Meth and Writing

[advocatestillness]

So, in the last few seasons, out of some some worsening emotional issues mixed with a very stubborn creative block, I've taken to doing a few points of insufflated meth whenever I record or compose music. This has become a bit of a burden, because now, without it, the creative block has only been compounded. Not to mention going through the come downs and the empty wallet (or the trouble that comes certain times obtaining it), so I was just curious if anybody here has has any experience with something like this, or would have ideas on how to get the creative zen back without the undertaking of an amphetamine addiction.
Weed used to work wonders, but now it mainly makes me sleepy, unless of course mixed with glass. LOVE ALWAYS, chad

 

[custard]

hi.

i've definitely had this problem in the past with various drugs (ketamine/pot/sleeping pills) that all opened my mind/relaxed me and got the creative juices flowing. in my experience, there isn't really a magic cure to the creative block you get when you become dependent on drugs. you just have to go at it sober again - which at first probably feels pretty grim - but the more you do it, the more the creativity starts to trickle back in. i haven't found any formula as my creativity comes in unexpected bursts, often times it's crap but once in a while something amazing comes out, and i start to remember that i actually write better without drugs. i would also recommend not forcing it, but trying to write at different times, in different moods. experiment. sometimes i think i will write better when i'm in a particular mindset, and then i surprise myself and write something great when i'm half asleep. there's no rhyme or reason to it. you just have to get used to writing sober again without the crutch, and it will get easier. hope that helps.

 

[Burnt Offerings]

I have pretty extensive experience with insufflated methamphetamine.

Around here it's a really affordable drug habit, actually...no empty wallet for me (at least, not when I was sticking to snorting tweak...) Usually costs 50 dollars or less a week to just stay high all the time on that shit. People have offered me grams for free before. This area I live in is positively swamped with the stuff.

But anyway, if you have "emotional problems", meth is the last thing you should be doing. Meth deepens emotional issues and sprinkles them with a nice topping of delusional thought patterns & generalized depression. It's not so bad when you're just snorting, actually, but meth really damages your nose. I know from experience.

I'm not sure how you can get your creativity back but step one is stop using meth. By your own admission it's only made things worse. After you get your head straight you can start looking for fulfilling activities and people to associate with and hopefully get the creative juices flowing again...

 

[Znegative]

I definitely have this problem and am still struggling with it, I basically quit methamphetamine and replaced it with propylhexadrine which in my opinion is very similar in term of effects. I'm a visual artist, though I do some writing too, and after shooting meth for about a year and a half straight I find it very laborious to get creative, and often don't feel like doing anything artistic, unless I take propylhexadrine. It's a serious problem that makes me very depressed, especially since I can't even get my psych to write me a vyvanse prescription (so I could at least feel some stability instead of just using propyl whenever I can get some which is hard considering I'm unemployed in ohio and do not know how to drive).

For a while I was having some success by just forcing myself to do artwork, and it started to get better, but then some shit came up and i fell into a pretty deep depression which I'm still struggling with.

 

[neurotic]

i was actually wondering about this the other day. using a drug to force productivity or creativity will only spoil your baseline productivity or creativity. not necessarily objectively, but the sensation that you're being *less* productive/creative is strong enough to be bothersome. that is, if you actually "measure" your productivity/creativity, there might be not much of a difference. i don't have any firsthand experience with this situation in particular, but i have seen this happen to me with benzodiazepines and anxiety, so i do imagine that just as relying on downers for anxiety makes one feel less capable of dealing with anxiety when sober, relying on uppers for productivity might make one feel lazier.

that being said i dislike stimulants and writing. being on uppers only raises the "things i have to write" : "things i write" ratio further - something which gives me an immense agony - and make all my outputs become disorganized, rushed ramblings (as a matter of fact, Kerouac used to take amphetamine and write exactly this way, and on that Truman Capote commented: "that's not writing, that's typing"), which i later have to structure and organize, if i wish to actually get my point across. and i got enough of that when sober already.