Anxiety-related Symptoms following the Sporadic Use of Ecstasy – A Case Study
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs November 25, 2021 Tomislav Majić, Lasse Brandt, Christiane Montag 3 citations
A 24-year-old high-functioning student with a history of obsessive-compulsive disorder and sporadic recreational ecstasy use developed a complex depersonalization/derealization syndrome, including intermittent time distortions and brief episodes of misidentifying people, after using ecstasy during a stressful period. Obsessive thoughts returned and he experienced his first panic attack. Symptoms fully remitted after 14 months of combined pharmacological treatment and psychotherapy. Months after discontinuing escitalopram, panic attacks recurred and became regular. While MDMA shows promise for treating anxiety disorders in controlled therapy, recreational or self-medicated use may be harmful for individuals with a history of anxiety or dissociative symptoms.