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Empathogens are a type of psychoactive substance known to impact the emotional and social behavior of the user. They are often associated with party because of their ability to increase feelings of love and friendliness in the user.
The term “empathogens” was first used in 1983 by American psychologist Ralph Metzner about the increased empathy and oneness many people feel when using these substances.
They come in a variety of forms, including pills, capsules, or crystals. They can be swallowed or snorted. The effects of the psychedelic substance may kick in within 30-60 minutes after consumption, depending on the substance . Feelings of euphoria, energy, heightened senses, and oneness may last several hours.
Most Used Empathogens
- MDMA
- MDA
- 2C-B
How Do Empathogens Work?
Empathogens release dopamine and serotonin in the brain. These neurotransmitters send signals to the brain relating to learning, motivation, pain processing, and more.
Dopamine is sometimes called the “feel-good” messenger because it plays a role in perceiving pleasure and interest. Serotonin is known as a mood stabilizer, which affects sleep, appetite, and digestion.
Empathogens also block serotonin reuptake transporter, which causes additional serotonin to build up between the neurons leading to the feeling of love and connectedness many people feel when taking the substance.
Empathogens’ Effects
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Empathogens affect everyone differently, based on:
- size, weight and health
- whether the person is used to taking it
- whether other substances are taken around the same time
- the amount taken
- the strength of the psychedelic
- the environment (where the psychedelic is taken).
Empathogens affect users in different ways, depending on the dosage, strength of the particular drug, size of the user, how often they’ve taken the substance, and more.
Here are some of the other common effects of taking empathogenic substances :
- Feeling a greater connection to others
- Increased feelings of love and friendliness
- Having a sense of belonging
- Increased feelings of loneliness
- Decreased ability to recognize facial fear
- Increased energy
- Boost in sexual desire
Impact of mood and environment
Psychedelics that affect a person’s mental state (psychoactive substances) can also have varied effects depending on a person’s mood (often called the ‘set’) or the environment they are in (the ‘setting’).
Set: a person’s state of mind, previous encounters with empathogens, and expectations of what’s going to happen. For example, feelings of stress or anxiety before using empathogens may result in an unpleasant experience.
Setting: the environment in which someone consumes empathogens – whether it’s known and familiar, who they’re with, if they’re indoors or outdoors, the type of music and light.
Being in a good state of mind, with trusted friends and a safe environment, before taking empathogens reduces the risk of having a negative experience.
Therapeutic uses
Psychiatrists began using entactogens as psychotherapy tools in the 1970s . In recent years, the scientific community has been revisiting the possible therapeutic uses of entactogens. Therapeutic models using MDMA have been studied because of its entactogenic properties. This type of therapy would be applicable for treating a patient who was experiencing psychological trauma such as PTSD. Traumatic memories can be linked to fear in the patients which makes engaging with these memories difficult. Administration of an entactogen such as MDMA allows the patient to disconnect from the fear associated with the traumatic memories and engage in therapy.
MDMA acts by targeting the body’s stress response in order to cause this therapeutic effect. In addition to reducing anxiety and a conditioned fear response, MDMA also reduces the avoidance of feelings. Patients are then able to trust themselves and their therapist and engage with traumatic memories under the influence of MDMA.
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