Emotion intensification

Revision as of 12:11, 5 July 2018 by >Graham (Reference: The results presented here suggest that moderate (not high) alcohol consumption can cause neutral facial expressions to be attributed to emotional expressions, with a greater amount attributed towards sadness.)

Emotion enhancement is an effect which greatly amplifies and enhances a person's current emotional state beyond normal levels of intensity.

Unlike many other subjective effects such as euphoria or anxiety this effect does not actively induce specific emotions regardless of a person's current state of mind and mental stability. Instead, it works by passively amplifying and enhancing the genuine emotions that a person is already feeling prior to ingesting the drug or prior to the onset of this effect. This causes emotion enhancement to be equally capable of manifesting in both a positive and negative direction.

For example, an individual who is currently feeling somewhat anxious or emotionally unstable may become overwhelmed with intensified negative emotions, paranoia, and confusion. In contrast, an individual who is generally feeling positive and emotionally stable is more likely to find themselves overwhelmed with states of emotional euphoria, happiness, and feelings of general contentment. The intensity of emotional states felt under emotion enhancement can shape the tone of a trip and predispose the user to other effects, such as mania or unity in positive states and thought loops or feelings of impending doom in negative states.

Emotion enhancement is most commonly induced under the influence of moderate dosages of psychedelic compounds, such as LSD, psilocybin, and mescaline. However, it can also occur under the influence of cannabinoids, GABAergic depressants,[1] dissociatives, and stimulants.

Psychoactive substances

Compounds within our psychoactive substance index which may cause this effect include:

... further results

Experience reports

Anecdotal reports which describe this effect within our experience index include:

See also

References

  1. Kamboj, S. K., Joye, A., Bisby, J. A., Das, R. K., Platt, B., & Curran, H. V. (2013). Processing of facial affect in social drinkers: a dose–response study of alcohol using dynamic emotion expressions. Psychopharmacology, 227(1), 31-39. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-012-2940-5