Discussion Isn’t taking alcohol/drugs equivalent to temporarily killing yourself?

[DoesANameEvenMatter]

The reason why people take drugs/alcohol in the first place is because of the euphoric experience. This is made possible because they are temporarily silencing the thinking part of themselves/their brains in the process. If so, aren't we literally killing off parts of our minds for a brief moment, aka committing mental suicide? Why do we as a society celebrate and embrace drugs and alcohol but shy away from suicide when they are so similar in nature?

 

[Stan]

The reason why people take drugs/alcohol in the first place is because of the euphoric experience. This is made possible because they are temporarily silencing the thinking part of themselves/their brains in the process. If so, aren't we literally killing off parts of our minds for a brief moment, aka committing mental suicide? Why do we as a society celebrate and embrace drugs and alcohol but shy away from suicide when they are so similar in nature?

Different reasons for different people. Some its an escape from reality. For some its to heighten an experience and for some its just to function.

 

[Empty Smile]

I've considered drinking until I get alcohol poisoning, but I always pass out drunk before I can accomplish it.

 

[Chantal]

The reason why people take drugs/alcohol in the first place is because of the euphoric experience. This is made possible because they are temporarily silencing the thinking part of themselves/their brains in the process. If so, aren't we literally killing off parts of our minds for a brief moment, aka committing mental suicide? Why do we as a society celebrate and embrace drugs and alcohol but shy away from suicide when they are so similar in nature?

It is part of our "death drive", long described by Freud and other scholars.

 

[Black_Knight]

Huh no opposite experience here. Drugs have been one of very few presences in my life that fight off the mundane and nihilistic experience that is living as we usually are and do (though I can't speak for everybody). Instead of shutting off cognitive functions they've revealed functions that I had not known to be possible before.

As for alcohol specifically, I'm plagued by anxiety on such a deep level that I usually can't even think clearly whenever I'm around literally anyone else, and sometimes even when I'm by myself. I use it to somewhat haphazardly remedy this problem. Alcohol, if anything, for all of its fucked up qualities, has prevented me from killing myself by making me at least feel vaguely functional given the way the world has defined me and the discrepancy between that definition and how it expects me to function.

 

[Fragile]

I don't really see it as temporarily killing myself.

for me alcohol and most drugs are more about replacing the bad thoughts with good ones, get a moment of inspiration, feel calm for as long as i can. i really like to feel alive, or at least be lost in a delusion, in my sober self i can't go 10 minutes without thinking about how unfair and worthless is my life or how much i hate the person i became, so i use them to keep myself away from that life.

i know some alcoholics and opiate addicts that use drugs to completely shut their brains off for a while, that sounds nicer than being sober and living a horrible reality, but i still try to find some light in my life and enjoy the things that i used to love such as movies, music, even food. even if it means that i'll suffer terrible withdrawals and hangovers, my life is not worth living without the little moments of euphoria and pleasure that drugs bring me.