What is your favorite "drug", and why?
[I'm tagging this as "adult", for purposes of open discussion, with apologies to anyone who may consider the topic inflammatory or sensationalistic.]
Based on discussion of loneliness elsewhere, I'm curious as to what adaptive measures people undertake to promote life satisfaction in the face of environmental/cultural/social stressors.
The word "drug" is used very loosely here, and basically refers to any strategy for purposefully altering neurochemistry - in addition to licit or illicit substance intake, it could be endorphin-boosting exercise, going out with friends, naps, particular reading genres, a good meal, games, direct brain stimulation, meditation, sexual activity, long walks in the country, or whatever.
I'm also taking for granted the proposition that intentionally seeking beneficial neurochemical states is a human activity that everyone participates in, whether they're aware of it or not, and desirable as long as it harms no one.
This is not an attempt to incite, advocate for, or excuse breaking any applicable laws, but a request for information on what people actually do and prefer. If you're concerned about potential legal implications of confessing to an illicit favorite, please discuss in terms of "a friend/someone I know, likes substance/activity x because y".
"Favorite" excludes strategies you've found harmful or destructive, but discussion and/or warning is worthwhile if you feel like it.
I'll start off by saying I have an acquaintance who finds psilocybin micro-dosing very effective at inducing positive emotional balance, mental focus and good sleep regulation.
How much of the antidepressant effect of ketamine do you suspect is psychological (from the thoughts on the trip) vs. pharmacological, insofar as you can separate the two? This is something I haven't seen any research on as of yet, though that's not surprising, as current studies are still debating the efficacy of ketamine in this use.
Regarding your psychedelics of choice, how would you compare 4-HO-MET and 4-HO-MiPT to other, less novel drugs? How did you dose 2C-E? I have heard some say that different ROAs have a strong impact on the body load of it.
Finally, just took a look at Effect Index, it seems interesting. I'll keep an eye on it.
That's interesting. It lends some credence to hypotheses that it is the metabolytes of ketamine which are actually treating depression. I'm particularly curious, as my most recent episode of depression came to a sudden stop following a small nitrous binge.
How do you mean cognitive suppressions? Because that comes off as 'worse psilocin' as I read it.
I've actually heard that the best way to reduce its body load is rectal administration, if that's something you're open to.
Ah, I think I understand now. I was already curious about some tryptamine RCs, now there's a new one on my list.
There's a fair amount of research on memory suppression, depression and SSRI's, so I have to wonder if lasting "cognitive suppression" effects aren't part of the picture on ketamine and the psychedelics.
That's a little concerning, actually - hyperthermia is a risk with the whole family of phenethylamines, and the heavy sweating suggests sympathomimetic toxicity. [Person-of-my-acquaintance had a not-too-serious hyperthermic episode from mixing a psychedelic dose of psilocybin with prescribed SSRIs - not a great idea.]
The person-of-my-acquaintance had just about given up on pharmacological treatments for depression (including tianeptine, which isn't licensed in the U.S.) and was ready to try DBS or ECT before stumbling into the latest research and anecdata on psychedelics.
Ketamine seemed risky, in the sense that there are known potentials for tolerance and addiction, and few, very expensive, possibly sketchy local treatment programs, run by the same people who operate opioid pain clinics...
150 mg powdered psilocybe every 4 days, and bam - regular restorative sleep, positive mood, normal physical energy levels, restored mental clarity, increased resilience to formerly intolerable stressors, and renewed enjoyment of life, documented as a very abrupt and sustained change on the mood tracking charts. This is entirely unlike tripping on 'shrooms, where there's a very noticeable comedown the next day from neurotransmitter exhaustion.
Agreed on the poor options and terrible U.S. healthcare in the face of real need for chronic pain treatment, but person-of-my-acquaintance is in a locale where the deliberate encouragement and monetization of opioid dependence through licensed clinics was a huge issue - not exactly a basis for trust.
