Opinions - Different personality without drugs

[Oxycontin]

My question here is does your personality change when you dont use any drugs? Not just different personality when your high/ not high, because were all a little different when were high and when were sober. But what about when you go a day, a week, 2 weeks, longer.... without using drugs?

Swim used to smoke a lot of weed, as in 24/7, and the longer he would go without smoking, basically the more fucked up he would get. Swim would just start doing alot crazier shit when he wasnt high. When swim was smoking he would be calm and look at his life from a different perspective. When sober swim becomes a more dangerous person. This is most evident in the way swim drives. After a smoke or beer swim drives the speed limit. When sober swim has little regard for any laws on the road, or his own safety. Excessive speeding is just the beginning of it.



The same is true with other drugs too. When on oxy or H swim is a calm person, but as a couple days pass with no drugs, swim starts to get careless and aggressive. He does stupid shit and disregards all consequences. Getting into fights, reckless driving, not going to school/work.

After quitting smoking, swim nearly joined the marine core, which was probly the craziest thing he would have done without drugs.

Drugs, in moderation, allow swim to keep himself in check, and to look at his life from a different perspective.

[Nature Boy]

SWIM gets the impression that he acts a little more aggressively when he's not smoking pot. That being said, that might just be some little idea he gets in his head because cannabis is generally seen as something that mellows someone out. Meh, who knows? Drugs or not, SWIM is just SWIM.

[whirlybird]

SWIM, being one themself, has met many pot smokers. In nearly every case, it mellows out whoever smokes it. However, there is one person in particular SWIM knows that gets very violent and crazy when they smoke. The last time this person smoked, they tried to jump out of a car going 90mph(144kph). The only time SWIM smoked with this person previously, they tried to fight anybody that tried to talk to them. SWIM has also heard of other instances where this person went crazy when they smoked. This person has since given up on marijuana and turned to alcohol, which seems to keep them calm. It should be mentioned that the person being talked about is not very mentally stable or calm when sober.

SWIM finds that marijuana does not really effect their personality, rather their mood. SWIM becomes miserably depressed when they do not smoke for more than 2 days. SWIM has been self-medicating for nearly 5 years. SWIM has made bad decisions both stoned and sober, and finds that whatever drugs SWIM happens to be taking at the moment does not effect their decisions/personality/etc. SWIM does not dabble with oxys or ron, so they cannot comment on how these drugs would affect somebody from personal experience. However, from what SWIM has seen, usually these 2 drugs tend to make people do drastic things and make irrational decisions. It should also be noted that SWIM does not associate with many people invovled in these 2 drugs.

SWIM does tend to look at their life in different perspective while high, but after the effects of the smoke are gone, so is that perspective. The only difference after the effects of the weed have dissipated is SWIMs 3 day no-smoke limit. Any more than 2 or 3 days without smoking, and SWIM is back to their normal, depressed, suicidal self.

Of course, drugs will work a little different from person to person, this is just SWIMs experience. Hope this helps.

[Oxycontin]

Originally Posted by whirlybird

SWIM, SWIM does tend to look at their life in different perspective while high, but after the effects of the smoke are gone, so is that perspective.

Well put, Swim agrees with this completely.

[Shampoo]

Originally Posted by whirlybird

SWIM does tend to look at their life in different perspective while high, but after the effects of the smoke are gone, so is that perspective.

...an unfortunate pitfall in a disbelief in the validity of the altered-state experience.

swim finds that when taken seriously and with deserved weight, the altered-state experience can and does have a lasting impact on the personality of the user/explorer. When taken with the intent of recreation, or under the auspices of entering an invalid or detached reality, the impact may be lessened, but never removed. As Aldous Huxley said, the man who enters the 'door' in the wall of perception will return a changed man. "He will be wiser but less cocksure, happier but less self-satisfied, humbler in acknowledging his ignorance yet better equipped to understand the relationship of words to things, of systematic reasoning to the unfathomable mystery which it tries, forever vainly, to comprehend."

