Discussion Why do you use drugs?

[The Disqualified]

If you use drugs, why do you do it and how has it affected you?

Edit: I am also including alcohol as well if you do that

 

[SequelarDecline]

I don't really do much besides alcohol and some stimulants at times nowadays but including everything so far:
-GABAergics (alcohol, GHB) recreationally (as euphoriants),
-THC (same reason),
-Psychedelics, in hopes of being able to find new emotional/cognitive solutions to various aspects of my situation (note; this failed..)
-Stimulants (DMAA since nothing else was available, also caffeine) for wakefulness and partially just trying to restore whatever mental functions I've probably gotten diminished or lost from dissociation or neurological issues (kinda works sometimes)

As for how drug use in general has affected me, I guess it's shaped my life/personality quite a bit so it's probably hard to tell from the inside. Seems GABAergics (including alcohol) haven't really affected me much if at all in almost any way since I didn't do them a lot, THC probably contributed to a somewhat foggy memory of some brief parts of my life but it probably only contributed mildly. Psychedelics changed me a lot in complicated ways but overall I'd say they've been a positive influence, albeit confusing at times. Stimulants still continue to help me out but I'm guessing that's more of a need at times to remain functional since they aren't very recreational for me.

What about you tho?

 

[hurts2b]

I spent the last 1.5 years drinking heavily. Am mostly sober now. Hate being sober. Alcohol makes me numb to my problems. Sometimes even lets me live under the illusion that I don't have problems at all. Would try other drugs if I weren't a coward.

 

[burninghill]

A lot of it is boredom. I think maybe when I started using DPH I thought that it would give me something to look forward to and it definitely did.
You have to space out trips because your tolerance builds immediately, like, I'd have to take 3x what I took the day before to have the same effect. This means I'd wait one to two weeks between trips which added a lot of time onto my lifespan and did give me something to live for.

Other than that, I think I also started using DPH and alcohol in hopes that I'd feel more confident and set on killing myself. Like maybe if I got drunk enough one day then I'd feel impulsive enough to do it.
I know that's not how it works but I was hopeful.

I'm not sure how it's affected me, honestly. Besides just getting cravings.

 

[The Disqualified]

I don't really do much besides alcohol and some stimulants at times nowadays but including everything so far:
-GABAergics (alcohol, GHB) recreationally (as euphoriants),
-THC (same reason),
-Psychedelics, in hopes of being able to find new emotional/cognitive solutions to various aspects of my situation (note; this failed..)
-Stimulants (DMAA since nothing else was available, also caffeine) for wakefulness and partially just trying to restore whatever mental functions I've probably gotten diminished or lost from dissociation or neurological issues (kinda works sometimes)

As for how drug use in general has affected me, I guess it's shaped my life/personality quite a bit so it's probably hard to tell from the inside. Seems GABAergics (including alcohol) haven't really affected me much if at all in almost any way since I didn't do them a lot, THC probably contributed to a somewhat foggy memory of some brief parts of my life but it probably only contributed mildly. Psychedelics changed me a lot in complicated ways but overall I'd say they've been a positive influence, albeit confusing at times. Stimulants still continue to help me out but I'm guessing that's more of a need at times to remain functional since they aren't very recreational for me.

What about you tho?

Interesting.

I don't do "hard" drugs.

I consume caffeine (through coffee) daily, and I also drink alcohol very rarely, in social settings. So I don't really do drugs the way you are probably asking.

I am not knowledgeable about drugs, so I had to look up all those terms.

I am not interested in getting addicted, of course. I do not believe that to be a good thing in the long run at all.
My understanding is that people resort to these drugs to cope with extreme pain and suffering, something I can empathize with. I would still not advise anyone to start using hard drugs though.

It seems you use them recreationally and functionally, and not in an addiction way.

Of the drugs you mentioned, only two seem worth commenting with more nuance in my case.

Psychedelics seem interesting as an experience. I am aware there are traditional communities which have been using these substances in a cultural context for ages. I am aware of westerners experimenting with ayahuasca, for example.
I am skeptical they would significantly change one's life or solve their problems though, but they seem interesting as an experience.

THC is the main psychoactive compound of cannabis (marijuana). I would be open to it in its natural form, like in Canada, where it is regulated and sold legally. There are limits to the THC in these plants in that case, so you wouldn't feel as high.

Overall, I don't use drugs and don't intend to use them, except as an experience someday perhaps.

I spent the last 1.5 years drinking heavily. Am mostly sober now. Hate being sober. Alcohol makes me numb to my problems. Sometimes even lets me live under the illusion that I don't have problems at all. Would try other drugs if I weren't a coward.

I am happy you are sober, though I understand you also hate it.
Being sober after drinking for so long is very difficult.

I don't think you are a coward for having a sense of self-preservation. I wouldn't call myself a coward; I just don't want to get addicted to any drug that would harm me in the long run.

