Foreigner
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Mar 18, 2009
- Messages
- 8,308
Tonight when I was out with a friend I had a hankering for some chocolate, so I bought one of those 85% bars. I had a couple pieces and then lost all impulse control and ate the whole thing. Now I'm buzzing, unable to sleep.
But I'm also noticing that I just feel happy, more content, more energized. I'm well aware that a stimulant effect is at work, and there are existential underpinnings that have got me thinking.
I've been more or less sober for two years now, not even a toke of weed. Baseline sobriety is pretty mundane, boring even... I've adjusted to life without drugs, but it seems like my moments of happiness are fleeting. Then I eat a piece of chocolate, and suddenly life seems awesome. It's kind of ridiculous. It does make me wonder though if I inherently have something missing in my brain that prevents this kind of joy and upliftment from being experienced regularly. From this silly chocolate bar, I'm forced to wonder: is this closer to what "normal" people feel in their day to day? Actual happiness and contentment, all because their neurotransmitters are flowing properly?
I'm familiar with the neurochemistry at work. What I'm wondering is, are some people predisposed to sublevel happiness? I'm wondering if people are genetically disposed to need stimulants of some kind in order to derive satisfaction from life. Amphetamines would be the extreme because they burn out the system, but I'm talking about something lower level, perhaps caffeine, perhaps even the theobromine in cocoa (in chocolate). It seems like there are entire demographics of people who seek stimulants in their day to day. They just can't imagine life without them, and when they are deprived they seem to sink into some kind of depression.
So I'm wondering... would regular stimulant use be conducive to a happier life in people like me? Again, I'm not referring to hardcore stimulant use, but moderate things... like a cup of tea in the morning, or something along those lines. Could it be possible that people like me have a genetic requirement where we are somehow more compatible with stimulants as they occur in nature, and want to seek them out?
I'm wondering this about other drugs too... if there are populations more predisposed to opiate use and depressants.
If something makes me feel this good, how can it be bad? Could it even be useful?
P.S. I predict I'll feel like crap tomorrow from the lack of sleep and the over stimulation, but my questions still stand.
But I'm also noticing that I just feel happy, more content, more energized. I'm well aware that a stimulant effect is at work, and there are existential underpinnings that have got me thinking.
I've been more or less sober for two years now, not even a toke of weed. Baseline sobriety is pretty mundane, boring even... I've adjusted to life without drugs, but it seems like my moments of happiness are fleeting. Then I eat a piece of chocolate, and suddenly life seems awesome. It's kind of ridiculous. It does make me wonder though if I inherently have something missing in my brain that prevents this kind of joy and upliftment from being experienced regularly. From this silly chocolate bar, I'm forced to wonder: is this closer to what "normal" people feel in their day to day? Actual happiness and contentment, all because their neurotransmitters are flowing properly?
I'm familiar with the neurochemistry at work. What I'm wondering is, are some people predisposed to sublevel happiness? I'm wondering if people are genetically disposed to need stimulants of some kind in order to derive satisfaction from life. Amphetamines would be the extreme because they burn out the system, but I'm talking about something lower level, perhaps caffeine, perhaps even the theobromine in cocoa (in chocolate). It seems like there are entire demographics of people who seek stimulants in their day to day. They just can't imagine life without them, and when they are deprived they seem to sink into some kind of depression.
So I'm wondering... would regular stimulant use be conducive to a happier life in people like me? Again, I'm not referring to hardcore stimulant use, but moderate things... like a cup of tea in the morning, or something along those lines. Could it be possible that people like me have a genetic requirement where we are somehow more compatible with stimulants as they occur in nature, and want to seek them out?
I'm wondering this about other drugs too... if there are populations more predisposed to opiate use and depressants.
If something makes me feel this good, how can it be bad? Could it even be useful?
P.S. I predict I'll feel like crap tomorrow from the lack of sleep and the over stimulation, but my questions still stand.