Eli5 why does ecstasy or mdma make you feel happy and euphoric?
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How does the posi-track on the rear end of a Plymouth work?………
It just does
Good question.
MDMA and ecstasy are used interchangeably since they’re both the same drug. One is in HCI form as a crystal and the other is pressed into pills mixed with enhancing agents, fillers and binders. Some of these are what makes pills dangerous rather than the drug itself – although risks apply when taken in any form.
The euphoria specifically is an all-encompassing, radiating pulse of pleasurable sensations. This is due to a rapid and highly charged release of serotonin to post-synaptic receptors, saturating and stimulating them to produce psychological and physiological feelings of bliss.
The stimulation and arousal aspect is due to the same principals but for the neurotransmitters dopamine and adrenaline. Having all three euphoria-inducing catecholamines in an elevated state, so quickly and (in new users) so profoundly is the reason why we feel happy and euphoric on MDMA / ecstasy.
Important info also if you’re or thinking of trying the drug… MDMA is not physically addictive to the human body, but may cause psychological dependence in some people. Many users experience temporary but sometimes severe depressive symptoms for a few days after use. Use responsibly. Do not use more than once every 3-6 months, or preferably longer. Tolerance builds quickly to the euphoric, stimulating and empathy benefits in regular, and especially chronic users. Tolerance is the most complex of most drugs and remains indefinitely once developed. To further my point, abusing MDMA heavily will affect your ability to feel the benefits of any other stimulant since it damages all three of the avenues that other ones use to exert their effects.
So your brain cells send chemical messengers to eachother that signals what chemical the next cell should send and so on, like a chain. One of the chemical messengers a cell can send is serotonin. When one of your brain cells sends that serotonin to the next cell, the serotonin binds to a receptor on the next cell telling it to release its own serotonin to its next cell. Then the original serotonin molecule unbinds and gets reabsorbed by the cell that sent it through a channel. The more powerful the signal a cell is sending, the more chemical messenger will be released. What MDMA does is sits and blocks those channels that reabsorb serotonin. Not only do the cells not get their serotonin back, they keep releasing more and more since it hasn’t reabsorbed any of the serotonin its sent out yet. This floods your synapses with serotonin, stimulating the next cell like crazy, and draining all your serotonin. Serotonin is one of the “happy chemicals” like dopamine which is why it feels so good. This is why people get depressed or have a rough time after taking MDMA, and combining certain other substances can have bad interactions.
Neurotransmitters
those a chemicals that link neurons to each other
those links are the primary process of thought and feelings
certain reactions generate chain reaction to either encourage a behavior or discourage it.
for example neurons can communicate that you stomach is empty or blood sugar is low which would withhold certain transmitters to encourage eating. as one eats those neurons would then release ‘positive feelings’ frequently refereed to as dopamine to make you feel happy about having ate.
the drugs imbalances the connections between certain neurons and hormone(also neurotransmitters or effect the uptake of them by different types of neurons.
this causes ‘feelings’ of one sort or another and in many cases malfunction.
after a certain amount of exposure the brain will try to adapt by re-balancing the chemicals in the brain. this is where chemical addiction and withdraw symptoms come from.
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