The tolerance to ketamine, if intended to be used as an antidepressant, is negligible. It only comes up in cases of consistent dosing, which would probably be considered abuse by most. The addiction is a concern for some, but it's probably less addictive than alcohol, maybe somewhat moreso than cannabis.
It's interesting you say that a full psiloc(yb)in trip would lead to a noticeable hangover of some sort. I know many that find themselves refreshed the following day, though if the trip is particularly heavy, or leads the individuals to be physically adventurous in some sense, that makes sense too.
Understood, and again, responsible, well-researched use is very important. Person-of-my-acquaintance's tianeptine use came with similar caveats, as it's vulnerable to abuse/tolerance/addiction at much-higher-than-effective doses for depression, due to slight mu-opioid receptor activity.
One of the tricky things about any kind of statement with regard to "drugs" is that the responses are so individualized; psilocybin hangovers don't happen to everyone, likewise with MDMA and other psychedelics. "Street"-sourcing or unrefined plant material complicates matters further; there's no certainty of accurate dosing or chemical identity.
Absolutely. My comment wasn't meant to imply a lack of understanding or blatant falsehoods in yours, simply as supplementary knowledge either for yourself (clearly unnecessary) or others who are less familiar. Especially regarding differing subjective effects from psychedelics.
Did this individual find tianeptine effective at all for depression? Having read some anecdotes suggesting a permanent tolerance, I find it to be one of the more curious, and perhaps frightening, novel drugs on the market.
The issue there is that while tolerance is inevitable with almost any drug, it's only in cases of extreme abuse, and usually only with stimulants and entactogens, that you see permanent tolerance. In fact, I've never heard of permanent opioid tolerance outside of tianeptine. While the opioid action may not be instrumental in its antidepressant action, the opioid system of the body is important, and so anything which permanently modifies it is going to require some extra stringency in vetting.
Similar experience with the sulfate, with a side of the same debilitating nausea that the sodium salt can cause, and not enough help with the depression to justify enduring it.
There's evidence of NMDA receptor activity and enhancement of neuroplasticity. Generally speaking, tianeptine is the neurotransmitter equivalent of a shotgun blast, without the relatively narrow receptor specificity of the current generation of U.S.-prescribed medications, but that may be an indication that weak, variable responses to those drugs show that the right target really hadn't been identified yet. The research on ketamine revealed a new suite of receptors to play with.
Thank you for sharing.
How does it affect your hand-eye coordination?
Your appetite?
Your sleep?
Your time reaction?
Your concentration?
Your tolerance of annoying people?
Your retention of new learning?
Your recall of learned knowledge and skills?
Your sexual performance?
I'm really curious...
Would you say all those changes are positive or are there any negative ones too?
Running is definitely my "drug". I'm a student, so I spend a significant amount of time on or near my computer, on my phone, etc. Going for a run allows me to unplug from all that. I don't listen to music or anything while I'm out, so my mind has space to breathe and think. It costs only my time, and because I hold a CDL for my job, doesn't run me the risk of losing my employment. Plus I enjoy the hell out of it, and the benefits I get from maintaining physical fitness are mroe than worth it.
When you say you enjoy running, is there a particular aspect of the activity that's most pleasurable - the sense of achievement in covering a distance, the muscle burn, a sense of uplifted consciousness, all of the above?
I started to enjoy running, but hurt my knees after running daily for about a week. There are lots of varying tips out there to avoid knee problems; what works for you?
One thing I keep seeing recommended is that you don't run daily at least not with the same intensity every day. I'm a big guy and running two days in a row seems to do more harm than good as I start developing shin pain and just general muscle tightness. Every other day though is great, and in general that is what I've found most people recommend. Even Jeff Galloway's (training programs)[http://www.jeffgalloway.com/training/5k-10k-training] encourage off days to maximize results.
A good plan for excercising daily is to alternate the excercises so you're not stressing one part of your body on multiple days in a row. So if you run MWF, do strength, bodyweight, or HIIT excercises on Sun, Tue, Thur and take saturday off. Your body doesn't have time to recover if you're overdoing it every day and ultimately it will cause some kind of permenant damage to your body as a result.
