Euphoria is just like a drug. Almost everything fades away, and there’s only a sense of boundless joy, a bliss beyond explanation. And, like a drug, it can have an additive effect on the brain.
The promise of euphoria allows the prima ballerinas to endure the pain. It makes marathoners keep going when things get rough. It could even spur Pentecostal pastors to play with poisonous snakes.
Nonetheless, it is essentially an intense form of pleasure. And though pleasure may seem like an ephemeral thing – secondary to basic needs – it’s actually vital to survival.
What is Euphoria?
Euphoria is a psychological and spiritual state that imparts intense emotions of happiness, elation, and well-being. It may be undergone as a transcendent state of intense joy and overpowering fulfillment.
Everybody wants to feel happy, and the euphoric state can make things look great for a while. Thus, euphoria melts stress away and helps us believe we’re the best version of our own.
It can be triggered by a wide range of activities and stimulants with variable outcomes. Broadly speaking, pleasure could be induced by tiny portions of reward hormones such as dopamine. But vigorous euphoria is more difficult to overcome, needing the activation of the whole reward circuit at once.
Euphoric Triggers – Types of Euphoria‘
There are several things that can induce euphoria. Although apparently unrelated, euphoric triggers share similar neurochemical or neurobiological signs.
Some of the most common euphoric triggers include:
- Psychoactive drugs
- Intense physical exercise
- Play
- Music
- Dancing
- Being “in love”
- Sex
- Food
- Religious or spiritual rituals
- Meditation
- Fasting
- Asphyxia
- Sleep deprivation
- Neuropsychiatric states – mania, epilepsy, migraine, multiple sclerosis
The exact brain mechanisms that promote euphoria are also fuelling the opposite. Several of the above effects can also lead to depressive states. For example, being in love can cause you to feel like you’re in heaven, but on certain occasions, you may feel like hell.
In such a way, sleep poverty, asphyxia, eating, drugs, and even music can depress moods as much as they can increase if you go overboard.
Certain neuropsychiatric conditions, such as bipolar disorder or dementia, can swing wildly and unexpectedly back and forth between euphoria and dysphoria.
Reference: https://www.mindlabpro.com/blogs/nootropics/nootropics-euphoria