I am not judgemental or moralistic towards those who use drugs though. I have empathy.
I see drug use as a public health problem above all.

A lot of it is boredom. I think maybe when I started using DPH I thought that it would give me something to look forward to and it definitely did.
You have to space out trips because your tolerance builds immediately, like, I'd have to take 3x what I took the day before to have the same effect. This means I'd wait one to two weeks between trips which added a lot of time onto my lifespan and did give me something to live for

I had to google what DPH (Diphenhydramine) is, and it may have changed my outlook on your experiences after researching.
It is an over-the-counter antihistamine that, on high doses, can cause hallucinations and a state of delirium.

From what I researched, it seems to be overall quite a negative and horrible experience. I had thought you were using it to feel high and hence better temporarily.
But it seems it is just a horrible thing to take.
May I ask: why do you do it?

Other than that, I think I also started using DPH and alcohol in hopes that I'd feel more confident and set on killing myself. Like maybe if I got drunk enough one day then I'd feel impulsive enough to do it.
I know that's not how it works but I was hopeful.

I see.
Mixing DPH and alcohol can be very toxic and damaging to your body. Chronic DPH abuse by itself seems to be particularly harmful on the long run.
I would say that I hope you take care of yourself, but I would imagine that perhaps your intent is precisely the opposite: to self-harm.

I'm not sure how it's affected me, honestly. Besides just getting cravings.

I see.
It seems like you were already very depressed before and then you started taking DPH to feel something.
I don't know how it feels like, so you are free to correct me if your experience was different from what I stated.

Sending best wishes.

 

[never mind me]

For more than 15 years drugs have been an important part of my life and continue to be to this day. First I wanted to try as many different drugs as I could just out of curiosity. And the fact that almost all drugs are illegal was another draw in the way that it fuelled my ambition to be able to try different drugs regardless, if society /the government approves of it or not. This led me to trying about 80 different subtances, from every day drugs like caffeine and alcohol to the classic illegal drugs like heroin and lsd, but I also tried lots of research chemicals and traditional drugs only found in some parts of the world like betel nut, kava kava, khat or ayahuasca.
It`r fair to say that drugs are also a part of my identity (although less so today than in my early 20s, when I took drugs much more frequently). Basically drugs have shaped my life in many ways:
-Psychedelics (mushrooms, LSD) helped me a lot in recovering from what I went through in my childhood (emotional and physical abuse and bullying)
-weed helps a lot to calm me down. My mood is a lot more stable and much mellower, if I smoke weed regularly than if I don`t. And it is really beneficial for my sleep. I sleep longer and feel more recovered the next day, because I dream less
-using drugs and hanging out with like-minded people caused me to get to know my long time boy-friend, who also takes lots of drugs. I am a bit ambigious about this part of drugs` influence on my life. On the one hand I am grateful for having my boy-friend and being in a relationship where I don`t have to hide my taste for drugs on the other hand I feel like my boy-friend is overdoing it with his chronic amhetamine and alcohol use and I feel often quite sad that he doens`t care much for people (myself included), because he is too busy taking amphetamines.
-using amphetamine made university so much more enjoyable. Learning on amphetamines or writing homework on amphetamines is much more fun than sober
-using drugs is the basis for quite a few other friendships. And these also still function when one person doesn`t use drugs, so it is not the only reason why we spend time together. But I think taking drugs like MDMA together caused us to feel quite close early on in our friendship, so there I think the influence of drugs was quite positive
-benzodiazepines had a big negative effect on my life, although I barely take them. But my earlier best friend overdosed on them and tried to destroy the relationship between my boy-friend and me while under the influence, which in turn was the end of our friendship
-alocohol certainly had a negative effect on my life quite recently: By drinking too much alcohol for months on end and as a consequence getting so used to having a drink, when I felt bad in any way, caused me to drink in situations when I was sick and shouldn`t have drunk any alcohol, which in turn caused a slow healing laryngitis
-generally it can feel a bit stressful to find other strategies for dealing with stress and negative emotions or boredome after having used drugs excessively for a while. Althogh my experience is that I can also get used to using other strategies instaed of drugs for dealing with these situations. Only not being able to use cannabis for extended period of time I find annoying, as it really improves my mood and sleep so much, that quality of life for me is much higher smoking weed than being without it.

 

[byec560]

I don't really do much besides alcohol and some stimulants at times nowadays but including everything so far:
-GABAergics (alcohol, GHB) recreationally (as euphoriants),
-THC (same reason),
-Psychedelics, in hopes of being able to find new emotional/cognitive solutions to various aspects of my situation (note; this failed..)
-Stimulants (DMAA since nothing else was available, also caffeine) for wakefulness and partially just trying to restore whatever mental functions I've probably gotten diminished or lost from dissociation or neurological issues (kinda works sometimes)

As for how drug use in general has affected me, I guess it's shaped my life/personality quite a bit so it's probably hard to tell from the inside. Seems GABAergics (including alcohol) haven't really affected me much if at all in almost any way since I didn't do them a lot, THC probably contributed to a somewhat foggy memory of some brief parts of my life but it probably only contributed mildly. Psychedelics changed me a lot in complicated ways but overall I'd say they've been a positive influence, albeit confusing at times. Stimulants still continue to help me out but I'm guessing that's more of a need at times to remain functional since they aren't very recreational for me.