If you really feel like running is the only thing that is reasonable for you to do then make sure you're taking it easy on alternating days. So if you did 6 miles every day for a week with pain try to reduce the distance and pace on alternating days. Do 1-3 miles at a much slower pace for example. The main point is you're trying to give you body time to recover between the "damage" done on each run.
I need to start running again, those were the good times.
Caffeine, it's a strong enough stimulant to be enjoyable but weak enough that you can take it all day every day without having (many) negative effects. It just makes life better.
I'm also a fan of responsible use of psychedelics. They really do broaden your perception.
Have you looked into modafinil and its relatives? They are often considered to be caffeine, but better, without addictive or abusive potential.
I have some mild issues with caffeine, namely how small the dosage window is. More than about 300 mg (around two cups of coffee), I feel overwhelmed and uncomfortable, while other stimulants are far more forgiving in that regard. That doesn't stop me from enjoying coffee, but it does make me reticent to use it as a 'drug' in itself.
I haven't looked at modafinil in depth, and really, anything that potentially disrupts sleep is a no-go for me. The major advantage of caffeine is that it has a short half-life; you can drink it in the morning, get through a day's work, and it's gone before bedtime.
That's definitely a fair concern. I usually forget to consider sleep for these sorts of things because, as someone with strong ADHD, I don't have issues in that regard.
I sorta/kinda like caffeine, but it's by no means a favorite - it's a productivity drug and nootropic for me, something i use to flog my aging brain into keeping up with the younger, hungrier crowd.
If I have more than maybe 80mg of caffeine I feel terrible. A while back I started to drink a lot of black tea. It took me a few weeks to realize that the intense anxiety I would feel hours later was due to the tea. I'm careful about how much I consume these days, which is fine since I've never been one for caffeine in the morning anyway.
I have to limit my daily caffeine intake to about 32oz of soda or ice tea.
Any more an the cist in my left shoulder swells to more than 2cm and causes major pain. Its on the tip of the nerve that runs from your neck, to the shoulder joint.
It also causes the muscles at the base of my skull to cramp.
I have to take regular weeks long breaks from caffeine to get back to a normal state.
Caffeine is my favourite too. Makes me feel just awake and aware enough to think "woohoo I'm drinking a stimulant, I'm like that guy in the movie Limitless!" Basically it just puts off my feelings of tiredness or exhaustion until a time that I choose.
There's some studies here and there saying it's got mildly positive cardiovascular effects in limited quantities, and it may reduce the risk of some digestive cancers specifically if you are drinking coffee, but I'm not a doctor and there doesn't really seem to be any broad consensus on whether it's a net positive or negative to take on a regular basis.
LSD is definitely my favorite. I haven't done it in over a year but I can pretty much say it helped me stop drinking. It also helped me get to a more down-to-earth feeling.
I agree its not for the faint of heart. I had a friend want to try it after being a virtual trip-sitter for me and his anxiety went up quite a bit after the initial fun of the build-up. He was convinced we were in a time-loop where everything is repeating itself. Had to take him outside to sit on the porch and get some fresh air at 3 AM. In the end though he said he would totally do it again.
Nicotine... well, let's just say that I hacked the smoking habit without giving up the nicotine or pouring all my money down the drain for it. It remains my one genuine, no-fooling around multiple-times-daily addiction - fortunately, the refined drug itself is relatively benign once you get around the delivery systems issues.
I got into vaping way back when it was mostly a diy sort of thing. The first one I made looked like a remote detonator. Not exactly low profile. I never liked the ones that mimicked cigarette appearance because they worked like crap. Then for a while I had one that worked well but looked like a damned lightsaber. Still not very low profile. Last year, I finally got one that works awesome and doesn't look ridiculous. Haven't looked back. Went from paying over $60 a week on smokes to about $5 a week. I could do it for a way cheaper, but I don't mind spending a bit extra for decent juice.
