4 ms·
Fellow non-smoker to another, but with a very different experience. Over a decade ago, I tried chewing tobacco. Definitely a stimulant, but of the relaxing var
by IggleSniggle 5y ago
Fellow non-smoker to another, but with a very different experience.
Over a decade ago, I tried chewing tobacco. Definitely a stimulant, but of the relaxing variety. It’s like a shot of adrenaline but only on your brain and with no negative feeling side-effects. Or like eating an especially delicious gourmet hamburger that is both interesting in its complexity and relaxing at the same time.
The noticeably pleasant mental stimulation only lasted maybe 5 to 10 minutes but the impression was made. For the first year I would experience definite cravings for “trying it” again. I occasionally still do, despite never repeating the experiment.
The craving is almost entirely decoupled from the actual experience, even though I’m sure the direct experience caused the craving response to be etched on my brain.
I suspect the only reason I’m not a chainsmoker today is because tobacco is so distant from my routine, because no one in my circle of family and friends consumes it, and because it’s longterm negative effects are so well known. If any one of those conditions were not true, I’m relatively sure I’d battling that addiction today.
I deeply understand pursuing curiosity for curiosity’s sake...but especially in your case (given your environment), I think Pandora’s Box is best left shut. Count yourself lucky that such a passing and only mildly interesting high has never tickled your brain the right way, and stop your experiments.
- qq4 5y agoI appreciate the feedback. I'm not at all interested in seeking it out anymore, those days are long behind me. I think I might be able to relate to the "trying it" again craving. I don't think I was able to differentiate that inclination from how I thought I was supposed to feel. Perhaps that's how subtle the addiction is why it's so hard to defeat.
- IggleSniggle 5y agoThat sounds about right. I might not have a tobacco addiction, but I do have a caffeine addiction. I suspect it’s similar in many respects. You don’t feel like you really need it, yet you want your morning coffee; it’s baked into your routine. If you don’t drink it, you feel miserable for a day or two, possibly with awful headaches. Even if you break your short-term addiction, it’s easy to fall back into it because what’s the harm in one cup of coffee? It’s so easy to simply have another cup of coffee, and seems so pointless not to. Your brain pushes you to it despite your conscious mind knowing better. The difference, of course, is that the cup of coffee doesn’t haven’t such a serious downside, and the addictive quality isn’t as intense.
- prionassembly 5y ago> a stimulant of the relaxing variety This: what other substance in the world relaxes and stimulates at the same time?
- maccard 5y agoCaffeine and L-theanine (coffee and green tea)
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]