The Drug Ecstacy And Empathy.

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I am watching The History Channel right now, a show called "Hooked: Drugs"
I noticed something interesting. For a few minutes they featured the drug Ecstacy and said it had the same effects as a year of psychotherapy. Ecstacy increases an individual's empathy in six hours the same a year of therapy would, according to this show. Therapists used to prescribe it for this reason
Aspies, I wonder what you think of this? Do you think this drug, Ecstacy, would increase empathy levels (of all kinds, even the social kind) in individuals with Asperger's Syndrome, various personality disorders, autism, general lack of empathy for unknown reasons (which they said, in this documentary, it does)?
Would you take this drug if a therapist told you it would make you more like an "NT" in social situations?
Do you think this drug would work on Aspies?
Have any of you tried it already?
What were the results?
In case you are wondering, I haven't tried it. I have a fear of drug effects on my CNS and resist taking experimental ones.

Well, it certainly induces the impression of feeling connected to others and of more empathy. Decreased analytical and critical thinking, openness towards others emotionally (and thus socially), excessive happiness and euphoria also come with it.

I don't think ecstasy will change anything of the autistic person's ability to read other people's body language, but they may think they do better. They may feel socially connected, feel it's easy to put themselves in another's place, but that subjective feeling does not say whether they actually are any more socially connected or are even remotely successful in realistically putting themselves into a another person's place.

Someone who's withdrawn and all that without having an autistic impairment might profit from ecstasy is that person became more outgoing, but I can't see how it helps with an ability to understand non-verbal cues besides making a person believe they're can do it for 5-6 hours.

It can make you more outgoing because it dampens your worries and feelings of embarrassment and anxiety - good chance, if you get the positive results and not the negative ones, makes you feel you suddenly morphed into an easygoing and social person - that's a big reason why people take that drug, right.
Well, someone might think deluding the mind into thinking such unreal and imaginative stuff is good... I certainly do not.

An issue for autistic people - for any people, really - could be that after taking ecstasy, they might experience emotions they can't handle due to intensity, get serious problems due to having PTSD and of course, might worsen (social) anxiety.

I tried it a number of times in my mid-teens during a few of my many disasterous attempt to fit in and be 'normal'. I spent the time staring out the window while everyone else was dancing and hugging one another.

I think it could be useful for theraputic reasons, just to show someone what empathy feels like. I honestly didn't know before I took it. It's like showing a blind person how to see for a few hours.

But it is incredibly dangerous, because of the low you get afterwards. It can be very damaging to someone who already has emotional issues. It also loses its effectiveness very quickly, there is the old saying to stop at 6. After about 6 times of use, you don't get an up any more, but you get a very, very bad down.

Ecstasy is a dangerous narcotic. It's not exactly an over-the-counter product, now is it?

The FDA and its Canadian counterpart would discourage the use of E for recreational and medicinal purposes. If it's classified as a narcotic or controlled substance by the government, it's hazardous. Given all the pharma I'm already on, one hit of E would probably kill me or mess me up real bad, damage my brain.

I tried it in college. In moderation, in a controlled setting, for instance a therapeutic setting, I can visualize this drug being very effective. Too bad it was hijacked by street users and too often tainted with heroin, meth and lawn fertilizer....

Although I'm not sure if it increased my empathy levels...it did show me some more effective ways to hold a conversation and talk to people. Overall, it was one of the things that I can say contributed to my development into a friendlier and more well-adjusted person.

The comedown, in my experience, is just a matter of knowing when to give up, go home, and sleep.

Slowmutant - opiates can aslo be considered dangerous controlled substances, but used under the right conditions, are effective and often necessary painkillers.

Ecstasy is a bit risky for the purposes of increasing empathy, don't you think? I mean, if you don't know exactly what is in the tab you put in your mouth, you have no idea what it might do to you.

Exactly. That's why I wouldn't recommend "street use". You don't know what you're getting. I was young and dumb when I took it, that's my excuse.

I wouldn't discount the substance entirely, though. The "war on drugs" halted some potentially valuable research. God forbid something that's an effective pharmaceutical be fun, too.

If they were fun, people would OD on them, get sick or die. Cough-syrup tastes awful for that very reason. But there are some poor souls desperate enough to drink anything with alcohol in it, even if it's not a beverage and wasn't intended for human consumption.

As usual, it's a case of a few idiots ruining something for the rest of us. Lowest common denominator protection. I am not stupid, and I don't need to be protected from myself.

I believe MDMA should be studied more carefully, and if results justify, used in therapuetic settings by carefully monitored, licensed individuals who would be held responsible for foreseeable/avoidable negative consequences.

Cars are fun (especially to inexperienced users) and also potentially deadly too, this is why we license their drivers.

Stop hyperventilating. In fifteen years of use by millions of people, Ecstasy hasn't killed a single user, unlike alcohol, tobacco or just about any other drug. In a recent study by the Science Select Committee which advises the British government on drug issues, Ecstasy was found to be the third-least harmful drug, after Khat and Amyl Nitrites. It was demonised by the beer producers who quite rightly saw it as a (economically, not medically) dangerous competitor.

Umm ... where are you getting your statistics regarding mortality rates?

In Ireland, Ecstasy (or to be more precise - MMDA) has been listed as the causative agent resulting in fatal dehydration in at least 3 cases in the last 5 years.

Yes, the MMDA does not *directly* halt the functioning of various organs ... it is the dehydration that causes that ... but it is still the cause of death.

Compare that to the statement - "Victim died of exsanguination as a result of a bullet wound to the carotid artery" ... by your argument, the bullet wound didn't kill the person, it was just absolute coincidence that they bled to death.

In theory, if the blood loss could be stopped, the person's life could be saved ... and in just the same way, if someone on Ecstasy is encouraged to keep drinking water, they are much less likely to dehydrate ... but MMDA still kills people!

This is a silly argument. So if I slip on a rug and break my neck, that means rugs kill people? If I get so caught up in playing WoW I don't notice my house is burning, it means WoW kills people?

And let's not forget to outlaw beds: After all, most people die in their beds, don't they?

Nice strawmen.

Well you have to admit, people who die from dehydration do die from dehydration. Ecstacy does not cause dehydration. Dancing around like a nutjob for 4 hours straight causes dehydration. So the causal effect there is at least twice removed. It'd be like driving a car, that hit a stop sign, and the stop sign hit someone else on the head and killed them.

Just Say No.