4 ms·

I don't know, while I never used opiates or any other "hard" drugs (except nicotine and alcohol), I had/have gambling addiction, lost a fortune of money (myself

by stplsd 11y ago

I don't know, while I never used opiates or any other "hard" drugs (except nicotine and alcohol), I had/have gambling addiction, lost a fortune of money (myself and parents), now have huge debts, caused a huge emotional pain to my parents, now have to live very frugal, because have to cover my debts, etc, etc. So I think I imagine that full blown heroin addiction does to you, but the way you describe it sound like some virus, which affects your brain and make your a zombie (like some wasps do this to cockroaches). But in reality in just simple chemical with well understood action mechanism. Of course if you high all day, there is no motivation to do anything, but I think, we as humans beings, have to take responsibility for this and not blame some chemical. When I said "gentle" and "harmless" I meant their psychical properties to human body. A roulette or deck of cards is also harmless to body, but they can ruin lives too. But the main tragedy is when people lose health, money, commit crimes, prostitute themselves, etc. An as heroin is relative safe and harmless to body, legal heroin supplies to addicts would solve so much problems.

amagumori 11y ago
you still aren't getting it though. drugs that cause huge dopamine release like opiates or meth are literally tampering with your motivational/reward system directly, in a way that's much more harmful than other addictions. you can't will yourself out of a fundamental change to your intrinsic will system. you can't say that people have to "take responsibility" and "not blame some chemical". the chemical is literally altering the motivational behavior of the person. this is not something the person can solve themselves. they should not be expected to be able to. let's say you can place everything you've felt in life on a scale of good to bad feelings from -10 to 10. shooting heroin is like suddenly having an experience rated at 100 on that same scale. the entire scale has permanently shifted. everything else in your life has completely paled in comparison to that experience whether you like it or not. you will have to deal with that changed perspective for the rest of your life.
- laichzeit0 11y ago
  I like your scale analogy. Is it really that bad as you say that it will change your perspective for the rest of your life? Does that mean that former heroin addicts will never really experience a good/happy life post addiction?
  - amagumori 11y ago
    in terms of the changed perspective, you're never going to forget that feeling. it will forever be an "option" that has to be staved off with will. the memory of a feeling like doing heroin is different from, say, the memory of a fact. it forever pulls you towards it in the most primal, low-level way, the human desire to feel good. emotionally trying times, in particular, are the worst because you know you can spend $10 to be yanked into bliss. a good 30-40% of my friends were addicts and from talking to them i think they'd all agree that it's a long, slow climb back to emotional normalcy. i think it's healed only by time. a lot of time. and i think it's a half-life sort of curve where you get 50% better after the first 5 years, then 25% better after the next 5, then 12% better.. etc. more than anything you're trying to reorient yourself towards a life where the joys are small and fleeting, and waiting for those potent memories of having your bliss-button chemically held down to fade.
hn_ 11y ago
> but the way you describe it sound like some virus, which affects your brain and make your a zombie Chronic heroin use absolutely does alter brain chemistry very significantly.

by stplsd 11y ago

amagumori 11y ago

you still aren't getting it though. drugs that cause huge dopamine release like opiates or meth are literally tampering with your motivational/reward system directly, in a way that's much more harmful than other addictions. you can't will yourself out of a fundamental change to your intrinsic will system. you can't say that people have to "take responsibility" and "not blame some chemical". the chemical is literally altering the motivational behavior of the person. this is not something the person can solve themselves. they should not be expected to be able to. let's say you can place everything you've felt in life on a scale of good to bad feelings from -10 to 10. shooting heroin is like suddenly having an experience rated at 100 on that same scale. the entire scale has permanently shifted. everything else in your life has completely paled in comparison to that experience whether you like it or not. you will have to deal with that changed perspective for the rest of your life.

laichzeit0 11y ago
I like your scale analogy. Is it really that bad as you say that it will change your perspective for the rest of your life? Does that mean that former heroin addicts will never really experience a good/happy life post addiction?
- amagumori 11y ago
  in terms of the changed perspective, you're never going to forget that feeling. it will forever be an "option" that has to be staved off with will. the memory of a feeling like doing heroin is different from, say, the memory of a fact. it forever pulls you towards it in the most primal, low-level way, the human desire to feel good. emotionally trying times, in particular, are the worst because you know you can spend $10 to be yanked into bliss. a good 30-40% of my friends were addicts and from talking to them i think they'd all agree that it's a long, slow climb back to emotional normalcy. i think it's healed only by time. a lot of time. and i think it's a half-life sort of curve where you get 50% better after the first 5 years, then 25% better after the next 5, then 12% better.. etc. more than anything you're trying to reorient yourself towards a life where the joys are small and fleeting, and waiting for those potent memories of having your bliss-button chemically held down to fade.

hn_ 11y ago

> but the way you describe it sound like some virus, which affects your brain and make your a zombie Chronic heroin use absolutely does alter brain chemistry very significantly.