Reputation Comments on this post:

One of my favorite quotes from Doors of Perception, and a great response to the OP! :)

[Perception Addict]

Swim feels that she more stressed when she is substance free for a long period of time. More so than the actual effects of drugs such as marijuana, the very act of toking, etc. seems to have a psychosomatic effect, making Swim feel at ease.

Similarly, she likes to experience a psychedelic every few months, sometimes more frequently, as she generally feels rejuvenated afterward, and ready to continue her work and studies with renewed vigor. This may not be true for everyone, but swim feels that it is true of her, whether because of the drugs themselves or just because of her expectations of them.

[spatchcock86]

<edited>

Reputation Comments on this post:

good honest answer.

[chemlove]

SWIM's friends has this problem he feels that he is more short tempered and more likely to get upset easier when not using x,y, or z. He surely knows he isn't a bad guy when sober (he's not out beating people for crying out loud), but he's much nicer and more fun to be around when his friend Mary Jane stops by.

[pillpopper96743]

SWIM gets quite depressed when he runs out of drugs. He can get weed any time he wants but its the opiates that kill him when theres none left. Hed trade a pound of weed for a pound of hydrocodone anyday. Weed is pretty generic where SWIM lives.

[Lettish]

Interesting that the replies so far have been about weed/smoking. When Swim uses drugs (mainly ecstasy and ketamine), he feels generally a lot happier and contempt for weeks afterwards. He tells me that he has such a good time on them and they really open his eyes about what life is all about, and life is all about living. He says he improves performance at work because at the back of his mind is this drive for success through the motto "work hard, play hard."

He realises without working hard he isn't going to get anywhere in life and therefore isn't going to be able to have fun with the substances he loves. So in conclusion, Swim is much more positive and optimistic about life and living inbetween drug sessions.

[6chr0nic4]

just have some more self control, swim will return back to normal

cut teh doses down to 4 times a week
3 times a week
2
1
1 every 2, ect, have will power

[augentier]

Toonces' personality definitely changed since she started experimenting with drugs..though she's not sure whether to attribute that to getting older, more experiences..or the chemical mindgames.

She is pretty sure that her chronic weed smoking has negatively impacted her personality. Smoking all day every day for a couple years seems to have stirred up issues with Toonces...lower self esteem, more sensitive to emotions, more shy/withdrawn, difficulty speaking/getting thoughts across, and just generally boring. And again, this is from smoking all the time..she never had/has these problems when she uses in moderation.

On the flip side, her personality has changed in positive ways as well...more empathetic, can see all sides to an issue, taking the time to really think about something for what it's worth.

[6chr0nic4]

swim actually feels that swim feels better about himself after his his drug experiences, and is overall a more enlightened and happy person, however, this could just be perception, and maybe swim would be an even happier person before, however, the experiences with the ppl he has known and met can never be replaced and swim believes not possible if it wasnt for drugs, sad but true and kinda pathetic how society is based around this and glorify drugs

the key is to use drugs as an enhancer to have fun when ur stable, not to use it to escape from reality or solve problems, thats when abuse occurs

[truth]

without drugs swim realizes reality,
reality isn't good.
swim needs drugs. everyday

[pillpopper96743]

Too true for SWIM also. He likes himself alot more when on drugs. Others like him alot more also. He can cope with reality, but he dosent like to worry about anything, so drugs are a short escape from it. Gotta have em.

[truth]

Originally Posted by pillpopper96743

Too true for SWIM also. He likes himself alot more when on drugs. Others like him alot more also. He can cope with reality, but he dosent like to worry about anything, so drugs are a short escape from it. Gotta have em.

so true. swim gets anxiety without drugs. escpecially(sp) when swim runs out of oxycontin. swim smokes everyday. swim likes the warm feelings, and the comfortable state swim reaches when on drugs. since 6th grade swim has only known one escape and thats drugs. swim is content with that.