It kinda bums me that vaping is such a huge joke. I get it, I guess. E cig tech talk is geeky, huge clouds are annoying, vape-offs are just plain weird. But most people get into it because it just makes more sense, not because it's a fashion accessory or something. Just feels like a tired old way to shame people for doing something new.
Totally understand. In a lot of respects, nicotine is a fascinating neurotoxin, and though I didn't dive quite that deep into vape tech, the sheer gear-headedness involved had me rebuilding my own cores.
Then, I had a lightbulb moment and this happened.
Oh that's pretty slick! For me, the smoking part is very ritualistic so I think even if I didn't want the nicotine I would still vape or smoke something just for the physical act. Work and lifestyle-wise, I'm rarely in a position where smoking or vaping is inappropriate. But for folks who work in office environments where taking a smoke break is a hassle or looked down upon, this is a great solution. And using 60mg/ml is high enough to get a decent dose without being ridiculously unsafe to handle. Still high enough to warrant safety precautions during preparation, of course, but not so high that a mistake is life threatening.
The ritual of walking away from whatever you're doing for 10 or 15 minutes is almost as valuable as the drug intake!
[The DIY technique is considerably refined (?) these days, and I'm down to 24 mg/ml. Basically, a Ziploc bag containing the contents of a few tins of peppermint Altoids Smalls, at one ml of solution per tin (about 52 mints). Shake and let stand for 6 - 8 hours, shaking again occasionally, to give approx. 0.5 mg/mint.]
I would say my "drug" of choice is music. I love that it can affect your mental state so effectively, yet it involves no change in brain chemistry.
It's a great way to connect with other people while disconnecting from the stresses of everyday life. It can also be enjoyed in solitude.
Joking aside, though, I find it's the most reliable way for me to de-stress. I have nothing against drugs in the traditional sense, so long as they're used carefully and respected. I just find that in general, I can go months or years without using drugs, but a week without music is something I just can't live without.
Thank you - it wasn't my intention to turn this thread into a deep dive on psychopharmacology to the exclusion of all other means of achieving an improved mental state. Do you find that you need to listen actively, without performing any other tasks, to get the full effect?
I find it's great either way. Ever walked down an random street with ambient music playing on the background? I find it turns a mundane walk into a memorable experience.
I also want to be clear. There's no need to apologize! I fully respect that some people enjoy the use of psychopharmacologicals. However, I often find that they provide short term pleasure/relief. I think of it as borrowing from your future self. You take some of the good feelinga from your future self and feel them now. I have yet to find a psychoactive compound free of negative side effects
I've got some weird sensory things about music - if I like it, it's almost impossible to pay attention to anything else while I'm listening, and if I don't like it, it can be physically painful. It's not exactly relaxing either way, and interesting to hear from people who can have an easeful emotional response.
That's incredibly interesting. Are you a musician?
I wish! I have the not-entirely-neurotypical brain part which includes perfect relative pitch, and enough synaesthesia that off-key or off-rhythm sounds can register as pain, dizziness, nausea or itching. Music practice isn't really an option when you can't tolerate your own amateur noise.
(As mentioned by others, really well-performed jazz, some electronica, Gregorian chant, and ASMR sounds can be near-orgasmic, though.) One of the useful things I've found about psychedelics is that they detune the auditory sensitivity to some extent, and make enjoyment of a broader range of music possible.
Maybe not exactly what you're asking, but I use to take Singular daily for asthma and allergies (triggers my asthma). It helps me breathe, which anyone who's ever had a stuffed nose can appreciate.
This is a safe drug with basically no side effects (pregnant women can take it), and has been hugely benefitical for me, still, I often get comments about how I shouldn't take too much medicine, how I should work on improving my health, eat more local honey. Basically, judgement all around.
Thank you for posting this question, and I hope it removes some negative connotations around prescribed drugs.
Fellow asthma/allergy sufferer, and there's really no describing how life-impairing the fear of not being able to breathe can be - I don't do sustained high-aerobic exercise outdoors, even with inhalers.
