of solid, high-quality, and restful sleep, you’ll find your comedown will drift away fairly painlessly. If your mental health is poor, your physical health is poor, or your life is especially stressful, comedowns can be very unsettling and distressing. If these people then stop using cocaine, they will experience withdrawal symptoms.
What MDMA Addiction Treatment Looks Like at Pacific Shores Recovery
You may even think you’ve avoided a hangover altogether. MDMA hangovers often seem to skip a day and kick in on the second day. However, by taking the right steps, it is possible to minimise the post-MDMA hangover and speed recovery. Music pulses through your whole body, you feel a connection with everyone around you, you get swept up in a wave of euphoria, and you’re riding high. MDMA is famed for the glowing feelings it produces on a night out, but it can make you pay for them with a nasty hangover. If comedowns from MDMA or cocaine are frequent, severe, or interfere with daily life, professional treatment is recommended.
A traumatic experience can profoundly damage that sense of self and perspective on the world. First time users often say that MDMA was a lot of fun, as expected…but it also left them changed in some small way. Let yourself get over any fatigue/residual side effects in peace. You probably felt better and more ‘together’ than you have in a long time. Well, you may have had quite a wild time.
Understanding the MDMA comedown, sometimes described as an MDMA hangover, is essential for harm reduction and recovery. Symptoms such as fatigue, depression, anxiety, and sleep disturbances often follow use, making the days after just as important as the experience itself. People who are consuming other drugs (like antidepressants) or foods such as ginger, cumin, or grapefruit, which affect the breakdown of MDMA, may experience serotonin release for longer than others. If you think you can avoid comedowns entirely, you’re fooling yourself. Take it once a month, and they’ll become worse over time until they start affecting how you feel day-to-day. It’s common knowledge that comedowns compound over time.
