Describing the Opioid "Euphoria" for the masses

Hi, members of HipForums,

I know I haven't made any big posts in the last two months or so. That is because I have been very busy both teaching and taking graduate classes this Fall. However, the mid-terms are over and I have a lull in my work this week. So I wanted to contribute a good post, and I thought of what it would be on today.

As you may know, I take an opioid, Buprenorphine (Suboxone) off-label for treatment resistant depression associated with Schizoaffective Disorder. I generally take 2-3 mg which is equivalent to around 40 mg of Oxycodone orally. So I know quite a bit on the subject of opioids and their effects. However, one thing I rarely hear discussed is the actual "feeling" of what is commonly called opioid euphoria. So I want to describe it.

If you have not experienced a sizable dose of an opioid, you likely have no idea of what the opioid experience is like. I am not suggesting you find out however. Opioids can be very addictive. When people hear the word euphoria associated with opioids, people may think of people laughing out loud, relaxed, and tired/drowsy. They think of an uninhibited person perhaps. All of these things are generally false.

Opioids produce an almost perfectly desirable effect. However, it is not similar to states that humans usually call 'euphoria'. What they do produce is, IMO, even better than what people call euphoria.

Opioids clearly give a physical and mental effect. The physical effect is easier to describe. Opioids are not like alcohol, which causes staggering and loss of coordination. They do, however, drastically change how one feels physically. There is an overwhelming sense of a 'buzzing' or 'vibrating' sensation throughout the body, inside the body and on the skin. It is similar to the feeling of the body after a vigorous massage. This is a very nice feeling. However, if this was all there was to opioids, they wouldn't be so addictive.

The mental effect involves an almost complete suppression of the compulsion to view anything in a negative manner. However, they are not like SSRI antidepressants. There is more to the opioids. They completely remove any feeling of aggression and hostility (except in very rare paradoxical situations) as well as (and this is the key) making ANY situation you are in a completely fascinating, exciting, and worthy situation. No matter the set or setting, you can have one of the most wonderful experiences of your life on an opioid. You treasure the experience. It is like a gift.

Back to the mental effects, though. Contentment is a word I often use to describe them. You don't have a nagging part of your mind telling you to do things that you know, deep down, are not your true desires. You realize, all at once, that there need not be any sort of special situation in your life in order to enjoy life to its fullest. You realize that you don't need to go on a cruise or be off work to have experiences of a lifetime. All you have to do is to go with the flow of the opioid, and to be mindful and soak in whatever it is you are doing. You clearly wish the time would never end.

Another important thing to note is the quietness and lack of laughter and smiling. Although it may look like the opioid user is not happy, it is the opposite. The feelings one has under the influence of opioids is beyond eliciting things like smiles and laughter. It is a serious serious drug, but at the same time, incredibly desirable! THAT is probably the hardest part to convey. How can something so 'deep' and 'serious' be so desirable? Well, it is. Sitting meditatively, in silence, listening to quiet music can turn into a treasured lifetime experience. I guess it is like sex- not too much laughing occurs in the best sexual experiences. They are serious business, but very desirable.

Unlike the psychedelics, which alter the perception of the world as their main effect (although of course they have emotional effects too...), the opioids are functionally opposite: They alter one's emotional response to the world while only slightly changing the sensory perception of the world around you. So of course, saying one class of drug is better than the other is silly. They both do their own, equally important, things.

I hope that clears up some of what people call opioid euphoria.

 

I would describe it using this song

"Okay
Just a little pinprick
and there'll be no more AHHHHHHHHHHH!
but you may feel a little sick."

-comfortably numb by pink floyd

You will be numb, you will feel no pain, you will be completely content, you will know pleasure.

But the last line of that song is always going to be an inventible and, for some, a long lasting effect too.

Sorry etkearne, I think you described the effect well but I just wanted to add a warning label because IMO opiates are the most sinister drug imaginable.

 

i get this numbing sensation that seems to form at my spine and run through my entire body. i always feel it the most in the back of my head and my ears...dam just writing about it makes me feel good lol

 

Yeah. I think what you say is why the opioids are so dangerous. They don't really do anything mind-bending-ly interesting. No. They do a subtle thing and you think "Well, why don't I just do this every day since I am not impaired nor am I going crazy, etc." That is where their magnetic pull comes from.

I can honestly tell you that the first time I ever took an opioid, it was only 7.5mg or Hydrocodone and I was with a friend. I literally said "I could do this every day!" Three years later, I was. They are definitely not something worth trying unless you are okay with the real chance of becoming hooked on them.

 

Describing Opiate euphoria is an effort that is surely better off when left to the artists and poets to give life to. Euphoria in general is the most soft after slice of life to begin with, and as such it defies definition since it is brought about my such a broad spectrum of sources of influence, and is greatly affected by its cause. Amphetamine euphoria is not so very different, but amphetamines also directly give rise to paranoia and restlessness and so the euphoric elements are not as profound; at least not in comparison to their stimulating effects.

