Emotion intensification: Difference between revisions

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'''Emotion intensification''' (also known as '''affect intensification''')<ref name="GasserKirchner2014">{{cite journal|last1=Gasser|first1=Peter|last2=Kirchner|first2=Katharina|last3=Passie|first3=Torsten|title=LSD-assisted psychotherapy for anxiety associated with a life-threatening disease: A qualitative study of acute and sustained subjective effects|journal=Journal of Psychopharmacology|volume=29|issue=1|year=2014|pages=57–68|issn=0269-8811|doi=10.1177/0269881114555249}}</ref> is defined as an increase in a person's current emotional state beyond normal levels of intensity.<ref name="KaelenBarrett2015">{{cite journal|last1=Kaelen|first1=M.|last2=Barrett|first2=F. S.|last3=Roseman|first3=L.|last4=Lorenz|first4=R.|last5=Family|first5=N.|last6=Bolstridge|first6=M.|last7=Curran|first7=H. V.|last8=Feilding|first8=A.|last9=Nutt|first9=D. J.|last10=Carhart-Harris|first10=R. L.|title=LSD enhances the emotional response to music|journal=Psychopharmacology|volume=232|issue=19|year=2015|pages=3607–3614|issn=0033-3158|doi=10.1007/s00213-015-4014-y}}</ref><ref name="Hartogsohn2018">{{cite journal|last1=Hartogsohn|first1=Ido|title=The Meaning-Enhancing Properties of Psychedelics and Their Mediator Role in Psychedelic Therapy, Spirituality, and Creativity|journal=Frontiers in Neuroscience|volume=12|year=2018|issn=1662-453X|doi=10.3389/fnins.2018.00129}}</ref><ref name="Swanson2018">{{cite journal|last1=Swanson|first1=Link R.|title=Unifying Theories of Psychedelic Drug Effects|journal=Frontiers in Pharmacology|volume=9|year=2018|issn=1663-9812|doi=10.3389/fphar.2018.00172}}</ref>

Unlike many other subjective effects such as [[Cognitive euphoria|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 intensification to be equally capable of manifesting in both a positive and negative direction.<ref name="GasserKirchner2014" /><ref name="KaelenBarrett2015" /><ref name="Swanson2018" /><ref name="MillerBershad2015">{{cite journal|last1=Miller|first1=Melissa A.|last2=Bershad|first2=Anya K.|last3=de Wit|first3=Harriet|title=Drug effects on responses to emotional facial expressions|journal=Behavioural Pharmacology|volume=26|issue=6|year=2015|pages=571–579|issn=0955-8810|doi=10.1097/FBP.0000000000000164}}</ref><ref name="BelserAgin-Liebes2017">{{cite journal|last1=Belser|first1=Alexander B.|last2=Agin-Liebes|first2=Gabrielle|last3=Swift|first3=T. Cody|last4=Terrana|first4=Sara|last5=Devenot|first5=Neşe|last6=Friedman|first6=Harris L.|last7=Guss|first7=Jeffrey|last8=Bossis|first8=Anthony|last9=Ross|first9=Stephen|title=Patient Experiences of Psilocybin-Assisted Psychotherapy: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis|journal=Journal of Humanistic Psychology|volume=57|issue=4|year=2017|pages=354–388|issn=0022-1678|doi=10.1177/0022167817706884}}</ref> This effect highlights the importance of [[set and setting]] when using psychedelics in a therapeutic context, especially if the goal is to produce a [[catharsis]].<ref name="GasserKirchner2014" /><ref name="Hartogsohn2018" /><ref name="BelserAgin-Liebes2017" />  

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 intensification can shape the tone of a trip and predispose the user to other effects, such as [[mania]] or [[unity and interconnectedness|unity]] in positive states and [[thought loops]] or [[feelings of impending doom]] in negative states.<ref name="Swanson2018" /> Intense negative or difficult emotions may still arise in therapeutic contexts, however (with adequate support) people nevertheless view the experience positively due to the perceived value of integrating the emotional states' additional insight.<ref name="GasserKirchner2014" /><ref name="BelserAgin-Liebes2017" />

 

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[[Category:Intensification]]