What about you tho?

Is it true DMAA is mostly just available on online vitamin shops now? How intense is it?

 

[LittleJem]

I can't get out of bed without them. Mainly K and a bit of C.
I have used pschedeleics, 1 time was healing, other times just desperate to feel different
Have had psychosis from THC or spice for years. Used it because I felt so suicidal, it was survival


think I'm autistic and drugs work differently on autistic brains

 

[SequelarDecline]

I am not interested in getting addicted, of course. I do not believe that to be a good thing in the long run at all.
My understanding is that people resort to these drugs to cope with extreme pain and suffering, something I can empathize with. I would still not advise anyone to start using hard drugs though.

It seems you use them recreationally and functionally, and not in an addiction way.

I definitely agree as for addiction, of course, though drugs certainly have many uses besides coping with extreme negatives. I generally also wouldn't advise anyone to start using drugs unless they know what they're doing, though I feel like "hard" and "soft" drug labels are misleading. For example nicotine is, I've heard, one of the most addictive ones commonly found anywhere yet it's culturally considered a soft drug.
I've been in some akward situations with drugs though, specifically GHB, I'd say compulsive overuse short-term leading to some withdrawals definitely counts though neither the period of addiction nor withdrawals lasted long (thankfully) and I think the most addicting part was still the escape from reality. GABAergic withdrawals tend to be pretty bad and neurotoxic so I'm glad it wasn't too bad for me at that point..

Of the drugs you mentioned, only two seem worth commenting with more nuance in my case.

Psychedelics seem interesting as an experience. I am aware there are traditional communities which have been using these substances in a cultural context for ages. I am aware of westerners experimenting with ayahuasca, for example.
I am skeptical they would significantly change one's life or solve their problems though, but they seem interesting as an experience.

THC is the main psychoactive compound of cannabis (marijuana). I would be open to it in its natural form, like in Canada, where it is regulated and sold legally. There are limits to the THC in these plants in that case, so you wouldn't feel as high.

Overall, I don't use drugs and don't intend to use them, except as an experience someday perhaps.

I find your view on personal use agreeable, yeah. Psychedelics, though, can significantly change one's life, seemingly especially for addicts of various kinds. There are a bunch of stories of psychedelics helping opioid users and such finally quit, for example, and also a bunch of stories of realizations about the world or themselves that people have gotten from psychedelic use given the way they change the brain's functioning for a little while. Also especially useful for repressed memories and emotions, experienced that one personally. I'd say it's extremely worth it as an experience to anyone ready for it someday, I couldn't ever see a hint of addiction to psychedelics either (specifically DMT), but I wouldn't recommend it to people with unstable life circumstances (learned that the hard way) or anyone prone to apophenia like schizoaffectives or people who have experienced psychosis.

THC, even with the proper regulations and specified dosages, can kind of be a wildcard FYI because it seems that sensitivities vary a ton, especially for some forms like edibles. Definitely cool but I don't have much positive to say about it in hindsight (at least relative to other stuff), not great not terrible for me.

FYI I've always been interested in psychology and such (generally anything to do with consciousness), so the fact compounds existed that could alter the brain's function so immensely, was always super fascinating to me. I think my mindset is just wanting to experience as many possible experiences as I can without impairing my ability to experience more later (so I don't ever plan to do too extreme things like heavy opioids/stimulants). That's the initial motivation I think.

Still glad to see an open discussion about one of the topics I'm most interested in tho!

Is it true DMAA is mostly just available on online vitamin shops now? How intense is it?

I'm not sure how much I can say as for specifics but nowadays I've just had some preworkout that's got DMHA (similar to DMAA) and, I'm pretty sure, DMAA as well in there alongside caffeine and such. Pretty sure it's only available online, yeah, god knows if there are some shops that still sell it physically tho, probably pretty rare.

I think DMAA and DMHA pretty much have the same effects but dose-wise DMHA is ~3x (?) less potent. It's definitely pretty intense at higher doses and, in mechanism at least, it should be less addictive than other stimulants for the same amount of focus though perhaps less intrinsically motivating too. At low-moderate doses it kinda just allows me to be comfortable sitting still again and such (cancels out some ADHD-like symptoms tho I'm not claiming to have that specifically). It does last a really long time though so sleep can be an issue lol. Physically the stimulation is pretty strong, u get less hungry and feel stronger but you may get some tachycardia and such (like taking too much caffeine).