Opiate euphoria, to me, is more akin to a meditative efforts euphoria, in other words it is closer to the bliss of God consciousness or zazen, or nirvikalpa samadhi, &c then to any other high state of awareness. The reason for this, I believe, is due to its numbing properties of both the body and of the psyche. One can approach the depths of meditation, or even psychedelic drugs for that matter, with relatively little fear when opiates are introduced to the system before taking the plunge. And this accounts for all other activities, such as gaining the courage to approach someone to whom sexual desires are harbored, or presenting yourself for an interview for position of employment, or appearing before a judge &c. This is not the same thing as liquid courage, or the explosion of self esteem and self righteousness brought about by cocaine, it is quite a different state of mind. The relinquishing of concerns for how one is perceived by society, on terms of societal values, is a large factor contributing to the total numbing effects, the dulling of pain caused by physical harm infliction is another, and the abscence of hyperactive self conscience is yet one more fraction of it. It fills up a void, so to speak, in the mind, one that is normally filled with insecurities and delusions, with a warming presence of absolute contentment.

When it comes to the dangers of addiction and to the individuals whose peculiar temperament is subject to be overwhelmed by its siren calls, this is the medicines most valued healing property, more sought after than its pain diminishing offering, and its stimulating effects. The only rival to the fleeting sense of contenment is the artistic inspiration, but as this is only an extension of the former (the lack of inhibitions and the ability to become satisfied with ones own artistic creations, i.e. weakining the severity of over analysis and self criticism) the two are essentially one in the same.

Opiate euphoria is a jet stream of satisfaction streaked across the existentially tormented minds horizon for a brief (and, as the seeds of tolerance and addiction blossom during the Spring of one's life, increasingly so) lapse in time. Of course, this subjects the sufferer to even more devastating pangs of melancholia, ennui and self-loathing, and thus the perpetuation of self destruction gains its momentum. Contenment is state of mind that very few of us are equipped with the proper sense of self discipline required in order to begin the eventually vertical ascent toward, as revealed in observing the multi hued materialistic and multi coloured spiritual endeavours mankind is so unfortunately tangled up in. I firmly believe that the opiate addict is amongst the worlds most violently tortured peoples, albeit the suffering is self inflicted, however more often then not, he or she is absolutely lost in utter confoundment as to the true nature of their suffering, and even when it is brought to light, it can be nearly impossible to desire to take the neccessary steps in the direction of the prescribed healing, as the pull of opiates is most powerful and the semi-soporific narcotics offer a lull that promises everything and in fact robs us of our souls, given the chance to.

Caution is absolutely neccessary, and especially to those prone to its captivating spell. As with anything else in this world, there is a dark side exactly equal to its light side, and over indulgence will destroy anyone regardless of age, gender, race, sexuality, intelligence, &c. Easy come, easy go is about the best common saying I can think of to attibute to opiate euphoria.

 

As to build on MagicRock's statement, I would propose that most people who being addicted to opioids suffer from a very, very deep mental turmoil that, although they have tried many ways to overcome it, finally just accept the partial cure of opioid dependence.

Before I discovered opioids, I had suffered with treatment-resistant mental illness (officially Schizoaffective Bipolar Disorder) since the age of 11 or so. I have worked my hardest to overcome it and not become a victim. I employed every possible strategy, both pharmaceutical AND psychotherapeutic. I have tried the following antidepressants: Lexapro, Celexa, Paxil, Elavil, Imipramine, Cymbalta, and Effexor. As for off-label treatments, I have been prescribed: 5 different anti-psychotics, 4 different anti-seizure drugs, Ritalin/Concerta, Adderall (racemic amphetamine), and Vyvanse (dextroamphetamine). While I will admit that some of those drugs helped a bit, they didn't really 'hit' the depression, but rather the other aspects of my illness like aggression and anxiety. I have also tried Cannabis and 2C-I (a psychedelic drug) to work through my disorder. Again, I feel like they were worthy experiences, but they didn't hit the problem.

I can only begin to explain how many hours in therapy I have spent. I won't go into it.

But when I discovered opiods, I discovered peace and satisfaction with life, albeit for a few hours at a time. So, now I take Suboxone off-label for my illness (although it started as treatment for my self-medication with other opiods), and my life has improved drastically. I freely admit that I am addicted/dependent/whatever to the drug, but I don't really care anymore. I haven't had to raise my dose once (unlike in most opioids, which are plagued by tolerance build up) and have no major side effects.

That is my take on what attracts certain troubled folks to opioids. And I would bet MOST of them have tried 'conventional' medical routes to help themselves too.

 

:dizzy2: