Euphoria is a medically recognized emotional state related to happiness. Technically, euphoria is an affect,[1] but colloquially the term is often used as a standard term of emotion to mean intense, transcendent happiness combined with an overwhelming sense of well being. The word derives from Greek εὐφορία, "power of enduring easily, fertility"[2][3].
Euphoria is considered to be an exaggerated state, resulting from psychological or pharmacological stressors and not typically achieved during the normal course of human experience, although some natural behaviors, such as those resulting in orgasm, can consistently produce a brief state of euphoria.[1]
A common theme among a subset of drugs used recreationally is their ability to induce a state of euphoria.[4] The classification of episodic mania by Emil Kraepelin recognized the degree of euphoric affect among the classifier axes. Drugs such as opiates, amphetamines, cocaine, MDMA, and so on can induce chemically intense euphoria. [5]
Notes & References
|