There's also a pretty strong correlation between immune system activation and depression (not well-understood as yet), so it's not unlikely that an immunomodulator like Singulair had a beneficial neurochemical effect.
This is definitely true. Mine is generally pretty mild nowadays, so I still do outdoor activities as long as I have my inhaler. But yeah, definitely nothing high intensity and I call it quits pretty quick if I feel it possibly triggering, which I have definitely gotten eye-rolls for.
I did not know this. Going to look into it. Thanks for sharing.
Let me know if you find anything -- I'm fascinated about the neuropsych behind it and it's the first I'm hearing about it
I did try to look into it a bit, and kinda found it over my head, lol...
I understood this following one a bit more:
http://file.scirp.org/Html/8-8203728_72657.htm
Definitely worth looking into more, which I'll probably do on and off.
I can't take Singular, it makes my heart race after about 3 days of use.
I've had allergies for my whole life. A few terminal ones and LOTS of ones that present noticeable side-effect. So I'm always on the look out for better treatments.
That's too bad. It was a miracle drug for me. I hope you find something that works just as well (without bad side-effects).
Why did you almost have a heart attack because of the title?
Compulsive reading is a habit and an escape for me, potentially as destructive as constructive; it's great for inducing a "flow" state where I'm fully engaged and time just slips away without notice. I used to be cranky as a bear startled from hibernation if I was pulled away from a good book, and I've tried to become more mindful of how I use reading time.
Thank you for this thread.
I'm on prescribed antidepressant and anxiolytic medication. I won't call them "favourite" -- I'd rather do without them if I could. But overall they have a positive effect for me. They do have side effects, but the side effects have their own side effect: overcoming the adverse reactions helped me build confidence and trust in myself.
I like green tea in the morning and at noon, as I've written in the tea thread. I like making it, a simple joy in life. The benign, low-intensity feeling of seeking a sip also helps me rehydrate.
Since time immemorial, reading has been my salvation. But I have this weakness about it, which is to say I get into "binge-reading" mode fairly easily. It's a mixed blessing, and I need much greater self-control to really benefit from it, which I fail rather often. I like to learn and appreciate a wonderful work of literature, and I feel that learning and aesthetics can be therapeutic, but it takes moderation.
I find it stress-relieving to be in some way connected with nature, having lived in urban areas all my life. Just watch, observe, perhaps meditatively.
And solo sex. Infrequent, but can be very satisfying. Which is to say not rushing or doing it just for release. I try to set aside some dedicated time, wash, recall the feelings of benevolence, compassion, body positivity, healing, recovery... while exploring all the erogenous zones patiently and tenderly. And take it easy to cool down after the climax.
I've moved a couple of times and travel a great deal for work - it's a source of both stimulation and isolation. Online converse helps, but "buddies" don't necessarily meet the monkey need for bonding and social interaction.
And the "also" - I'm actually pretty conservative about how I utilize the one brain I've got; I'm not inclined to do a daily dose of any substance unless it's medically necessary or a performance requirement.
I more or less grew up around recreational weed, and just lost my taste for it. CBD is handy for a couple of minor things, like creaky joints, but otherwise, I don't find it life-enhancing enough to bother with.
Zyrtec and Flonase, otherwise I would not be able to exist. Apparently my body decided that I should suddenly be allergic to things. I live over 30 years without an allergy to a single substance and now I have to take meds daily to just breathe normally.
A close second is dextroamphetamine, Adderall extended release is the name more people are familiar with. I was on Strattera until my insurance company decided it was far too expensive and forced the doctor to change my medication. I don't suffer from the hyperactivity, but I do have trouble with the attention deficit and memory. I have had ADHD for quite a while, and I suppose you could say I self-medicated with a lot of nicotine and caffeine. I got myself a TBI several years ago and now if I don't take my meds I tend to not remember things. I am not happy with the current med, it leads to jaw clenching and then to headaches, not to mention it is not working as well as it once did, but it beats the alternative I suppose.
