I've spent a lot of time meditating on mood. I'm highly skeptical of drugs as a tool to produce lasting euphoria. Producing long-lasting euphoric states through

I've spent a lot of time meditating on mood. I'm highly skeptical of drugs as a tool to produce lasting euphoria. Producing long-lasting euphoric states through meditation eventually creates a state of mind I call 'hollow'. You're happy, but there's an undercurrent of loneliness. I'm completely not surprised about the patient that sank into hoarding and squalor while remaining euphoric. That's precisely what happens, one's state of mind, if it is disconnected from their environment, removes your attention from said environment. Drug addicts do similarly. Since you're not paying attention, your ability to relate to others plummets and eventually your sense of self is supported by this one thing, and it becomes an addiction all on its own. Humans are just rats, emotionally. If you live in a cage, providing a lever that makes you happy about it doesn't take you out of the cage. Unlike rats, humans can make the choice to put themselves into a virtual cage with a virtual morphine lever. Wireheading will certainly become a thing in the future, and it will undoubtedly raise some people's standard of living. There are people that live worse than caged rats.