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Stages of the Meth High
Sfj |
Stages of the meth high
To even attempt to describe this is sheer lunacy, but I'm pretty
good at that sort of thing.
The high, usually begins before any drug or chemical enters the
body. Anticipation is a huge factor for most addictions. But
aside from that, there are four ways of taking meth.
Eating, snorting, smoking, and shooting. A more rare form is
like a suppository, but we'll avoid that for now. It doesn't
matter how it is ingested in the fact that the meth molecule
needs to reach the blood and then the central nervous system to
be effective. It does that more quickly via injection or smoking
than by snorting or eating. The effects are essentially the
same, the rate of onset, and intensity will vary with the method
of ingestion.
When meth hits the brain, it causes a chemical reaction to take
place. It stimulates the center portion of the brain. That is
the portion that regulates our more primitive functions such as
the "Fight or flight" reaction of adrenalin, being alert,
confident, selfish, self-centered, energetic, and so on.
Remember, meth is essentially a stimulant, like coffee is a
stimulant. It wakes you up. Meth users, take enough so that the
body is overly-stimulated. Way Overly. Stimulation is what
causes a meth user to keep craving. Compare it to running on a
set of worn out batteries and then being plugged into a wall
socket to get the power. Normal life would be rechargeable
batteries. Meth is like plugging into 220 volts or even 440.
That would be like plugging into four wall sockets at the same
time. Talk about being supercharged !
The initial rush is a flood of dopamine (feel good chemical in
the brain), like a current of energy hitting the body. I've
heard a few people, not many but one woman whom you all know
talked about this in chat, another guy from LA CMA and me who
have had spontaneous orgasm upon the manifestation of the meth
rush. Consider the power in that. I doubt if eating, snorting,
or even smoking meth could induce such a phenomenon but
injection will in some cases. That intense initial rush will
last less than a minute in most cases. But what follows is
almost as pleasurable.
Depending upon the dose, the high, the euphoria, the total sense
of well-being will be present for an hour, maybe three or four
and then a period of indecisiveness takes over.
The indecisiveness or ambivalence will become, "Should I do
more?" or "Should I think about coming down in the next six to
ten hours."
We often use the term "clean" rather than "sober" when speaking
of abstaining from meth - and for good reason. In the sense that
a drinker of liquor gets drunk or intoxicated from alcohol, a
meth user is totally sober. Alcohol affects a different part of
the brain than meth. Slurred speech, delayed reaction time,
inability to balance and respond are common with drunks. Those
qualities are the opposite and vastly heightened and keenly
improved upon ingesting stimulants.
Think of a meth high like a curve if you will: (my feeble
attempt at computer graphics)
One is right before doing a hit. Two is the height of the rush,
it could be a few seconds for those who shoot it, or a five to
fifteen minutes for one who eats it. Three is where the user may
be the most coherent, right before the crash, Four is ALWAYS
below the starting point. This graphic could be four to sixteen
hours in duration, (give or take) Not necessarily to scale. |
See also:
Stages / Patterns of Methamphetamine Abuse
Back to Crystal Meth & Methamphetamine Questions, Answers & Advice
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