Recreational? I tried MDMA twice, that's it for me, both times it was terrible! The first time I had been drinking for hours, so I passed out and woke up coming down, which sucked because I was by myself and had no idea what was going on. Didn't find out until later what the deal was, but it didn't make it any better! I tried it again when I was at BCM in Magaluf. I am not even really positive what I was given, it was stamped with the Mitsubishi logo and claimed to be MDMA, I just know that after a while the walls were talking to me followed by my fight-or-flight response being triggered severely. It took every ounce of self control not to lose my mind and run screaming into the night, especially when you consider where I was at the time! Lasers, loud music, foam cannons, tons of people, just absolute madness. No more for me thanks!
I've watched some of the Joe Rogan videos on YouTube, and have read posts where people have tried certain drugs which helped them greatly. I would be too afraid it would go wrong! As far as marijuana is concerned, I am not sure why it is still classified as a drug. There are many benefits to its use, and to me a drug is something that is man made/chemical compound. Marijuana is a plant, you put some seeds in the dirt and later you have something to harvest, similar to tobacco. I think about those kids with epilepsy whose parents have had to move across the country so they can use CBD treatments and its sad.
This was back in the 90s, when I was still indestructible, and a friend had bought it so I trusted their judgement. Of course, in hindsight I can see how stupid it was, at the time it was just a go-with-the-flow thing for me. Now I have kids and don't even drink or use tobacco anymore. I think if you want to experiment with drugs these days you need a chemistry degree!
Might sound cliché, but out of actual substances: cannabis. Not only does it almost instantly take my mind of all the pain that comes with living and existing in this world, but when I am high I can actually think about existential questions without having an anxiety attack. Furthermore, it helps with eating.
Otherwise, music and playing music as definitely something that gives me feelings that could be described as 'feeling high'. Goes well with the aforementioned substance as well.
Practically grew up on cannabis in my home town, and never discovered alcohol until age 30 because weed was so much cheaper, more accessible, and safer. I suspect it's just not as appealing to me now because it was the go-to high/medicine for a bad patch of migraines.
For me it has to be social gaming. Ideally, this will be in-person role-playing, but I get a similar sense of "losing myself in the moment" and totally anxiety free social interaction from playing board games in person as well.
A much more extreme version of this sort of total comfort comes during the rare times I get to LARP, though more often than not I'm managing such things and thus can't be quite as "in the moment".
To a lesser extent I enjoy playing video games online with close friends, but that is far more about interacting with that particular friend and catching up. It doesn't provide nearly the same "recharge" effect I get from in-person gaming.
Tea or music (Jazz/Classical/Math-Rock/Hip Hop) for me.
Jazz: this one is tough, but as a self taught pianist, Bill Evans is my man. But there are so many good artists to choose from here. Honorable mentions: Coltrane, Mingus, Art Tatum.
Classical: I'm pretty partial to Frederic Chopin for the same reason. But the genre is huge and there are many composers from all different eras that I love. Honorable mentions: Ravel, Schubert, Beethoven.
Math-Rock: Toe (I've seen them live twice!) and very close runner up, Chon (I've seen them live once!). Other honorable mentions: Tricot (seen them live with Chon!), TTNG (also saw with Chon).
Hip-hop: Another category that's pretty hard for me to pick just a few, but I rate lyricism above nearly most other things, so I'd have to say Common. Honorable mentions: ATCQ, NaS, Joey Bada$$, and too many others to name.
Pretty much, I stick to a chill aesthetic or any kind of music that makes me feel a ton of emotions. Also a big fan of a lot of electronic music and indie/folk, but I think I've put down enough artists for now haha. I'm a huge collector of music. What about yourself?
I'm still sick!! So, sadly, not much exciting coffee goings for me. I did have a good Vietnamese drip coffee made by my viet pals on Sunday, so that was nice! :)
Just lemme know if you ever want to take a step into the wide world of tea!