Permanent state of euphoria, future approval of Sequenced Drug Regimens

[Morpheus19]

In principle there is no biological reason why it shouldn't be possible to feel good all the time. Evolution has built the pleasure-pain axis, because it was once an adaptive feature to suffer in certain circumstances. The hedonic treadmill is a powerful thing and I don't expect that there will ever be pharmacological approach to fundamentally recalibrate it. There are people who feel super happy all the time. Those with a high "hedonic set-point" and who are not bipolar or manic are sometimes described as "hyperthymic" instead. Cycling through drugs with different mechanisms is the old druggies dream. I'm not entirely sure that it wouldn't work to some degree. Maybe you would get into trouble because just like there is a synergy in effects when taking drugs of different mechanisms, there also might be a "negative synergy" in terms of the combined hangover of different drugs that would cumulate over time. I take a more cautious approach. MAOIs are known to better the mood even of people who are not depressed. Contrary to SSRIs they raise all neurotransmitter that are responsible for a good mood and motivation. Everyone who has taken MDMA knows that you really need to raise all three major neurotransmitter (SE, DA, NE) to get a "Magic" effect. Selective SE-Releasers like MDAI doesn't do much. In order to attenuate homeostasis from kicking in, you have to augment MAOIs with NMDA-Antagonists (Memantine works best) and something like Uridine. That helps to prevent tolerance and poop out from happening. Throw in some NSI-189 in the mix and I guess everyone who isn't already super happy can better their mood permanently by ~2 points on a scale from 1-10.

 

[opiatekrzy]

I don't see permanent euphoria ever being a reality. by nature as humans, the thrill of a high will fade fast after some hours of constant use, your mind will adjust to it, and before you know it, you will feel sober in an induced way. I been high on adderall day in and day out to the point I didn't enjoy it cause my mind adapted to it and considered it normal sober

 

[Vastness]

I think this is an interesting topic, and although I think it is likely not possible at the moment to be in a permanent state of euphoria, I do strongly believe that in the future as our understanding of the workings of the brain improves, it will become both possible, and the norm. I see it largely as a problem of biological engineering to elevate the default state of human consciousness in such a way that our default state of being is what we would today call euphoric, while also remaining productive (ie, not just spending our days wasting away in a euphoric stupor).

This may eventually be achievable chemically, but I suspect it is more likely eventually to be written into the genetic codes of the descendants of humanity through advanced genetic engineering techniques and using far more advanced knowledge of neurochemistry, psychology and all related scientific disciplines involving the mind and consciousness.

To use a drug related metaphor, as I see it this would be an experience that would take all the best parts of every drug that you have ever experienced, and blend them together into an upgraded state of being - that, again, remains functional (so there are definitely some euphoric stimulants in the mix there, none of the drooling amnesiac euphoria such as might come from blending multiple downers ).

As I see it, the fact is that the current default state of being which is so prone to mental illness and trauma and indeed a range of what we would call "negative" emotions on a daily basis, even in the most positive-minded people, is something that has evolved because it doesn't really matter from an evolutionary standpoint where the "default" state of mental wellbeing is, as long as there is a range which can cause a psychological pressure to seek circumstances which will lead to more positive feelings... and, probably for similar reasons that we haven't evolved eternal life, it doesn't matter to evolution, in fact it is most likely even desirable, if some specimens of a particular species do not survive for mental health related reasons. So (I suspect) for similar reasons that no species has ever evolved true immortality, and we remain physically prone to various illnesses and diseases, we also remain prone to mental health issues and negative emotions, our evolved mental state being what it is.

Of course, this is all very debatable, it may be quite arguable that the reason this hasn't evolved is actually because to create this kind of perfect mind that is almost impervious to stress and can remain objective, positive and happy regardless of circumstance, without destroying some kind of vital essence of sentience is actually difficult to the point of being impossible... and it might also be arguable that actually, the idea that there might be a "higher" default state of being, where the same range of emotions existed, but even the lows were higher than the highs as we perceive them today, is actually an illusion - and it is the range itself which creates this illusion, but actually there is no objective measure of wellbeing without this range of emotions. I personally do not believe either of these things to be the case however.

I don't doubt that when/if we achieve this, there will likely be a whole host of new problems that today we cannot even conceive or foresee, both on the individual level and socio-cultural levels, but at that point these will just be new challenges for humanity to overcome.