“I started drinking at the age of 15. Then I progressed to taking Ecstasy, speed, cocaine and LSD.
“I found it difficult to hold down a job and became depressed and thought I would never overcome my obsession with drugs. I attempted suicide twice by overdosing on pills. I was put under psychiatrists who gave me even more drugs, antidepressants and tranquillisers, which just made matters worse.
“As an outlet for my feelings I turned to self-harm—I started cutting and burning myself.” —Justin
Physical Effects
- Dilated pupils
- Higher or lower body temperature
- Sweating or chills (“goose bumps”)
- Loss of appetite
- Sleeplessness
- Dry mouth
- Tremors
Mental Effects
- Delusions
- Visual hallucinations
- An artificial sense of euphoria or certainty
- Distortion of one’s sense of time and identity
- Impaired depth perception
- Impaired time perception, distorted perception of the size and shape of objects, movements, color, sounds, touch and the user’s own body image
- Severe, terrifying thoughts and feelings
- Fear of losing control
- Panic attacks
- Flashbacks, or a recurrence of the LSD trip, often without warning long after taking LSD
- Severe depression or psychosis
"After taking the acid, I imagined that we had driven head-on into an eighteen-wheeler and were killed. I could hear the screeching metal, then a dark and evil quiet. I was terrified at this point, I actually thought we were dead....For a year I wouldn’t go into any cemetery because I was terrified I would find my own grave.” —Jenny