Posted by em_kath on February 23, 2010, at 19:17:08 [reposted on February 26, 2010, at 8:54:33 | original URL]
In reply to Experiences with ecstasy during depression?, posted by Economist on February 23, 2010, at 18:07:36
> Has anyone experimented with using ecstasy during their depression?
> I remember before I was suffering from anhedonia, ecstasy used to give me a very nice feeling and a strong desire to socialize. Depressed people often are anhedonic and don't experience pleasurable emotions. But what about when they experiment with ecstasy? Would that possibly make them feel better?
I have never used ecstasy, although I have been curious because I also struggle with anhedonia. The reason I haven't is tried it is because I have read that it depletes serotonin during the comedown and in the following days, causing depression even in normal people, and with repeated use it can create serotonin deficiencies long-term. With my depression I feel like it would be a bad idea to mess with my neurotransmitters since they're already all out of whack.
Even more of a concern would be the risk for serotonin syndrome (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serotonin_syndrome). I don't know for certain but if you're on antidepressants that affect serotonin and/or dopamine I would not advise using ecstasy. Of course if you're not on antidepressants it probably wouldn't be especially dangerous, but if you already have depression you might feel so miserable afterwards that it wouldn't be worth the good feeling at the time.
poster:em_kath
thread:937967
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/subs/20091027/msgs/937968.html