to what extent does mdma cause happiness

[arcticfunky]

alright, i was just wondering, can mdma really make swiy feel happy no matter what, what if something horrible happened, like finding out about getting cheated on, or something like a death? maybe it just makes you emotional and not happy, i'm not sure?

[trptamene]

Simply, no. Drugs react differently w/ everyone although MDMA has a "happy no matter what" reputation...this really isn't the case. I've read at least a handful of experience reports with people experiencing dysphoria on this compound, although if my recollection is right this is usually accompanied by some other emotional/psychological issues the user may be having at the time...but certainly other factors are not a neccessity and some ppl would just react different than the majority of people.

[Metomni]

SWIM has never taken it after a horrible event, but he would advise SWIY to first make sure the reasons they wish to do drugs is an acceptable one. If they're issues that need to be addressed, it may be a bad idea to simply ignore them with drugs, or mask them to make SWIY believe they're happy. Part of life is experiencing the bad with the good and if SWIY uses drugs to get the good, and drugs to block out the bad, then where's the balance?

Just SWIM's two cents.

[trptamene]

^^Hmm, I read this as "can you have a bad MDMA 'trip' or can it go bad like by finding bad info during the 'trip'." But it seems like you read it as "Can MDMA make a bad day good no matter what?"

Maybe the OP can clarify exactly what he was asking, although opinions for either way have been offered.

[arcticfunky]

i was asking can you have a bad mdma trip pretty much, like you said, about finding out bad information, but also wondered, if it could make a bad day good, so i guess you both helped, thanks

[Metomni]

Haha, awesome, go team work I suppose.

[Orchid_Suspiria]

A bad e trip is definitely possible.Swim has never found happiness in mdma.To swim it was a night of confusion and fear and a day after of feeling bad.

[Shampoo]

A bad "E" trip is more likely than a bad MDMA trip, though the neurochemistry of even pure MDMA can be somewhat unpredictable. Any chemical that works as a serotonin production agonist can have a certain degree of unpredictability, due to the dual-modality of the serotonin molecule. An excess of serotonin does in effect, as proposed by Arcitcfunky, simply increases emotional processing. The inability to re-uptake serotonin also can result in a prolonged experience of the altered state, beyond the breadth of MDMA intoxication, leading many to have experiences riddled with anxiety. To answer the question on a more broad scale, a re-examination of the 1998 McCann & Ricaurte study that resulted in the "brain scans" displaying holes shows an increase in baseline serotonin production following the recovery period after MDMA. The baseline of serotonin production was, for all nomenclature purpose, reset, but higher. This result appeared consistently in almost all patients within a full week of recovery. The brain scans, showing a decrease in serotonin production, were taken within 24 hours of ingesting MDMA, when serotonin withdrawal is still in effect as a bi-product of excessive production and non-re-uptake,

[Lettish]

My friend recommends the best way to use MDMA is when Swiy is already in a good mood. He says there is nothing better than that feeling of getting ready to go out on the town with Swiyour best friends, for one or two beers, a couple pills and some excellent music. Even that thought, without MDMA in the body, is uplifting and puts Swiy in a great mood. MDMA on top of that is absolute euphoria.

[criss]

Set and setting are important.

When SWIM uses MDMA with close friends in an envrionment that suits him the roll is infinitely more pleasureable and also more intense.

SWIM has taken a fairly high dose of MDMA in a setting that SWIM wasn't particularly keen on, and whilst SWIM wasn't unhappy, SWIM definately didn't feel the roll as much

[imyourlittlebare]

Ecstacy does not effect anxiety. Anxiety can be relieved due to working out a traumatic event or talking about it due to E making one less confined and more open to others. But it does not relieve anxiety directly. Only through its euphoric action does it make it easier to talk.

[sterling77]

On a related note, MDA is much has a much higher prospensity for dysphoria or bad trips than MDMA. In swim's opinion. It has a less forced head state of happiness but is still pushy in its own way..swim finds he'll remember forgotten childhood memories on it and once found himself sucked into this right in front of his group of rolling buddies, and left the room.

[Shampoo]

Originally Posted by criss

Set and setting are important.

Always.

Of course mdma can exacerbate anxiety, the same sudden release of serotonin and nor-epinephrine occurs in almost the same proportion and intensity during panic-attacks and near-death experiences. The set & setting, including the greater social context of "x", plays a major role in the regularly positive outcome of this particular chemical, and for more confirmation, ask who better a source on mdma psychology than Ann Shulgin, who "lost that chemical as an ally"(1998 interview) after several anxiety inducing experiences that left her traumatically oriented with the chemical, leaving any subsequent experiences to the potential of a 'bad trip'.

[julian]

swim would advise against taking mdma following a traumatic experience. a few months back swim found out that an old friend's sister had passed away unexpectedly. swim and his friends had been planning on rolling that same night. upon hearing the news of her death swim felt sorry, but was not overly distraught about the situation. he decided to go ahead with the night, consuming an average dose of mdma and putting the bad news in the back of his mind. after the come up, swim had about 2 hours where he was rolling 'face,' a state where seemingly nothing could have bothered him. then things changed. he started thinking about his old friend and his late sister and how their family must be destroyed. swim could not get the thought out of his head. swim's roll was completely killed, filled with uncontrollable anxiety and a sadness for his friend's family. while sober, swim did not connect with his actual feelings of grief. it wasn't until the empathetic aspect of mdma made him realize the feelings of grief that he should be experiencing. swim should have had a wonderful night of mdma bliss, instead he was tortured by feelings and emotions stronger than anything he had ever felt. even though he was never close with his friend's sister, he felt a such a strong connection/sadness to her death-something that he didn't even experience when members of his immediate family had passed away.

so to answer the original question, yes mdma did help swim forget about the situation for about two hours while he was 'faced.' the rest of the night however, can be described as an emotional neurotic state swim hopes never to experience again (swim usually suppresses his emotions).

[VitaminK22]

Never have a first time experience with any drug just because you're depressed or have been having a bad time lately. This can cause bad anxiety and combined with the emotions you're going through, will most likely lead to an even more depressed state. If your just feeling a bit down because you've had a bad day or somethin then it cant do much harm but if you feel depressed over somethin big and you feel you cant get over it then taking X wont help. Instead, wait a few weeks until your feeling pretty much fine again and then go and get smashed, it will lead to a much better experience altogether.

[pjt]

SWIY would probably feel high for three or four hours, but the comedown on MDMA tends to be very sudden. All the horrible realities would come flooding back in, plus it would be hard to get a good night's sleep with the residual stimulant effects. SWIY could easily end up feeling worse than before, just for a few hours escape from reality.

[johno.]

In Swim's opinion, "mdma is what you make it". The more positive your thoughts, the better the roll will be. However, if negative thoughts enter the equation the quality of the roll will decrease uncontrollably. MDMA is a drug that needs to be combined with positivity for the desired effects to be experienced.